Ranky Tanky


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“Gullah” comes from West African language and means “a people blessed by God.” “Ranky Tanky” translates loosely as “Work It,” or “Get Funky!” In this spirit this Charleston, SC based quintet performs timeless music of Gullah culture born in the southeastern Sea Island region of the United States. From playful ...

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Publicist
Ron Kadish
812 339 1195 x 202

Current News

  • 07/18/201710/06/2017

Ranky Tanky (the loose equivalent of “Get Funky!”) draws on these lineages on their debut album Ranky Tanky (release date: October 6, 2017)

Improvising Tradition: Charleston’s Ranky Tanky Gets Funky with Gullah Songs and Ways

When trumpeter and vocalist Charlton Singleton heard “Watch That Star,” he knew it well. It shared a few verses with his grandfather’s song, a song the elder had received after “seeking”, a key moment in a young Gullah person’s spiritual development.

“The method of seeking when he was growing up was to go out into the woods and seek the Lord while trying to be...

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News

12/01/2017, New York, NY, Lincoln Center ED, TBD
07/18/201712/01/2017, Ranky Tanky Fri 12/1 @TBD Lincoln Center ED New York, NY
Event
12/01/2017
Event
12/01/2017
Event Notes
Private School Concerts for Lincoln Center Education
Ticket URL
http://www.lincolncenter.org/music
Ticket Phone
+1 212 721-6500
Ticket Price(s)
TBD
Venue Zip
10023
Venue City, State
New York, NY
Venue St. Address
10 Lincoln Center Plaza
Venue
Lincoln Center ED
Concert Start Time
TBD
Ranky Tanky sprang from close musical friendships between Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, bassist Kevin Hamilton, and Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin Baxter, who all attended music school together more than 20 years ago. MORE» More»

Improvising Tradition: Charleston’s Ranky Tanky Gets Funky with Gullah Songs and Ways

When trumpeter and vocalist Charlton Singleton heard “Watch That Star,” he knew it well. It shared a few verses with his grandfather’s song, a song the elder had received after “seeking”, a key moment in a young Gullah person’s spiritual development.

“The method of seeking when he was growing up was to go out into the woods and seek the Lord while trying to be with the creator, be one with the heavens,” recounts Singleton. The process often ended with a person finding a song that became their own.  A song they would go on to “raise up” at every Sunday service, and a song that the entire community would associate with that person alone.

These songs and practices are part of the Gullah tradition, an African-American community which maintained strong African elements in language, music, and lifeways from the Carolinas to Florida. Charleston, SC’s Ranky Tanky (the loose equivalent of “Get Funky!”) draws on these lineages on their debut album Ranky Tanky (release date: October 6, 2017), the ring shouts,, praise songs, games, and nature tales,, approaching them with serious jazz chops and deeply-rooted heart.

“These are songs often createdon the spot, at play or in church,” explains Singleton. They sometimes become part of a person’s contribution to worship, to be passed down to a family member with time. This direct transmission kept the music alive and ever shifting.

Gullah traditions have seeped into American popular culture, from Brer Rabbit to children’s hand games to “Kumbayah” (Gullah for “come by here”). Many of the songs Ranky Tanky plays will feel like old friends to many listeners--though these friends have come dressed to the nines, ready to shake things up. (“O Death,” “Go to Sleep”)

Ranky Tanky sprang from close musical friendships between Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, bassist Kevin Hamilton, and Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin Baxter, who all attended music school together more than 20 years ago. They joke that they first came together to help Ross impress girls, but they eventually formed a jazz quartet. They gigged for a few years, before Ross moved to New York. The foursome kept in touch, however, and played together as often as they could. Singleton, Baxter, and Hamilton established themselves as formidable jazz players, educators, bandleaders, and composers in Charleston.

Ross’ exploration of music from other parts of the world, most notably Brazil, led him to consider his own roots and investigate the music of his home state of South Carolina. Back in Charleston, he talked to his former bandmates. They were skeptical at first--“I thought everyone knew about this stuff,” remarks Hamilton--they started to work on some Gullah songs, arranging them in a way that kept the spirit but sounded totally new.

