hepcat
Cool jazz devotee
A hepcat is someone hip to jazz music and its culture—a knowledgeable enthusiast, especially from the swing era of the 1930s and 40s.
The term sounds dated now, evoking zoot suits and jive talk: The hepcats crowded into the club to hear Dizzy Gillespie.
Later shortened to just *cat* in jazz slang.
Fast, complex jazz style
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- scatImprovised vocal jazz
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- jiveSwing-era dance or bunk
bop · groove · jam session · syncopation · saxophone · trumpet · vibraphone · quintet
Exaggerated 1940s ensemble
- sharpFine-edged, or astute
- dapperNeatly and stylishly dressed
- slickSmooth or craftily adept
- suaveSmoothly refined in manner
debonair · snazzy · smooth · cool · sartorial · tailored · bespoke · pomade
Harlem-born swing dance style
- jitterbugEnergetic swing-era partner dance
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- boogieRhythmic blues music
- bopQuick light punch
Charleston · cut a rug · hoofing · savoy · ballroom
Fashionable or pelvic joint
Fifties counterculture member
- bohemianArtistic nonconformist type
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
- counter-cultureMovement opposing mainstream values
underground · alternative · artistic · progressive · creative · iconoclast · coffeehouse · beret
Informal Southern music bar
- speakeasyIllicit liquor establishment
- nightclubEvening entertainment venue
- dance hallPublic venue for dancing
- after-hoursBeyond regular closing
jam session · shindig · gin joint · lounge · cabaret · Harlem
bebop
Fast, complex jazz style
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- scatImprovised vocal jazz
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
jive · bop · groove · jam session · syncopation · saxophone · trumpet · vibraphone · quintet · solo
zoot suit
Exaggerated 1940s ensemble
suave · debonair · snazzy · smooth · cool · sartorial · tailored · bespoke · pomade · fedora
lindy hop
Harlem-born swing dance style
hip
Fashionable or pelvic joint
crazy · gone · dig · cat · daddy-o · square · bread · pad · chick · scene
beatnik
Fifties counterculture member
- bohemianArtistic nonconformist type
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
counter-culture · underground · alternative · artistic · progressive · creative · iconoclast · coffeehouse · beret · goatee
juke joint
Informal Southern music bar
- speakeasyIllicit liquor establishment
- nightclubEvening entertainment venue
- dance hallPublic venue for dancing
after-hours · jam session · shindig · gin joint · lounge · cabaret · Harlem
- vintage slangbee's knees, cat's meow, copacetic, groovy, jive
- American slangbamboozle, bogus, bunkum, conniption, discombobulate
- jazzbebop, swing era, hard bop, soul jazz, cool jazz
hepcatconformist
One following accepted norms
square · organization man · company man · suit · straight-laced