Minstrelry

Possibly it was a tune of West African origin or, equally likely, a piece of mock-Ethiopian minstrelry composed by a white American.

Minstrelry (making oneself up as “the other” to take the other over, to evacuate difference, to control representation) is indeed a dangerous and unethical practice.

Spearheaded by Charlie Parker, bebop, or just bop, had evolved in the 1940s, partly as an antidote to the crowd-pleasing showmanship (demeaning minstrelry, as they saw it) that was demanded in popular big band swing.