They invited singer Quiana Parler (whose American Idol appearance won her a spot in Clay Aiken’s touring ensemble) to join them, and Ranky Tanky was born.

“When I write songs for jazz gigs, I’d have melody and the chords in my mind, but I also knew that I wanted Quentin to play it. I’d leave it to him to come up with a rhythmic foundation for it. I know Kevin, say, and I’d suggest some bass line ideas. But I leave it up to him. That’s how we collaborate,” notes Singleton. “We start with the songs and games, but it’s our personality that helps drive the arrangement.”

Improvisation plays a central role in the band’s arrangements, too, though it unfolds according to a unique set of rules and understandings. “Improvisation is a tool, not a departure. It’s entrenched. It depends on what we need to get across,” Baxter says. “And it’s not just instrumental; Quiana will sing a phrase over and over. When there's a message being communicated, a spirit being conveyed, that’s key to cultural trance music like this music. These are rhythms for people to shout and praise on. It’s about how deep you want to get into it. It’s not about novelty or harmonic substitutions. You stay with the folk of it, and that gets you back into earlier improvisational skill sets.”

The conversation between voice and drums (“Been in the Storm”), between calling and responding vocal chorus and instrumental ensemble (“Knee Bone”), take the structures and approaches many of the band’s players absorbed from childhood and spins them into striking contemporary pieces.  

There are resonances with other deeply Afro-diasporic traditions (think zydeco), with old-school gospel, with the guitar-centered popular music of Mali, Senegal, and Ghana. “Knee Bone,” for example, demonstrates a direct link to ancient West African religious beliefs that rigidity is next to death and one must keep the body moving to feel alive. The playing and singing can get down and dirty, but it’s always guided by a delicacy of feeling, of commitment to something greater. (“Got to Move”)

“The way I approach these songs, it’s all about what I feel in the moment. I’m from the country, I was introduced to Gullah language and culture through my son’s father. I had no idea what he was singing when I first met him, 16 years ago,” reflects Parler with a laugh. “Our connection to the songs’ spiritual aspect is through church in many cases. So when I approach these songs, I take a spiritual approach. It’s all about feeling for me.”

 “We are a leaderless group and a musical family. There is a constant give and a take, giving each other shit, and knowing it’s all in love,” muses Ross. “At the core is something real, and a process that filters truth. Most members of this band were born Gullah, and I’m an adopted son, digging deeper with a book. Our different perspectives give us an opportunity to find mutual understanding. We just laugh through the process.” That laughter and close connection is palpable on Ranky Tanky and whenever the band gets on stage.

Event
12/01/2017

12/01/2017, Bethlehem, PA, Zoellner Arts Center, 7:00 PM
07/18/201712/01/2017, Ranky Tanky Fri 12/1 @ 7pm Zoellner Arts Center Bethlehem, PA
Event
12/01/2017
Event
12/01/2017
Ticket URL
http://zoellner.cas2.lehigh.edu/box-office
Ticket Phone
+1 610 758-2787
Ticket Price(s)
TBD
Venue Zip
18015
Venue City, State
Bethlehem, PA
Venue St. Address
420 E Packer Ave
Venue
Zoellner Arts Center
Concert Start Time
7:00 PM
Ranky Tanky sprang from close musical friendships between Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, bassist Kevin Hamilton, and Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin Baxter, who all attended music school together more than 20 years ago. MORE» More»

Improvising Tradition: Charleston’s Ranky Tanky Gets Funky with Gullah Songs and Ways

When trumpeter and vocalist Charlton Singleton heard “Watch That Star,” he knew it well. It shared a few verses with his grandfather’s song, a song the elder had received after “seeking”, a key moment in a young Gullah person’s spiritual development.

“The method of seeking when he was growing up was to go out into the woods and seek the Lord while trying to be with the creator, be one with the heavens,” recounts Singleton. The process often ended with a person finding a song that became their own.  A song they would go on to “raise up” at every Sunday service, and a song that the entire community would associate with that person alone.

