Jazz and the animal world

Throughout the history of jazz, the animal world has been portrayed in many different ways in everything that has to do with this type of music.

First of all, there are a large number of pieces in the usual jazz repertoire that allude to some animal symbol. Perhaps the pieces that will sound most familiar are the famous Tiger Rag, Muskrat Ramble, Bye Bye Blackbird, or Yellow Dog Blues, but, in addition to these, there are many others not so well known such as Elephant Stomp, Whale’s Blues (the latter relates the Old Testament episode of Jonah and the whale, with the name of its composer, Jonah Jones), Hyena Stomp or Billy Goat Stomp, (these two pieces contain hilarious imitations of the cries of these animals, in the version of Jelly Roll Morton). In short, the animal world has always been a source of inspiration for jazz musicians.

But there is another even more significant aspect. It is the nicknames given to many musicians because of their appearance or way of behaving. Such is the case of the great pianist Willie The Lion Smith, who fought like a lion during World War I; the outstanding saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who was nicknamed Rabbit because of the way he chewed; the saxophonist and clarinetist Gene Sedric, who was called Honeybear because of his appearance and his fondness for sweets; the double bass player Major Holley, who was nicknamed Mule; the very famous Charlie Parker was called Bird; the great trumpet player of Duke Ellington’s orchestra, a specialist in the high register, was known as Cat Anderson, because of his feline appearance; and so many other nicknames that have been given to all kinds of Jazz musicians.

However, if there is an animal that is essential in jazz, it is the cat. Indeed, musicians affectionately call each other cats. And why does the cat occupy this place? Perhaps because it is an animal with which jazzmen feel reflected and identified. They are nocturnal animals, just like jazz musicians who work mainly at night. Their agile, flexible, gracious movements are a reflection of the same lithe and graceful phrasing that musicians play to produce the swing. They are creatures that enjoy freedom, attracted by the life of a wanderer, given that, indeed, because of their work, jazz musicians often lead an erratic, unconventional life. All this series of similarities, among others, have led many songs to allude to cats as jazz musicians: All The Cats Join’ in; A Chat with Cat, El Gato, etc.

So, long live the cats!