*A lighter note in my jazz series!*

The affectionate “Jazz Club” spoofs from The fast show are collected here:

A regular item over six years in the 90s, the series (scripted by Charlie Higson) is recalled in a 2016 article by presenter John Thomson—a genuine jazz aficionado and drummer. Alongside the smugly cool persona of the jazz pundit, the earnest critical vocabulary, the TV set, the language of jazz filming, and the well-observed costumes (“Buddy Rich rocked the polo-neck look”), the musical parodies are impressive—

not that we ever had any trouble getting musicians to appear. In my experience, musicians have a much better sense of humour than many comedians. We’d use session musicians who were all incredibly good—they had to be, because some of the music Phil Pope wrote for the sketches was really tough.

They’re augmented by other Fast show regulars, like Paul Whitehouse (on fiddle at 5.49, channelling Nigel Kennedy!), and the homage to John Cage that follows.

In his article Thomson praises Stanley Clarke’s album School days, and he offers a playlist, based on jazz funk.

In vino veritas, or rather Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery. For more irreverence, see my spoof on Indian raga, and this story about the Matthew Passion (with a bonus of Always look on the bright side of life). For musos’ humour, click here.