These songs and practices are part of the Gullah tradition, an African-American community which maintained strong African elements in language, music, and lifeways from the Carolinas to Florida. Charleston, SC’s Ranky Tanky (the loose equivalent of “Get Funky!”) draws on these lineages on their debut album Ranky Tanky (release date: October 6, 2017), the ring shouts,, praise songs, games, and nature tales,, approaching them with serious jazz chops and deeply-rooted heart.

“These are songs often createdon the spot, at play or in church,” explains Singleton. They sometimes become part of a person’s contribution to worship, to be passed down to a family member with time. This direct transmission kept the music alive and ever shifting.

Gullah traditions have seeped into American popular culture, from Brer Rabbit to children’s hand games to “Kumbayah” (Gullah for “come by here”). Many of the songs Ranky Tanky plays will feel like old friends to many listeners--though these friends have come dressed to the nines, ready to shake things up. (“O Death,” “Go to Sleep”)

Ranky Tanky sprang from close musical friendships between Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, bassist Kevin Hamilton, and Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin Baxter, who all attended music school together more than 20 years ago. They joke that they first came together to help Ross impress girls, but they eventually formed a jazz quartet. They gigged for a few years, before Ross moved to New York. The foursome kept in touch, however, and played together as often as they could. Singleton, Baxter, and Hamilton established themselves as formidable jazz players, educators, bandleaders, and composers in Charleston.

Ross’ exploration of music from other parts of the world, most notably Brazil, led him to consider his own roots and investigate the music of his home state of South Carolina. Back in Charleston, he talked to his former bandmates. They were skeptical at first--“I thought everyone knew about this stuff,” remarks Hamilton--they started to work on some Gullah songs, arranging them in a way that kept the spirit but sounded totally new.

They invited singer Quiana Parler (whose American Idol appearance won her a spot in Clay Aiken’s touring ensemble) to join them, and Ranky Tanky was born.

“When I write songs for jazz gigs, I’d have melody and the chords in my mind, but I also knew that I wanted Quentin to play it. I’d leave it to him to come up with a rhythmic foundation for it. I know Kevin, say, and I’d suggest some bass line ideas. But I leave it up to him. That’s how we collaborate,” notes Singleton. “We start with the songs and games, but it’s our personality that helps drive the arrangement.”

Improvisation plays a central role in the band’s arrangements, too, though it unfolds according to a unique set of rules and understandings. “Improvisation is a tool, not a departure. It’s entrenched. It depends on what we need to get across,” Baxter says. “And it’s not just instrumental; Quiana will sing a phrase over and over. When there's a message being communicated, a spirit being conveyed, that’s key to cultural trance music like this music. These are rhythms for people to shout and praise on. It’s about how deep you want to get into it. It’s not about novelty or harmonic substitutions. You stay with the folk of it, and that gets you back into earlier improvisational skill sets.”

The conversation between voice and drums (“Been in the Storm”), between calling and responding vocal chorus and instrumental ensemble (“Knee Bone”), take the structures and approaches many of the band’s players absorbed from childhood and spins them into striking contemporary pieces.  

There are resonances with other deeply Afro-diasporic traditions (think zydeco), with old-school gospel, with the guitar-centered popular music of Mali, Senegal, and Ghana. “Knee Bone,” for example, demonstrates a direct link to ancient West African religious beliefs that rigidity is next to death and one must keep the body moving to feel alive. The playing and singing can get down and dirty, but it’s always guided by a delicacy of feeling, of commitment to something greater. (“Got to Move”)

“The way I approach these songs, it’s all about what I feel in the moment. I’m from the country, I was introduced to Gullah language and culture through my son’s father. I had no idea what he was singing when I first met him, 16 years ago,” reflects Parler with a laugh. “Our connection to the songs’ spiritual aspect is through church in many cases. So when I approach these songs, I take a spiritual approach. It’s all about feeling for me.”

 “We are a leaderless group and a musical family. There is a constant give and a take, giving each other shit, and knowing it’s all in love,” muses Ross. “At the core is something real, and a process that filters truth. Most members of this band were born Gullah, and I’m an adopted son, digging deeper with a book. Our different perspectives give us an opportunity to find mutual understanding. We just laugh through the process.” That laughter and close connection is palpable on Ranky Tanky and whenever the band gets on stage.

