May 23rd, 2017

In French, a jam session of improvisational music is called un boeuf (an ox). 'To jam' translates to faire un boeuf (do an ox). Why so? In the early 1900s a cabaret-bar in the 8$^{th}$ arrondissement of Paris played host to some now-famous musicians. These included Les Six - six young composers whose works rejected much of what was popular at the time. Them and others would assemble at the restaurant and practice together late into the night. So where did the ox come into it? Well, the name of the cabaret-bar was Le Boeuf sur le Toit (The Ox on the Roof).

Bonus:

Le Boeuf sur le Toit, like any old Parisian establishment, is seeped in history. Its renown is not simply musical - it may have (to exaggerate a bit) started the 2$^{nd}$ World War. On November 8$^{th}$, 1938, a 19 year old Jew by the name of Herschel Grynszpan assassinated German diplomat Ernst vom Rath. The event infuriated the Nazi party, and was the catalyst for Kristallnacht (Crystal Night) on November 9$^{th}$, in which antisemitic violence and vandalism erupted in Germany, and the Holocaust effectively began. Coming back to Le Boeuf sur le Toit, the cabaret-bar, in addition to a well-known music venue, was also known within the community to be a popular spot for gay men. Shortly after the assassination rumours began to circulate that Herschel and Ernst had been involved in a homosexual encounter at Le Boeuf sur le Toit, and that the November 8$^{th}$ killing was not political, but a Crime of Passion. Although possible - and despite the allure of a dramatic story of hidden love - recent evidence suggests this is most likely not the case. Herschel stood to benefit from making the shooting apolitical, as crimes of passion were less severely punished in France, hence explaining how the rumours may have promulgated.

Bonus 2:

Like Herschel's precise relationship with Ernst, his ultimate fate has also been lost to history. He was alive as late as 1942, four years after committing his crime. The Germans were perhaps keeping him alive so that he could eventually be tried for the shooting. After 1942 there does not seem to be any mention of him, suggesting he may have died of sickness in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he was purportedly held. Yet in 2016 a photo was discovered, dated to 1946, which appears to show Herschel alive. If the man in the photo truly is Herschel it begs two enormous new questions: How did he survive the war, and what became of him after?

-E