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photo by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
Cab Calloway, Columbia Records studio; New York, 1947
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Zoot Suit Times
………………..(Rhythms from the past)
You ever heard of a Zoot Suit?
Do you own a Zoot Suit ?
What about the Zoot Suit Riots
you ever heard of them?
………..Can you dance on a drum?
A Zoot suit is a men’s suit with high waisted,
wide legged, high cuffed, pegged trousers, tight cuffed & a long coat with wide lapels & padded shoulders
A la “Cab Calloway”
…..“Hep Cat” times
………….Zoot Suit Riot Times
1943 June 3rd till June 8th in Los Angeles
150 plus injured / 500 plus arrested
Motive : removal of “Zoot Suits” & “hoodlums”
Perpetrators: American servicemen,
police officers, & white civilians
Target: Mexican Americans & other
Zoot Suit wearers
……..Wearers of the styles
Creators of the styles
during the time of some
of the most stylist jazz creators
………..& they had a “beat”
“a backbeat you can’t lose”
“Bull Moose” Jackson, Louis Jordan, Cab Calloway,
’Big” Jay McNeely, ”King” Curtis, “Wild” Bill Davis, Earl Bostic, Lionel Hampton, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis,
Hal “Cornbread” Singer, Jimmy Forrest,
Nat“King” Cole, Sil Austin, Bill Doggett,
Plas Johnson, Coleman Hawkins
………..& tunes like
the “Honey Dripper,” “Honky Tonk,”
“Flying Home,” “Soul Twist,” “Caldonia,” “Hi De Ho”
& don’t forget the “Night Train”
……..music conceived with passion & muscle….
mostly heard thru the honking bell of
…………a tenor saxophone
strong/danceable /story tellin’ music
………………“it’s got a backbeat you can’t lose”
………………………..Zoot Suit Times
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Oliver Lake is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, and bandleader who in 1977 founded the World Saxophone Quartet. He has performed on more than 80 albums. In addition to his musical endeavors, Oliver is also an accomplished poet, painter and performance artist. He has published two books of poetry, and has exhibited and sold his artwork internationally.
Click here to visit his website
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Listen to the 1947 recording of Cab Calloway performing “Hi De Ho Man” [Columbia]
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Click here to visit the Wikipedia page devoted to the Zoot Suit Riots
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Click here to read The Sunday Poem
Click here for information about how to submit your poetry or short fiction
Click here to subscribe to the (free) Jerry Jazz Musician quarterly newsletter
Click here to help support the ongoing publication of Jerry Jazz Musician, and to keep it commercial-free (thank you!)
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Jerry Jazz Musician…human produced (and AI-free) since 1999
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I came to be aware of zoot suits through the brilliant play by Luis Valdez titled “Zoot Suit” that I saw performed at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in the 1970s. This poem, “Zoot Suit Times,” adds a whole additional level of knowledge about zoot suits which is most welcome. In addition, the poem benefits from its own jazzy rhythms. It is a pleasure to encounter the work of Mr. Lake. Fascinating and well-done.