Jazz and Comedy - S01E05

A lot of people probably don’t think of jazz as something that’s all that funny, but there’s more than one way to get a laugh out of all things jazz that’s guaranteed to make you smile. We’ll talk with stand-up comic Jeff Cesario about how his former life as a jazz musician helps make him a better comedian, 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, and take a look at jazz prankster Dizzy Gillespie and other jazz stories that’ll leave you smiling.   Episode Transcript   Host: Jeff Haas Guests: Jeff Cesario, Lewis Porter   Music Bob Crosby “Big Noise from Winnetka” Cab Calloway “Twee-Twee-Tweet” Slim Gaillard “Potato Chips” George M. Cohan “You Won't Do Any Business if You Haven't Got a Band”  Josephine Baker “C’est lui” Ma Rainey “Oh Papa Blues” Bessie Smith “Sobbin’ Hearted Blues” Louis Armstrong “Cake Walking Babies from Home” Clarence Williams “Squeeze Me” Lester Young “On the Sunny Side of the Street” Dizzy Gillespie “Dizzy Atmosphere” Dizzy Gillespie “Salt Peanuts” Dizzy Gillespie “Oop Bop Sh' Bam” Dizzy Gillespie “Umbrella Man” Carla Bley “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” Louis Armstrong “Heebee Jeebies” Charles Mingus “Spur of the Moment” Fats Waller “Your Feet’s Too Big” Thelonious Monk “Bemsha Swing” Count Basie “Splanky” Cab Calloway “Everybody Eats When They Come to My House” Louis Armstrong “Cheesecake”   Original Air Date: August 6, 2012   Radio broadcast produced by Lou Blouin and Jeff Haas Radio broadcast audio engineering by Jack Conners and Brock Mormon Podcast produced by Sam Boase-Miller and Erik Saras Podcast audio remastering by Sam Boase-Miller Transcripts and show notes by Erik Saras   Theme Song: Jeff Haas Trio & Friends “Giving In”   Visit our website and join us on Facebook The New Jazz Archive radio broadcasts originally sponsored by Chateau Chantal. The New Jazz Archive receives no revenue from podcast reissues of radio broadcasts.