Caption: Jazz funnyman Cab Calloway
Jazz funnyman Cab Calloway 

Jazz and Comedy

From: Jeff Haas
Series: The New Jazz Archive
Length: 59:01

Embed_button
A lot of people probably don't think of jazz as all that funny. But from the music's vaudeville roots to legendary prankster Dizzy Gillespie, there's more than one way to get a laugh out of all things jazz. Read the full description.
Playing
Jazz and Comedy
From
Jeff Haas

Cab-240px_small A lot of people probably don't think of jazz as all that funny. But there's more than one way to get a laugh out of all things jazz. In this hour, we’ll talk with stand-up comic Jeff Cesario about how his former life as a jazz musician helps make him a better comedian. And we’ll bring in our jazz historian Lewis Porter to talk about jazz’s vaudeville roots and how jazz lost its sense of humor in the 1950s. That plus a look at jazz prankster Dizzy Gillespie and plenty of  jazz guaranteed to make you smile, are all coming up in this episode of The New Jazz Archive.

Also in the The New Jazz Archive series

Caption: Duke Ellington and his orchestra

Big Bands (59:01)
From: Jeff Haas

Think of a jazz big band and it's probably the brassy sound of a '30s swing orchestra that comes to mind first. But throughout their more than 80-year history, big bands have ...
Piece image

Billie Holiday (59:00)
From: Jeff Haas

Billie Holiday has one of jazz's most bittersweet voices, and the biography to match.
Caption: Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa (59:00)
From: Jeff Haas

His music was an amalgam of classical music, jazz, R&B, doowop, poetry and—sometimes—just plain noise. And Frank Zappa the man had even more to him than that. Think you know ...
Caption: Free jazz innovator Ornette Coleman

100 Years of Jazz's Avant Garde (59:00)
From: Jeff Haas

This week on the program, we dare to go where many jazz fans dare not tread as we explore 100 years of the jazz avant garde.
Caption: Israeli saxophonist and clarinetist Anat Cohen , Credit: Osnat Rom

Jazz Abroad (59:00)
From: Jeff Haas

Jazz may be an American-grown art form, but there are few places on the globe where the music hasn't found some sort of a home. This week, we go in search of the unique ...
Caption: Philadelphia trumpeter Clifford Brown

Great Jazz Cities: Philadelphia (59:00)
From: Jeff Haas

This week on The New Jazz Archive, we're continuing our ongoing tour of America's "Great Jazz Cities" with the stories and sounds of jazz in Philadelphia.
Caption: Jazz icon Dave Brubeck

Remembering Dave Brubeck (59:00)
From: Jeff Haas

In this hour, we remember the great Dave Brubeck—from his roots growing up on a California ranch, to his smash hit 1959 recording "Time Out," to his turn to sacred music in ...
Caption: Tin Pan Alley duo Rodgers and Hart

Jazz's Great Songwriting Teams (59:00)
From: Jeff Haas

This week on the show, it's an hour with jazz's legendary songwriting teams—from Tin Pan Alley duo Rodgers and Hart, to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, to the ...
Caption: The godfather of gypsy jazz, Django Reinhardt

Gypsy Jazz (59:00)
From: Jeff Haas

Say the name Django Reinhardt and most people will probably follow that with the words "gypsy jazz." But had you said the words "gypsy jazz" to Django himself, he probably ...
Caption: Jazz poet Langston Hughes

Jazz and Literature (59:00)
From: Jeff Haas

What do Langston Hughes, the 50's Beat writers, and jazz critics all have in common? They all like to write about jazz. This week we'll take a look at that and more as we ...

Piece Description

A lot of people probably don't think of jazz as all that funny. But there's more than one way to get a laugh out of all things jazz. In this hour, we’ll talk with stand-up comic Jeff Cesario about how his former life as a jazz musician helps make him a better comedian. And we’ll bring in our jazz historian Lewis Porter to talk about jazz’s vaudeville roots and how jazz lost its sense of humor in the 1950s. That plus a look at jazz prankster Dizzy Gillespie and plenty of  jazz guaranteed to make you smile, are all coming up in this episode of The New Jazz Archive.

Musical Works

Title Artist Album Label Year Length
Potato Chips Slim Gaillard Jazz for Kids. Verve 2004 03:04
C'est Lui Josephine Baker Banana Dance. Baierle Records 2008 03:00
On the Funny Side of the Street Lester Young Greatest Hits. Roslin Records 2011 03:25
Umbrella Man Dizzy Gillespie Ultimate Dizzy Gillespie. Verve 1998 02:40
Your Feet's Too Big Fats Waller Very Best of Fats Waller. RVG Bluebird/Heritage 2000 03:05
Bemsha Swing Thelonious Monk Thelonious Monk's Greatest Hits. Columiba/Legacy 1969 04:14
Everybody Eats When They Come to My House Cab Calloway Are You Hep to the Jive?: 22 Sensational Tracks. Legacy/Columbia 1945 02:46