--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The word [jazz] never lost its…" description: "\"The word [jazz] never lost its association with those New Orleans bordellos. In the 1920s I used to try to convince Fletcher Henderson that we ought to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faf/duke-ellington-7513_association_the-word-jazz-never-lost-its-association_1416186.jpg" --- # The word \[jazz\] never lost its association with those New… ![“The word [jazz] never lost its association with those New Orleans bordellos. In the 1920s I used to try to convince Fletcher Henderson that we ought to call what we were doing 'Negro music'. But it's too late for that now.” quote by Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faf/duke-ellington-7513_association_the-word-jazz-never-lost-its-association_1416186.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faf/duke-ellington-7513_association_the-word-jazz-never-lost-its-association_1416186.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faf/duke-ellington-7513_association_the-word-jazz-never-lost-its-association_1416186.jpg) > “The word \[jazz\] never lost its association with those New Orleans bordellos. In the 1920s I used to try to convince Fletcher Henderson that we ought to call what we were doing 'Negro music'. But it's too late for that now.” [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Jazz’s roots are tied to marginalized spaces, and attempts to rename it face historical inertia. **In simple terms:** Jazz originated in marginalized venues. Key Takeaway Recognize and honor origins. Themes cultural history identity artistic integrity Mood thoughtful respectful Type historical cultural When to use this quote - music education - cultural preservation - artist interviews - public discourse Key Concepts racial dynamics musical evolution Questions to Reflect On - Can we both honor origins and evolve terminology? - How does history shape present art? A Different Perspective Renaming may erase important cultural context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [New orleans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-orleans/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) ## Related quotes > [We must never forget that the dance is the cradle of Negro music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-leroy-locke/we-must-never-forget-that-the-dance-is-the-cradle-of-negro-music/) [Alain LeRoy Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-leroy-locke/) > [I have come from France more firmly convinced than ever that Negros should write Negro music. We have our own racial feeling and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-reese-europe/i-have-come-from-france-more-firmly-convinced-than-ever-that-negros/) James Reese Europe > [Negro music has touched America because it is the melody of the soul joined with the rhythm of the machine. It is in two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-corbusier/negro-music-has-touched-america-because-it-is-the-melody-of-the-soul/) [Le Corbusier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-corbusier/) > [Yes, the audience is so important to Negro music, especially the element of call and response.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-shepp/yes-the-audience-is-so-important-to-negro-music-especially-the/) [Archie Shepp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-shepp/) > [A whole generation of young whites have involved themselves with traditional Negro music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-shepp/a-whole-generation-of-young-whites-have-involved-themselves-with/) [Archie Shepp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-shepp/) > [Negro music and culture are intrinsically improvisational, existential. Nothing is sacred. After a decade, a musical idea, no matter how innovative, is threatened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-shepp/negro-music-and-culture-are-intrinsically-improvisational-existential/) [Archie Shepp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-shepp/) > [I think everybody has to kind of decide what the word 'jazz' means to them, and that's fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-g/i-think-everybody-has-to-kind-of-decide-what-the-word-jazz-means-to/) [Kenny G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-g/) > ["Jazz" to begin with, is a really bad word... all the true musicians that really play jazz, jazz is the worst word for it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldar-djangirov/jazz-to-begin-with-is-a-really-bad-word-all-the-true-musicians-that/) [Eldar Djangirov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldar-djangirov/) > [I don't play the traditional Charlie Parker songs. But I do improvise and I do create with my instrument, and that to me is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-g/i-don-t-play-the-traditional-charlie-parker-songs-but-i-do-improvise/) [Kenny G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-g/) > [The main thing about the word jazz, is that it's very limiting to what people are doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldar-djangirov/the-main-thing-about-the-word-jazz-is-that-it-s-very-limiting-to-what/) [Eldar Djangirov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldar-djangirov/) > [Jazz is a fighter. The word 'jazz' means to me, 'I dare you. Let's jump into the unknown!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/jazz-is-a-fighter-the-word-jazz-means-to-me-i-dare-you-let-s-jump/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [I use are provisional terms, and they usually put any proper nouns in critical distance. I'm in a tradition of people who resist naming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-use-are-provisional-terms-and-they-usually-put-any-proper-nouns-in/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [I'm a person of change and I must be honest to my artistry and my creativity. That's part of the word 'jazz'... it's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-ferguson/i-m-a-person-of-change-and-i-must-be-honest-to-my-artistry-and-my/) Maynard Ferguson > [I like any and all of my associations with music -writing, playing, and listening. We write and play from our perspective, and the audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/i-like-any-and-all-of-my-associations-with-music-writing-playing-and/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [If