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Woody Allen: Jazz Superstar
Posted by Krystal in Entertainment and Pop Culture Movies.
I occasionally wander the Internet, trolling for interesting stories and I think, today, I hit the jackpot. Woody Allen plays jazz clarinet.
I am surprised to hear that Woody Allen had interest in Jazz, let alone performing jazz in Poland. This little article made me curious as to what other celebrities enjoy their free time performing odd instruments in public. Naturally, I first thought of Bruce Willis and infatuation with blues harmonica. Then, I quickly pushed it out of my brain. Then I remembered how I watched a Biography episode about Tom Hanks on A&E a zillion years ago (you know, back when A&E showed Agatha Christie’s Poirot not Dog the Bounty Hunter) and they revealed that when Hanks was in high school he started a Kazoo club. I guess Hanks’ love for the kazoo died out.
An actor’s love for music doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to just playing an instrument. You can express it using your voice! Case in point: Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan, David Hasselhoff and Hilary Duff. Well-respected actors who also have spectacular vocal talent. I think the links for the videos that I have provided will only further prove my point.
I guess these examples show that you don’t have to be pigeon holed in a certain artistic category in Hollywood. Everyone should get a record deal or a gig playing clarinet if they wanted to, as long as it is based on talent.
Entertainment and Pop Culture, Movies |One Response to “Woody Allen: Jazz Superstar”
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Woody Allen has been playing the clarinet for more than 25 years– they did a documentary on it called Wild Man Blues. I’m not the biggest Allen fan, but I wouldn’t put him in the same category as Lohan or Hasselhoff… I don’t think that he’s doing it to exploit his fame, and I doubt there’s much money in clarinet playing. And honestly, most of these stars are raised acting and singing, anyway– true, some of them decide once they get to Hollywood that they want to “cross over,” but that’s really been since been the beginning of time.
Many famous singers starred in movies (Deanna Durbin, from the 30s, Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, etc.), and many movie stars have become successful singers (love them or hate them, Jared Leto’s band, 30 Seconds to Mars has been together for more than 15 years; Jennifer Lopez has been able to successfully cross over, and even Minnie Driver was signed to a record label before starring in Circle of Friends).
I agree that there a lot of stars who use their status to try to profit in other entertainment areas, and many should not (because they’re just not good…), but I don’t think that discredits all of them. And I don’t think that Woody Allen is an example of this abuse of celebrity rite; even though he’s known as a director/actor and public figure, he should still be able to pursue his other interests. And in Wild Man Blues, he clearly says that he’s not looking for special recognition; he’s not even saying he’s good. He’s just a person wanting to do something that he enjoys:
“I think it’s just seen as a hobby of mine: some people want to come and other don’t. Millions of people don’t have the slightest interest in this music, whether it’s played by me or anyone else.”