> I can only guess as to why Batiste is not as active in a non-band sense on the > show. My sense is that Batiste's creative energies are mainly focused on > non-Late Show projects, which is fine with me. Whether that flexibility was a > condition for accepting the gig, or it simply evolved that way, I don't know.
Batiste has never struck me as someone whose comedy mind would really add to the show the way Paul Shaffer did. If the outside projects become big enough, I can imagine him moving on from the Late Show, in sort of a less acrimonious version of what Branford Marsalis did. > I think many people have gotten used to the notion of a late night bandleader > as a sidekick, thanks to Paul Shaffer. But I think that role is still pretty rare. > Max Weinberg was arguably a mix of Paul and Doc Severinsen (still with us at > 94), and The Roots are more like Batiste in being active outside The Tonight > Show. I don't remember whether Late Night was originally forbidden from having a sidekick as one of Carson's conditions, but I recall that one reason for hiring Paul was that he had comedy chops in addition to being a superb musician. Hosts often need someone to play off of, whether it's a sidekick like Ed McMahon or Andy Richter, a bandleader like Paul Shaffer or (post-Andy) Max Weinberg, Guillermo, or Wally the Cue Card Guy for Seth Meyers. Colbert seems to use either the audience or himself, and that's not as good. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKSNnOFMiD2VSpWFEw8cLbsHXWx0esvNFvQZc10aP0tQ%3DM_KYw%40mail.gmail.com.
