Spotted this on Mastodon (Burlington Free Press for that date, apparently). I’ve seen the “jass” spelling before (they were the Original Dixieland “Jass” Band and their first record was “Dixieland Jass Band One-Step” after all, even if they adopted the -zz spelling within a year of the recording) but “jacz” and “jasz” are new to me. The -zz spelling seems… you know, exactly right for the music, but that could just be because that how it’s been for the last hundred-plus years. Eubie Blake said “jass” was considered a Very Bad Word, hence maybe the -zz spelling (a bit softer and sounds less like “ass”?). I wonder if jacz or jasz would’ve ever stood a chance given how Slavic they look by comparison…
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