Hot Rashida!

A new foxaque record has been recovered from obscurity! “Hot Rashida”.

Oriental and middle eastern themes were popular and influential in jazz throughout the 1920’s e.g. “the Sheik of araby”, “Istanbul (not Constantinople)” and “Nagasaki” to name but 3 of vast menagerie. especially attactive to the british colonial mentality. the theme and style of the music was shaped mainly from Jewish immigrants from the former Czarist Russian and Ottoman empires who had settled in the USA. Klezmer cannot be discounted in the development of jazz. it’s energy enthusing the “Hot” style without doubt. in this example, Foxaque has joyfully plagiarised and constructed (in his own signature style) a racey brothel theme – leaning towards the bawdy cabaret scene of London – and the main tune is barely disguised over that of “Leena The Queen o’ Palesteena”. even the lyrics reference related tunes: that of “Rebecca Came Back From Mecca” with the immortal lines, ” Rashida’s waitin’ in the harem/ she got clothes but she don’t wear ‘em”. it’s naught but smut in the Foxaque vein. also clearly revealing the WASP-ish attitude held at the time regarding “naughty Arabs”.

Foxaque was a product of his time. at heart a bohemian jazzer but forever trapped in the less tasteful attitudes of the “Haut Bourgeoise”: he was a Taff posing as a Toff. passing it off due to his expensive education and social conditioning in the English Public School system that so moulded him in his formative years. a racist, not. bigoted by the colonial mentality and class divisions, certainly. Foxaque was often seen mixing with all sorts of exotic types: blacks, orientals, Indians, arabs, babbling Mediterraneans, even irishmen. as long as they shared a bon vivante and a creative bent. but street licking scrubbers he couldn’t stand. he was hiding, very well, the fact that he was one of them.

this goes a long way to explain why he hated the underclass, but always took a shine to the “underdog” – a different being altogether, for all artists a essentially that. Foxaque was comfortable on the periphery of society, although he craved high society too. he was a socialite. he like the champagne, but cared naught for the socialism that sometimes came with it. in fact, Foxaque was of the opinion that the Bolsheviks (in his mind, ever unshaven and about to kick down his door) would cause a lot of trouble in the world now that they had got a grasp on Russia… high society was foxaque’s daily bread and an equal society would not precipitate an easy living. what profit in entertaining the “have nots”?

Good art begets good money and Great fortunes begat great artists.

might as well start at the bottom of that ladder, foxaque do speculate…