The Axeman's Jazz

By: Clara Pressey

In 1919, musician Joseph John Davilla wrote a ragtime piano piece that he entitled The Axeman's Jazz (Don’t Scare Me Papa). The song was published by World’s Music Publishing Company, a publishing group based in New Orleans, Louisiana. While the song is as upbeat and lively as most ragtime pieces, it has a dark and violent history.      The song derives its title from the Axeman of New Orleans, a notorious serial killer. He is attributed to eight attacks, spanning from May 1918 to October 1919, that involved thirteen people, and resulted in six deaths. Witnesses described the Axeman as a broad, tall man, and his weapon of choice was an axe—usually found in the victim’s own home. There was very little evidence found on the site of the attacks besides the notable absence of the home’s axe, and, sometimes, a front door panel that had been chiseled out of its frame. Many of the attacks were against Italian immigrants, leading historians to believe that they could have been hate crimes. Other theories present ideas of gang or mob-related activities, or, simply, the trails of copycat murders. So, where does the jazz come in?      On March 15, 1919, a New Orleans-based newspaper called The Times-Picayune published a letter from the alleged Axeman. In this letter, the Axeman claimed to be a demon straight from hell who was working closely with the devil. He also repeatedly insulted the police and questioned their competency, while assuring the people of New Orleans that he could be much worse if he wanted to be. However, one of the most bizarre parts of this letter was when the Axeman professed his love of jazz: “Now, to be exact, at 12:15 o’clock (Earthly time) on next Tuesday night, I am going to pass over New Orleans. In my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little proposition to the people. Here it is: I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions, that every person shall be spared in whose house a jazz band is in full swing at the time I just mentioned. If everyone has a jazz band going, well then, so much better for the people.” ​     The Tuesday to which the letter referred was March 19, 1919, and, sure enough, the city of New Orleans was alive with music that night. People crowded together in their homes to listen to jazz records, and those who did not have record players flocked to clubs and bars. There were no attacks that night. Although whether or not this demand was actually made by the murderer who called himself the Axeman is doubtful, it is known for a fact that New Orleans was filled with music as its citizens turned to what they were told was their saving grace.

Sources: Arceneaux, Author: Pamela D. “‘The Mysterious Axman's Jazz (Don't Scare Me Papa)".” The Historic New Orleans Collection, www.hnoc.org/mysterious-axman%E2%80%99s-jazz-don%E2%80%99t-scare-me-papa. “The Axeman of New Orleans.” Crime+Investigation UK, 28 Mar. 2019, www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/article/the-axeman-of-new-orleans. Davis, Miriam. “The Axeman of New Orleans Preyed on Italian Immigrants.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 15 Feb. 2018, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/axeman-new-orleans-preyed-italian-immigrants-180968037/. Legends of America, www.legendsofamerica.com/la-axeman/. “The Serial Killer Who Loved Jazz: The Infamous Story of the Axeman of New Orleans (1919).” Open Culture, 2018, www.openculture.com/2018/10/story-axeman-new-orleans-serial-killer-loved-jazz.html. “The Terrifying Axeman of New Orleans.” Performance by Shane Madej, and Ryan Bergara, Youtube.com, Buzzfeed Unsolved, 28 July 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrMGIqecu0Y. “The Serial Killer Who Loved Jazz: The Infamous Story of the Axeman of New Orleans (1919).” Open Culture, 2018, www.openculture.com/2018/10/story-axeman-new-orleans-serial-killer-loved-jazz.html. “The Terrifying Axeman of New Orleans.” Performance by Shane Madej, and Ryan Bergara, Youtube.com, Buzzfeed Unsolved, 28 July 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrMGIqecu0Y. Legends of America, www.legendsofamerica.com/la-axeman/. “The Axeman of New Orleans.” Crime+Investigation UK, 28 Mar. 2019, www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/article/the-axeman-of-new-orleans. Davis, Miriam. “The Axeman of New Orleans Preyed on Italian Immigrants.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 15 Feb. 2018, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/axeman-new-orleans-preyed-italian-immigrants-180968037/. Arceneaux, Author: Pamela D. “‘The Mysterious Axman's Jazz (Don't Scare Me Papa)".” The Historic New Orleans Collection, www.hnoc.org/mysterious-axman%E2%80%99s-jazz-don%E2%80%99t-scare-me-papa