Spanish Tinge
The Spanish tinge is an Afro-Latin rhythmic touch that spices up the more conventional rhythms commonly used in jazz and pop music. The phrase is a quotation from Jelly Roll Morton. In his Library of Congress recordings, after referencing the influence of his own French Creole culture in his music, he noted the Spanish presence:
What Morton called "Spanish" were the tresillo and habanera rhythms of the Cuban contradanza. Morton demonstrated the "tinge" to Alan Lomax in the 1938 Library of Congress recordings. What is known in Latin music as the habanera rhythm is also known as the congo, tango-congo, and tango.
Morton categorized his compositions in three groups: blues, stomps, and Spanish tinge, for those with habanera rhythms. Tunes with the "tinge" include "New Orleans Blues", "La Paloma", "The Crave", and "The Spanish Tinge". Morton also called attention to the habanera in "St. Louis Blues" as one of the elements in the song's success.