Event
12/01/2017

11/30/2017, New York, NY, Lincoln Center ED, TBD
07/18/201711/30/2017, Ranky Tanky Thu 11/30 @TBD Lincoln Center ED New York, NY
Event
11/30/2017
Event
11/30/2017
Event Notes
Private School Concerts for Lincoln Center Education
Ticket URL
http://www.lincolncenter.org/music
Ticket Phone
+1 212 721-6500
Ticket Price(s)
TBD
Venue Zip
10023
Venue City, State
New York, NY
Venue St. Address
10 Lincoln Center Plaza
Venue
Lincoln Center ED
Concert Start Time
TBD
Ranky Tanky sprang from close musical friendships between Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, bassist Kevin Hamilton, and Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin Baxter, who all attended music school together more than 20 years ago. MORE» More»

Improvising Tradition: Charleston’s Ranky Tanky Gets Funky with Gullah Songs and Ways

When trumpeter and vocalist Charlton Singleton heard “Watch That Star,” he knew it well. It shared a few verses with his grandfather’s song, a song the elder had received after “seeking”, a key moment in a young Gullah person’s spiritual development.

“The method of seeking when he was growing up was to go out into the woods and seek the Lord while trying to be with the creator, be one with the heavens,” recounts Singleton. The process often ended with a person finding a song that became their own.  A song they would go on to “raise up” at every Sunday service, and a song that the entire community would associate with that person alone.

These songs and practices are part of the Gullah tradition, an African-American community which maintained strong African elements in language, music, and lifeways from the Carolinas to Florida. Charleston, SC’s Ranky Tanky (the loose equivalent of “Get Funky!”) draws on these lineages on their debut album Ranky Tanky (release date: October 6, 2017), the ring shouts,, praise songs, games, and nature tales,, approaching them with serious jazz chops and deeply-rooted heart.

“These are songs often createdon the spot, at play or in church,” explains Singleton. They sometimes become part of a person’s contribution to worship, to be passed down to a family member with time. This direct transmission kept the music alive and ever shifting.

Gullah traditions have seeped into American popular culture, from Brer Rabbit to children’s hand games to “Kumbayah” (Gullah for “come by here”). Many of the songs Ranky Tanky plays will feel like old friends to many listeners--though these friends have come dressed to the nines, ready to shake things up. (“O Death,” “Go to Sleep”)

Ranky Tanky sprang from close musical friendships between Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, bassist Kevin Hamilton, and Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin Baxter, who all attended music school together more than 20 years ago. They joke that they first came together to help Ross impress girls, but they eventually formed a jazz quartet. They gigged for a few years, before Ross moved to New York. The foursome kept in touch, however, and played together as often as they could. Singleton, Baxter, and Hamilton established themselves as formidable jazz players, educators, bandleaders, and composers in Charleston.

Ross’ exploration of music from other parts of the world, most notably Brazil, led him to consider his own roots and investigate the music of his home state of South Carolina. Back in Charleston, he talked to his former bandmates. They were skeptical at first--“I thought everyone knew about this stuff,” remarks Hamilton--they started to work on some Gullah songs, arranging them in a way that kept the spirit but sounded totally new.

They invited singer Quiana Parler (whose American Idol appearance won her a spot in Clay Aiken’s touring ensemble) to join them, and Ranky Tanky was born.

“When I write songs for jazz gigs, I’d have melody and the chords in my mind, but I also knew that I wanted Quentin to play it. I’d leave it to him to come up with a rhythmic foundation for it. I know Kevin, say, and I’d suggest some bass line ideas. But I leave it up to him. That’s how we collaborate,” notes Singleton. “We start with the songs and games, but it’s our personality that helps drive the arrangement.”

