Zazous Vivace

Welcome to my new blog where music makes the world turn.

The title of this post and blog is Zazous Vivace. What's in a name? Everything. Let me tell you what is in this name.
(Tremendous thanks to the film Jazz: Dedicated to Chaos for the bulk of this information.)

Zazous (pronounced sazoos...kind of like a kazoo but not)

During WWI Jazz music really started to get moving. Big shots like Charlie Parker, Louise Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Roy Eldridge, John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, Billy Strayhorn, Earl Hines, and Benny Goodman took over the musical stage. All of whom were black, with the exception of Benny Goodman, who was Jewish. And that was incredible because this was during a time when blacks were still segregated in the US and Jews were being slaughtered under Nazi rule.

By 1941 the Nazis had control over most of Europe. Jazz and swing music wasn't just a hit in the US it also seduced the hearts of Europeans because, as Earl Hines said, "Jazz expresses the hope of a free people. It is based upon individuality which is contrary to the very fundamentals of Nazism” Naturally the Nazis wanted to crush jazz. But despite their domination, the Nazis had failed to take down this music as jazz still bloomed underground. Germans still got together to play jazz and swing music. They called themselves "swing kids".

In 1942 the Nazis tried a new tactic: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Instead of blocking out swing, Nazis took popular American tunes and changed words to suit their propagandic needs. This is seen in this version of "Making Whoopee":


(This really isn't that important to the title of my blog, but it is interesting.)

In Paris the Nazis even banned the word jazz. But Parisians would still rebelliously listen to the American classics because "Jazz was a way of fighting against the German atmosphere. It was important when fighting against a racist government." The French jazz fans met in cafes and cinemas and would change the names of American songs. For example "In the Mood" became "Ambiance". They would dance to the swingin' tunes of African Americans. They called themselves Zazous after the scatting of Cab Calloway. It didn't take long for the Nazis to find them and beat them in the streets.

But the Zazous still met.

This is what music does to people: it breeds connections, it festers emotions, it harbors unity. It breaks boundaries and barriers. It makes people aware of feelings and more passionately than they knew possible. But my favorite part about music is that it brings people together. Perhaps it is because it is the same in every language: a Bb quarter-note, played by any musician-whether German, French, Mexican, or American- will still sounds the same.

But I think music actually goes much deeper than that. I believe it vibrates the finite within us and puts all on the same wavelength. I was at an acoustic guitar show a few weeks ago and at the end of the show the three performers did a number together: Silent Night. And they invited the audience to sing along. There was a strange bond formed between all of us in that room. We all became comfortable with slouching a little closer to the stranger seated next to us. Everyone was comfortable mingling with other people after the show: something people struggle with even when at a party of a mutual friend. Music. Unites. People.

While the first word in my title comes from a French group, the second word, Vivace (pronounced vih-vah-chey) is an Italian musical term that means "lively". Thus the name of this blog is symbolic in nature; a French term and an Italian term joined together.

So welcome to Zazous Vivace where I believe in bringing people together via a medium most uplifting, where I believe in edifying life, and where I believe in being lively about it.

If you want to learn some more about Zazous click here. And enjoy this clip of Cab Calloway.