[Dixielandjazz] CLOWNING AROUND on STAGE

[Janie McCue Lynch]

Jim O'Briant writes: 

"The solution to "being too serious on stage" is to enjoy what
you're doing, and to let the audience see that you enjoy it......

On the other hand, I'm not recommending a lot of "clowning
around," either. A little of that goes a long way, and unless
you're VERY good with humor, it fails easily -- that is, it comes
across as forced, or corny, or gimmicky, or just stupid. ......"

Thanks, Jim...you said it perfectly.  Letting the audience see that you
enjoy the music is FAR different than ongoing slapstick, which, IMHO,
detracts from the music.   And gets annoying and boring.  Which is why I
rarely go to see one of the most popular bands on the festival circuit
today....they are great musicians, but I don't need to see them running
around playing "spontaneous jokes" on each other in a manic manner, or
repeating the same "drunk jokes" ad nauseum.   On the other hand, I never
miss their pianist and drummer when they play with the third member of their
smaller group--because they are playing beautiful music AND seem to be
enjoying each other quite a bit!

At the recent San Diego Jazz Festival, we heard every group but
one....enjoyed all of them thoroughly, and they all seemed to be quite fine
being on stage....even towards the end, when physical exhaustion must surely
have been a factor for some. 


Janie
janie39 at socal.rr.com
janiemccuelynch at yahoo.com

"Life without music would be a mistake."  Nietzsche