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Sunday May 1st, Comedian Jay Leno visits The Long Center. The longtime former Tonight Show host spoke with KMFA's John Clare about returning to Texas, cars, and previous classical musician guests. "I can't tell you such and such date, so and so was on," Leno quips. "But I can tell you it was important for me to have amazing acts on the show. The Justin Biebers of the world might bring in ratings, but the more obscure ones, classical and jazz artists, bring in fans, because your audience knows you will do something different."

While he may be best known for his decades-long tenure behind the Tonight Show desk, Jay Leno began as one of the most incisive comedy voices of the ’70s and ’80s – often opening for musicians like Miles Davis, Buddy Rich, and B.B. King. "Jazz and Classical music take more concentration, and the audiences really listen!"

Hear the complete interview with Jay Leno above by clicking the orange "Listen" button.

 

See Austin violinist Anne-Akiko Meyers on her Tonight Show debut in July 1981:


Photo Credits:

Paul Drinkwater | NBC/NBCU Photo Bank