Jango Edwards
Encyclopedia
Jango Edwards is an American
clown
and entertainer who has spent most of his career in Europe, primarily in France
, Spain
, the Netherlands, and England
. His performances are mostly one-man shows in the European cabaret
tradition, in which he combines traditional clowning with countercultural and political references. A charismatic performer, Edwards achieves a strong rapport with his audiences, and has built up a cult following over three decades of touring Europe with his shows.
Edwards grew up in Detroit, where his family owned a successful landscaping business. During the late 1960s, he became immersed in radical politics, philosophy, religion, and the esoteric sciences. After three trips to Europe, he decided to give up his possessions in the U.S. and to travel to Europe to study the art of comedy and the clown. He became a busker in London
and formed traveling comedy groups there.
Beginning in 1975, he became known as one of the primary organizers and performers at the “International Festival of Fools”, an occasional city-wide festival of alternative comedy
and clown acts in Amsterdam
. Edwards gained a fan base in the Netherlands and continues to attract enthusiastic audiences to his performances there. From the 1980s, Edwards spent much of his time in France, where his style of performance was well-received. For a time he gave regular performances at a small theatre in the Pigalle district of Paris
. More recently, he has been based in Barcelona
and in Cannes
, where he collaborates with Peter Ercolano on a clown workshop.
Between 1990 and 1998 he had several appearances at an Austrian comedy TV series called Tohuwabohu which was produced by Austrian television company ORF. There he had a running gag with drinking (or better failing to drink) beer.
His name is sometimes incorrectly written as Django Edwards.
In 2004, he released a DVD
compilation of live performances: Jango Edwards: The Bust of Jango
So far he has released 4 albums (Live at the Melkweg (Milky Way records lp 1978), Clown Power (Ariola lp 1980), Live in Europe (Polydor lp 1980), Holey Moley (Silenz cd 1991) and 2 books:Jango Edwards (written English but with a cover in German) and I laugh you (Rostrum Haarlem, 1984)
The Clown Power album was a limited edition of 3000 copies, each with a different album cover.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
and entertainer who has spent most of his career in Europe, primarily in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, the Netherlands, and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His performances are mostly one-man shows in the European cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
tradition, in which he combines traditional clowning with countercultural and political references. A charismatic performer, Edwards achieves a strong rapport with his audiences, and has built up a cult following over three decades of touring Europe with his shows.
Edwards grew up in Detroit, where his family owned a successful landscaping business. During the late 1960s, he became immersed in radical politics, philosophy, religion, and the esoteric sciences. After three trips to Europe, he decided to give up his possessions in the U.S. and to travel to Europe to study the art of comedy and the clown. He became a busker in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and formed traveling comedy groups there.
Beginning in 1975, he became known as one of the primary organizers and performers at the “International Festival of Fools”, an occasional city-wide festival of alternative comedy
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
and clown acts in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. Edwards gained a fan base in the Netherlands and continues to attract enthusiastic audiences to his performances there. From the 1980s, Edwards spent much of his time in France, where his style of performance was well-received. For a time he gave regular performances at a small theatre in the Pigalle district of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. More recently, he has been based in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, where he collaborates with Peter Ercolano on a clown workshop.
Between 1990 and 1998 he had several appearances at an Austrian comedy TV series called Tohuwabohu which was produced by Austrian television company ORF. There he had a running gag with drinking (or better failing to drink) beer.
His name is sometimes incorrectly written as Django Edwards.
In 2004, he released a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
compilation of live performances: Jango Edwards: The Bust of Jango
So far he has released 4 albums (Live at the Melkweg (Milky Way records lp 1978), Clown Power (Ariola lp 1980), Live in Europe (Polydor lp 1980), Holey Moley (Silenz cd 1991) and 2 books:Jango Edwards (written English but with a cover in German) and I laugh you (Rostrum Haarlem, 1984)
The Clown Power album was a limited edition of 3000 copies, each with a different album cover.