Cranky the Clown School Dropout
Solo saxophone circus jazz, klezmer and pathetic clown themes
Cranky just put the finishing touches on his set list for the 2017 season. This year may see nine new song, bringing the Cranky Hit List (CHL) total to 77 songs. Cranky is hedging on the actual number of nine songs making the cut, since, if past years are any indication, some of these new… Continue reading Black Coffee and other Delights
Cranky has been hard at work prepping for the coming 2015 season. The illustrious Keilwerth Straight Alto is in the shop for some much needed TLC. Some new pads and adjustments were long over due, but the well adjusted horn will be back in play by the end of April. In the meantime Cranky's back… Continue reading Cranky’s Spring Training
Many, many years before the origin of The Clown School Dropouts and the creation of Cranky. Ur-Cranky or Proto-Cranky, lets call him, discovered the early jazz trumpeter Jabbo Smith. Interestingly enough the discovery wasn't made through music but from a written story, a comic book, to be precise. The eye opening moment came from reading… Continue reading Cranky luvs Jabbo
Another Cranky inspiration. Long time member of Cranky's playlist is Everybody Stomp by the Cotton Club Orchestra (Duke Ellington). http://youtu.be/2rl6zY4Wcz4 Cranky likes songs that offer much more than appears on the surface. Sort of a, the whole is more than the sum of its parts, but inverted. The parts are more than the whole. So… Continue reading This is your Cranky on Ellington.
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,… Continue reading No hackneyed tunes
Cranky the Clown School Dropout 