Improvisation plays a central role in the band’s arrangements, too, though it unfolds according to a unique set of rules and understandings. “Improvisation is a tool, not a departure. It’s entrenched. It depends on what we need to get across,” Baxter says. “And it’s not just instrumental; Quiana will sing a phrase over and over. When there's a message being communicated, a spirit being conveyed, that’s key to cultural trance music like this music. These are rhythms for people to shout and praise on. It’s about how deep you want to get into it. It’s not about novelty or harmonic substitutions. You stay with the folk of it, and that gets you back into earlier improvisational skill sets.”

The conversation between voice and drums (“Been in the Storm”), between calling and responding vocal chorus and instrumental ensemble (“Knee Bone”), take the structures and approaches many of the band’s players absorbed from childhood and spins them into striking contemporary pieces.  

There are resonances with other deeply Afro-diasporic traditions (think zydeco), with old-school gospel, with the guitar-centered popular music of Mali, Senegal, and Ghana. “Knee Bone,” for example, demonstrates a direct link to ancient West African religious beliefs that rigidity is next to death and one must keep the body moving to feel alive. The playing and singing can get down and dirty, but it’s always guided by a delicacy of feeling, of commitment to something greater. (“Got to Move”)

“The way I approach these songs, it’s all about what I feel in the moment. I’m from the country, I was introduced to Gullah language and culture through my son’s father. I had no idea what he was singing when I first met him, 16 years ago,” reflects Parler with a laugh. “Our connection to the songs’ spiritual aspect is through church in many cases. So when I approach these songs, I take a spiritual approach. It’s all about feeling for me.”

 “We are a leaderless group and a musical family. There is a constant give and a take, giving each other shit, and knowing it’s all in love,” muses Ross. “At the core is something real, and a process that filters truth. Most members of this band were born Gullah, and I’m an adopted son, digging deeper with a book. Our different perspectives give us an opportunity to find mutual understanding. We just laugh through the process.” That laughter and close connection is palpable on Ranky Tanky and whenever the band gets on stage.

Event
11/30/2017

11/29/2017, New York, NY, Lincoln Center ED, TBD
07/18/201711/29/2017, Ranky Tanky Wed 11/29 @TBD Lincoln Center ED New York, NY
Event
11/29/2017
Event
11/29/2017
Event Notes
Private School Concerts for Lincoln Center Education
Ticket URL
http://www.lincolncenter.org/music
Ticket Phone
+1 212 721-6500
Ticket Price(s)
TBD
Venue Zip
10023
Venue City, State
New York, NY
Venue St. Address
10 Lincoln Center Plaza
Venue
Lincoln Center ED
Concert Start Time
TBD
Ranky Tanky sprang from close musical friendships between Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, bassist Kevin Hamilton, and Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin Baxter, who all attended music school together more than 20 years ago. MORE» More»

Improvising Tradition: Charleston’s Ranky Tanky Gets Funky with Gullah Songs and Ways

When trumpeter and vocalist Charlton Singleton heard “Watch That Star,” he knew it well. It shared a few verses with his grandfather’s song, a song the elder had received after “seeking”, a key moment in a young Gullah person’s spiritual development.

“The method of seeking when he was growing up was to go out into the woods and seek the Lord while trying to be with the creator, be one with the heavens,” recounts Singleton. The process often ended with a person finding a song that became their own.  A song they would go on to “raise up” at every Sunday service, and a song that the entire community would associate with that person alone.

These songs and practices are part of the Gullah tradition, an African-American community which maintained strong African elements in language, music, and lifeways from the Carolinas to Florida. Charleston, SC’s Ranky Tanky (the loose equivalent of “Get Funky!”) draws on these lineages on their debut album Ranky Tanky (release date: October 6, 2017), the ring shouts,, praise songs, games, and nature tales,, approaching them with serious jazz chops and deeply-rooted heart.

“These are songs often createdon the spot, at play or in church,” explains Singleton. They sometimes become part of a person’s contribution to worship, to be passed down to a family member with time. This direct transmission kept the music alive and ever shifting.

