CANNABIS HISTORY
The Mighty Mezz Mezzrow , the Man with the Jive
by Karla Deel , contributing writer
H ow did a Jewish boy born into poverty to Russian immigrants in 1899 on Chicago ’ s tough side become New York City ’ s “ King of Weed ” during the Jazz Age ? Roll with me on this on .
Before he became Mezz Mezzrow , aka Muggles King aka “ Mayor ” of Harlem aka The Mighty Mezz aka Ambassador of the Races aka Biggest Weed Dealer to the Jazz Greats , Milton Mesirow was a juvenile delinquent stuck in the Pontiac Reformatory School for stealing a car at age 16 . It was during this time that he took to jazz himself as a means of solace . He bought a saxophone with money he made stealing and selling his sister ’ s fur coat . Shortly after , he began peddling marijuana and picked up a few extra bucks running “ errands ” for Al Capone . distribute in 1939 . In this segregated jail , he demanded to be put on the “ colored block ” stating , “ I ’ m colored , even if I don ’ t look it , and I don ’ t think I ’ d get along in the white blocks , and besides , there might be some friends of mine in Block Six and they ’ d keep me out of trouble .” The warden obliged , and Mezzrow became a resident of Block Six for his two-year stay on Ryker ’ s .
Mezzrow was entirely enthralled by jazz and black culture and the world of musicians such as Louis Armstrong , with whom he would develop a lifelong friendship . His love of jazz landed him in Harlem during the height of its renaissance . In the 1930s , all eyes were on Mezzrow and his biracial bands that took to the nightclubs of New York . Mezzrow was one of the first to form integrated bands . Whenever possible , he hired black musicians and recorded in black establishments .
“ Mezzrow very early on found out that the musicians he admired and loved were treated by society as clowns and as subhumans not entitled to economic , political or cultural equality ,” writes Ralph Gleason in an article titled “ Mezz ’ s Strange , Long Trip .” “ Mezzrow himself , in a kind of early crow-Jim liberal attitude , went so far as to resign from his own race and not only marry a black [ woman ] but live in a black community and record ( on official forms whenever he filled them out ) his race as ‘ negro .’”
He was once jailed on Ryker ’ s Island for two years after a deputy caught him with 60 joints entering a jazz club with an intent to
Mezz Mezzrow in his office surrounded by jazz records and his books . ( New York , N . Y . 1946 .) ( wikicommons photos )
In his autobiography , Really The Blues , Mezzrow declares that he singlehandedly introduced weed to New York City in the 1930s . He was so well-known for dealing weed to jazz musicians that his name Mezz became a commonplace phrase for marijuana . Mezzrole became the term used for the high-quality marijuana cigarettes he
36 July 2022