Now the younger McFerrin has made his own very different "Spirityouall" (Masterworks), an album that's simultaneously playful, down-home, innovative and devotional.
A young man among young disciples, he is often playful and down-to-earth, enjoying festive occasions and bantering with crowds.
In the more playful "Up and Down," by Jacquelyn Reingold, Marin Ireland's character genially asked for my help in breaking a curious spell she was under that made it impossible for her to control her arms.
She "extinguished her cigarette by grinding it on the floor, and then — Lord — she pushed my sister, in a playful way, back down... so that she was flat on the kang and actually pulled her legs apart a little, and then bowed forward".
We found that although much public discussion about aggression has focused on extreme violence, such as school shootings, the largest proportion of young people talk about teasing that goes beyond being playful; about cruel put-downs and gossip; and about rejections as very real aggression to them.
But Scalia has a playful way of putting down those who believe the constitution is meant to protect minorities.
The moral intensity of Shawn's work has always been bracing, and in "Grasses" a playful, mythological imagination bears down as well.
Perhaps it's due to the show's roots in joint improvisation, but there's a wonderfully relaxed, playful quality to Double Down Hearts.
I don't doubt that Foer is resourceful enough to take us all the way through the alphabet with amiable freaks, but was grateful that he didn't; playful inventiveness can come down with a case of the cutes.
While some of the creatures appear playful, others are weighed down and seem trapped, creating a milieu of emotions that obscure the thresholds between worlds.
On a recent shopping trip, Mr. Gilad found a number of pieces made by New York designers and companies that suited his taste for pared-down but playful products.
