Audio

Comedy production

Who doesn't like to laugh? As a young boy, I spent hours perfecting my Steve Martin impersonation. I knew every bit, every nuance. I could make every sound. Then again, I could do a spot-on Scooby Doo. Later I grew to love Bob & Ray, Dick Shawn, Pig Meat Markham, Moms Mabley, Bill Cosby, Pat Paulsen, Jonathan Winters, Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Robin Williams, David Letterman, Steven Wright, Gallagher (yes, he was once genuinely funny), Monty Python, The Goon Squad, Soap, The Not Ready For Prime Time Players, Eddie Murphy (before the gratuitous sailor banter — George Carlin does it so much better), The Simpsons, Harry Shearer, Gary Larson, Bill Watterson, Scott Adams, the Coen brothers, and there's so many more.

Fortunately, I've met many who share these passions, and several who are every bit worthy of that pantheon. And while I no longer have the burning desire to show my latest Steve Martin routine (neither does he, it seems), my intimate knowledge of ti-ti-ti- timing tim-timing enables me to tirelessly and precisely edit their inspired improvisations to reveal great comic performances. Observe:

"Jäb & Jen" by Jacott & Lehr

Carlos Jacott and John Lehr are great comedic improvisers with a tremendous gift for nuance and bizarre situations. I first saw them perform in "ED", a wildly inventive improvisational comedy troupe assembled by director Jim Dennen. "Jäb & Jen" is a fictional (?) Latvian comedy team, circa 1954, idolized by two bland and fawning public radio talk show hosts. It's a brilliant combination of childish slapstick, and dry, subtle satire of such things as over-studied fanhood, the mindless nodding affirmation of public radio hosts, and the indignity of fame's slow demise.

Carlos and John play both pairs of characters in a straight-through (as in "tongue through cheek") improvisation recorded by Charlie Seymour, of SeymourMusic, who also co-produced, and wrote the bumper music. The challenge was to transform the session into piece that sounds like a genuine NPR show (albeit from a strange alternate world). In particular, various "clips" of Jäb & Jen were made to sound like live period recordings with responsive audiences and on different qualities of media without disturbing the timing present in the original performance — Carlos and John went effortlessly back and forth between the two sets of characters without skipping a beat. Only the aural environment changes around them. The original timing is intact in the edited version. In addition, many foley sounds were added to create the illusion of an actual radio studio.

This bit is the tip of the iceberg of what these guys are capable of doing. I had a lot of fun helping Charlie bring this bit to life and in painting the world John and Carlos had so cleverly sketched. See John and Carlos speculate on life at Paladin Productions! And see excerpts from John Lehr's latest show at ComedicLectures.com! Want more Carlos? Take a look at some Jacott clips at noahbaumbach.com.

Several great bits by Jacott, Katz & Lehr

Produced in June 2001, this untitled project is a session (recorded, again, by Charlie Seymour) of a few improvisational comedy bits by Carlos, John and Lauren Katz (another "ED" alumna). The three of them had such a good time making this that one of the major challenges is editing out all the uncontrolled laughter! Other challenges include cleaning up language and cadences, and condensing the running time for possible radio broadcast. Oh, and the laughter — I've gathered all those snippets together into their own separate bit. Anyone who has ever had a sad day should hear it. It'll have you snickering in no time. Hear more at JohnLehr.com! And, again, see excerpts from John Lehr's latest show at ComedicLectures.com! And see some Carlos Jacott clips at noahbaumbach.com.