One of Cranky’s stipulations is to try to play songs that no one is familiar with. The archivist in him gets pleasure from reviving the old hidden treasures.
That being said there are are few more well know early jazz tunes that have found their way into Cranky’s repertoire. (Caravan, I’ve Found a New Baby, Am I Blue.)
Perhaps one the most often badly covered songs from Cranky’s era is Summertime. Cranky wouldn’t touch that one with a ten-foot pole. However, opinions are shifting after hearing Sidney Bechet’s 1939 version. This is solo saxophone (near solo) improvisation at it’s best. Bechet make this his own. Even on subsequent recordings of Summertime he doesn’t even come close to the way he makes the tune his own in this outstanding performance.
As Cranky starts to look for new material to woodshed over the winter this tune may join the ranks, that is, if Cranky can give it the Bechet treatment.
http://vimeo.com/74750774
No hackneyed tunes
Cranky the Clown School Dropout 