Jazz
Slim Gaillard was a willful absurdist who took the swinging, light-hearted jump blues of Louis Jordan and injected a healthy dose of goofy surrealism. On LAUGHING IN RHYTHM, the definitive Gaillard collection, the singer/multi-instrumentalist leads his large band through one humorous romp after another, approximating the language of other cultures ("ArabianBoogie", "Gomen Nasai"), cross-pollinating ethnic traditions ("Mishugana Mambo"), and celebrating the glory of America's favourite snack food ("Potato Chips".) While these tracks,all culled from Gaillard's classic Verve sessions, are fullof Gaillard's unique Cab Calloway-via-Lord Buckley humor, he and his band are jazzmen first and humorists second. Consequently, LAUGHING IN RHYTHM is as pleasing to the ear as it is to the funny bone. |