Gullah traditions have seeped into American popular culture, from Brer Rabbit to children’s hand games to “Kumbayah” (Gullah for “come by here”). Many of the songs Ranky Tanky plays will feel like old friends to many listeners--though these friends have come dressed to the nines, ready to shake things up. (“O Death,” “Go to Sleep”)

Ranky Tanky sprang from close musical friendships between Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, bassist Kevin Hamilton, and Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin Baxter, who all attended music school together more than 20 years ago. They joke that they first came together to help Ross impress girls, but they eventually formed a jazz quartet. They gigged for a few years, before Ross moved to New York. The foursome kept in touch, however, and played together as often as they could. Singleton, Baxter, and Hamilton established themselves as formidable jazz players, educators, bandleaders, and composers in Charleston.

Ross’ exploration of music from other parts of the world, most notably Brazil, led him to consider his own roots and investigate the music of his home state of South Carolina. Back in Charleston, he talked to his former bandmates. They were skeptical at first--“I thought everyone knew about this stuff,” remarks Hamilton--they started to work on some Gullah songs, arranging them in a way that kept the spirit but sounded totally new.

They invited singer Quiana Parler (whose American Idol appearance won her a spot in Clay Aiken’s touring ensemble) to join them, and Ranky Tanky was born.

“When I write songs for jazz gigs, I’d have melody and the chords in my mind, but I also knew that I wanted Quentin to play it. I’d leave it to him to come up with a rhythmic foundation for it. I know Kevin, say, and I’d suggest some bass line ideas. But I leave it up to him. That’s how we collaborate,” notes Singleton. “We start with the songs and games, but it’s our personality that helps drive the arrangement.”

Improvisation plays a central role in the band’s arrangements, too, though it unfolds according to a unique set of rules and understandings. “Improvisation is a tool, not a departure. It’s entrenched. It depends on what we need to get across,” Baxter says. “And it’s not just instrumental; Quiana will sing a phrase over and over. When there's a message being communicated, a spirit being conveyed, that’s key to cultural trance music like this music. These are rhythms for people to shout and praise on. It’s about how deep you want to get into it. It’s not about novelty or harmonic substitutions. You stay with the folk of it, and that gets you back into earlier improvisational skill sets.”

The conversation between voice and drums (“Been in the Storm”), between calling and responding vocal chorus and instrumental ensemble (“Knee Bone”), take the structures and approaches many of the band’s players absorbed from childhood and spins them into striking contemporary pieces.  

There are resonances with other deeply Afro-diasporic traditions (think zydeco), with old-school gospel, with the guitar-centered popular music of Mali, Senegal, and Ghana. “Knee Bone,” for example, demonstrates a direct link to ancient West African religious beliefs that rigidity is next to death and one must keep the body moving to feel alive. The playing and singing can get down and dirty, but it’s always guided by a delicacy of feeling, of commitment to something greater. (“Got to Move”)

“The way I approach these songs, it’s all about what I feel in the moment. I’m from the country, I was introduced to Gullah language and culture through my son’s father. I had no idea what he was singing when I first met him, 16 years ago,” reflects Parler with a laugh. “Our connection to the songs’ spiritual aspect is through church in many cases. So when I approach these songs, I take a spiritual approach. It’s all about feeling for me.”

 “We are a leaderless group and a musical family. There is a constant give and a take, giving each other shit, and knowing it’s all in love,” muses Ross. “At the core is something real, and a process that filters truth. Most members of this band were born Gullah, and I’m an adopted son, digging deeper with a book. Our different perspectives give us an opportunity to find mutual understanding. We just laugh through the process.” That laughter and close connection is palpable on Ranky Tanky and whenever the band gets on stage.

Event
11/29/2017

11/26/2017, New Haven, CT, Robbie Collomore Music Series, 5:00 PM
07/18/201711/26/2017, Ranky Tanky Sun 11/26 @ 5pm Robbie Collomore Music Series Chester, CT
Event
11/26/2017
Event
11/26/2017
Event Notes
All Ages
Ticket URL
http://collomoreconcerts.org/ranky-tanky/
Ticket Phone
+1 860 526-5162
Ticket Price(s)
28 USD
Venue Zip
06412
Venue City, State
Chester, CT
Venue St. Address
1 Liberty St.
Venue
Robbie Collomore Music Series
Concert Start Time
5:00 PM
Ranky Tanky sprang from close musical friendships between Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, bassist Kevin Hamilton, and Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin Baxter, who all attended music school together more than 20 years ago. MORE» More»

Improvising Tradition: Charleston’s Ranky Tanky Gets Funky with Gullah Songs and Ways

When trumpeter and vocalist Charlton Singleton heard “Watch That Star,” he knew it well. It shared a few verses with his grandfather’s song, a song the elder had received after “seeking”, a key moment in a young Gullah person’s spiritual development.

