Cheech and Chong Express Love for Smokin' Hot Jazz

In the more than 30 years since they started in standup comedy, Cheech and Chong have played with some of rock's biggest names, including the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. But when the recently reunited comic duo talked to Spinner for an in-depth interview, Tommy Chong admitted it was jazz that inspired his comedy. "The reason I was into jazz was that there was a little jazz club in Calgary, which was the only place open at night," Chong says. "And because I was a rock 'n' roll musician, I loved the life and I learned to love jazz."

Surprisingly, Chong found a lot of humor in the jazz world. "Every jazz musician I talked to was a comedian. They had that sense of humor; like Louis Armstrong was one," he says. "Louis Armstrong smoked reefer all his life. And that was the other similarity; all jazz musicians not only smoked dope, but they used hard drugs, too."

Aside from the shared extracurricular activities, though, the symmetry between jazz and comedy goes back to the humor. "You see, it's all about timing; when to tell a joke, how to tell a joke," Chong says. "And that's where my craft came from and Cheech's ultimately came from the same area because it's an attitude. "