A Penchant. . .

I've always had a penchant for humor in music.  It doesn't always have to be in-your-face silly (not that I'm against THAT!), but for me, humor makes everything, especially music, more real, more fallible, more entertaining, more universal and maybe even more palatable.  And instrumental music can contain just as much humor as lyrics.

Laughter always attracted me as a child, whether it be an adult with a wry grin that does magic tricks, Jerry Lewis mugging for a crowd in ape-fashion or  the outrageous puns and sight gags on old television programs like 'Green Acres.'  That was always my preference when it was up to me.

Musically, I always searched for the novelty songs (mostly by [Noel] Paul Stookey) when I purchased a new Peter, Paul and Mary LP.  I discovered Spike Jones in old movies on television.  Louis Prima could always swing, croon and entertain with a twinkle in his eye and laughter in the music.  Later it was Frank Zappa (who also named Spike Jones as an influence), Jim Stafford (more subtle than Spike) and even Fishbone.

Then there is the humor that is unspoken but still ever present in the music of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Dexter Gordon (constantly quoting pop, children or seasonal songs in solos), Roland Kirk, Eric Dolphy laughed much in his leaping intervals and birdsong impersonations, Dave Frishberg (subtle, dry and sophisticated lyrics), Cannonball Adderley, Sun Ra and even David Murray.  I love it ALL.

(Thinking of this song today was the seed for my reflection on humor. . .) 

What do you think?
Tell me at
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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)

My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
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Little Gnats . . .

About the time of pre-adolescence, Benjamin acquired a habit of visiting his parents' bedroom before he went to sleep, milking the opportunity to put off retiring as long as possible.  It was always a light-hearted endeavor with the child purposely being as outrageous as possible by making frivolous conversation from suggestion of a 'sleepover' in his parents' bed to identifying some imaginary insect in some hidden corner of the room.  The parents, as a result of these nightly encounters, took to good-naturedly calling little Benjamin "the gnat", implying the persistence of the tiny flying annoyance.  "Time for bed, little gnat," they would say.

Years later, Benjamin now a fine, strapping young man, developed a not-unusual love of the game of baseball and enjoyed few things more than watching the games of the local professional franchise on television when unable to enjoy them out with friends or up-clos-and-personal-at-the-ballpark.  His mother, who no one is really certain whether she is a real fan or if she is exacting a form of revenge, has also taken to enjoying baseball games on television, likewise for lack of alternative viewing opportunities.  When the two are strategically positioned beside one another on a couch, Ben's Mom has a greater tendency to express an emotional reaction to a successful, as well as a disastrous one, play during the games.  Benjamin, on the other hand reserves his enthusiasm for only select positive or negative developments, and frequently offers a SHUSHHHHHH or some other reprimand to his mother during or after her not infrequent outbursts.

During a recent plea to his father to otherwise occupy his mother in hopes of securing an opportunity to enjoy his baseball game alone, found himself referring to his Mom as a . . .

GNAT!!

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html 

OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)

My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet