Hey, You Got Your Jazz In My Math!

August 27, 2017 7:01 PM

'Beginning at one, start counting upwards. When you reach seven, say, "Unh." When you reach ten, say "Woof." When you reach any number containing a seven, or any number into which seven can be divided, say, "Unh, unh." When you reach twenty, thirty, or any number up to seventy that ends with a zero, say, "Woof Woof." All right, boys – here we go!' —Mezz Mezzrow and his Swing Band, "I'se A Muggin Part 2" (1936). Milton "Mezz" Mezzrow was an adequate instrumentalist, but was better known for three things: he arranged some classic recording sessions; he was the jazz scene's main weed dealer back in the 1930's and 40's, so much that musicians and others referred to marijuana as 'Mezz'; and he crossed racial boundaries without effort and with pride in an age when it was dangerous to do so, calling himself a "voluntary negro". Here's a link to his autobiography, Really the Blues.
posted by not_on_display (6 comments total)

He has a club named after him in NYC
posted by lalochezia at 8:21 PM on August 27, 2017 [2 favorites]

Now there's a book that changed my life back in 1954. Sold me on three good things - jazz, weed and integration.
posted by charlesminus at 10:21 PM on August 27, 2017 [4 favorites]

and when do you say "FizzBuzz"?
posted by dmd at 2:54 PM on August 28, 2017 [2 favorites]

Four: a minor character in Mike Baron's "Nexus". "Really the Blues" is an amazing document- written entirely in hepcat vernacular. Makes a great bedtime read for the kiddies!
posted by ergomatic at 3:18 PM on August 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

I really want to do this song with my band, but nobody wants to remember the sequence. So, I wrote a little program to make things easier on them. It's like FizzBuzz, only fun!
posted by OverlappingElvis at 3:02 PM on September 16, 2017

(Better gist, with fun^* comments)

^* Comments are not guaranteed to be fun. I am not responsible for any damage that may be caused by comments. Please do not eat the comments.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 5:36 PM on September 16, 2017