you are poor, shun association with him who measures men with the yardstick of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/if-you-are-poor-shun-association-with-him-who-measures-men-with-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## More by Duke Ellington > [New music? Hell, there's been no new music since Stravinsky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/new-music-hell-there-s-been-no-new-music-since-stravinsky/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Jazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/jazz-today-as-always-in-the-past-is-a-matter-of-thoughtful-creation/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/the-most-important-thing-i-look-for-in-a-musician-is-whether-he-knows/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-second-fiddle-to-no-one/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [The common root, of course, comes out of Africa. That's the pulse.The African pulse. It's all the way back from . . . the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/the-common-root-of-course-comes-out-of-africa-that-s-the-pulse-the/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/love-is-supreme-and-unconditional-like-is-nice-but-limited/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [The problem of expressing the contributions that Benny Carter has made to popular music is so tremendous it completely fazes me, so extraordinary a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/the-problem-of-expressing-the-contributions-that-benny-carter-has/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [If anybody was Mr. Jazz it was Louis Armstrong. He was the epitome of jazz and always will be. He is what I call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/if-anybody-was-mr-jazz-it-was-louis-armstrong-he-was-the-epitome-of/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/jazz-is-a-good-barometer-of-freedom/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/i-merely-took-the-energy-it-takes-to-pout-and-wrote-some-blues/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [The artist must say it without saying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/the-artist-must-say-it-without-saying-it/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Problems are chances for us to do our best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/problems-are-chances-for-us-to-do-our-best/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [“New York is a place where the rich walk, the poor drive Cadillac's, and the beggars die of malnutrition with thousands of dollars hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/new-york-is-a-place-where-the-rich-walk-the-poor-drive-cadillac-s-and/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Hurry, get on board, it's comin', listen to those rails a-thrumming all aboard. Get on the "A" train, soon you will be on Sugar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/hurry-get-on-board-it-s-comin-listen-to-those-rails-a-thrumming-all/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Everybody in Canada seemed to listen to what they enjoyed, and nobody could tell them what to like, or what was the popular, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/everybody-in-canada-seemed-to-listen-to-what-they-enjoyed-and-nobody/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) [Explore all 90 Duke Ellington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) ## More Association quotes > [If you are poor, shun association with him who measures men with the yardstick of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/if-you-are-poor-shun-association-with-him-who-measures-men-with-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/) [H. 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I go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-am-a-member-of-that-small-little-group-that-covers-i-m-a-member-of/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [While opponents label (Howard) Dean a throwback liberal, The New York Times recently noted that as governor, Dean cut income taxes, reformed welfare and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/while-opponents-label-howard-dean-a-throwback-liberal-the-new-york/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [The feedback that I get from my association with Gomez is heartwarming. It is very difficult for me to take anything but a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-astin/the-feedback-that-i-get-from-my-association-with-gomez-is/) [John Astin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-astin/) > [Public and private funds have been thrown around like confetti at a country fair, to close up and destroy clinics, hospitals, and scientific research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-fitzgerald/public-and-private-funds-have-been-thrown-around-like-confetti-at-a/) Benedict Fitzgerald > [ \[T\]here are, at bottom, basically two ways to order social affairs, Coercively, through the mechanisms of the state - what we can call political… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/t-here-are-at-bottom-basically-two-ways-to-order-social-affairs/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whatever-withdraws-us-from-the-power-of-our-senses-whatever-makes-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The Stroke Association has produced leaflets that set out clearly the health risks associated with stroke that African-Caribbean people face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linford-christie/the-stroke-association-has-produced-leaflets-that-set-out-clearly-the/) [Linford Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linford-christie/) > [The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/the-regular-division-of-the-plane-into-congruent-figures-evoking-an/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [Marriage is an association of two persons for the purpose of making one the beneficiary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/marriage-is-an-association-of-two-persons-for-the-purpose-of-making/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) Browse all 863 Association quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The word [jazz] never lost its association with those New Orleans bordellos. In the 1920s I used to try to convince Fletcher Henderson that we ought to call what we were doing 'Negro music'. 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