“The method of seeking when he was growing up was to go out into the woods and seek the Lord while trying to be with the creator, be one with the heavens,” recounts Singleton. The process often ended with a person finding a song that became their own.  A song they would go on to “raise up” at every Sunday service, and a song that the entire community would associate with that person alone.

These songs and practices are part of the Gullah tradition, an African-American community which maintained strong African elements in language, music, and lifeways from the Carolinas to Florida. Charleston, SC’s Ranky Tanky (the loose equivalent of “Get Funky!”) draws on these lineages on their debut album Ranky Tanky (release date: October 6, 2017), the ring shouts,, praise songs, games, and nature tales,, approaching them with serious jazz chops and deeply-rooted heart.

“These are songs often createdon the spot, at play or in church,” explains Singleton. They sometimes become part of a person’s contribution to worship, to be passed down to a family member with time. This direct transmission kept the music alive and ever shifting.

Gullah traditions have seeped into American popular culture, from Brer Rabbit to children’s hand games to “Kumbayah” (Gullah for “come by here”). Many of the songs Ranky Tanky plays will feel like old friends to many listeners--though these friends have come dressed to the nines, ready to shake things up. (“O Death,” “Go to Sleep”)

Ranky Tanky sprang from close musical friendships between Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, bassist Kevin Hamilton, and Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin Baxter, who all attended music school together more than 20 years ago. They joke that they first came together to help Ross impress girls, but they eventually formed a jazz quartet. They gigged for a few years, before Ross moved to New York. The foursome kept in touch, however, and played together as often as they could. Singleton, Baxter, and Hamilton established themselves as formidable jazz players, educators, bandleaders, and composers in Charleston.

Ross’ exploration of music from other parts of the world, most notably Brazil, led him to consider his own roots and investigate the music of his home state of South Carolina. Back in Charleston, he talked to his former bandmates. They were skeptical at first--“I thought everyone knew about this stuff,” remarks Hamilton--they started to work on some Gullah songs, arranging them in a way that kept the spirit but sounded totally new.

They invited singer Quiana Parler (whose American Idol appearance won her a spot in Clay Aiken’s touring ensemble) to join them, and Ranky Tanky was born.

“When I write songs for jazz gigs, I’d have melody and the chords in my mind, but I also knew that I wanted Quentin to play it. I’d leave it to him to come up with a rhythmic foundation for it. I know Kevin, say, and I’d suggest some bass line ideas. But I leave it up to him. That’s how we collaborate,” notes Singleton. “We start with the songs and games, but it’s our personality that helps drive the arrangement.”

Improvisation plays a central role in the band’s arrangements, too, though it unfolds according to a unique set of rules and understandings. “Improvisation is a tool, not a departure. It’s entrenched. It depends on what we need to get across,” Baxter says. “And it’s not just instrumental; Quiana will sing a phrase over and over. When there's a message being communicated, a spirit being conveyed, that’s key to cultural trance music like this music. These are rhythms for people to shout and praise on. It’s about how deep you want to get into it. It’s not about novelty or harmonic substitutions. You stay with the folk of it, and that gets you back into earlier improvisational skill sets.”

The conversation between voice and drums (“Been in the Storm”), between calling and responding vocal chorus and instrumental ensemble (“Knee Bone”), take the structures and approaches many of the band’s players absorbed from childhood and spins them into striking contemporary pieces.  

There are resonances with other deeply Afro-diasporic traditions (think zydeco), with old-school gospel, with the guitar-centered popular music of Mali, Senegal, and Ghana. “Knee Bone,” for example, demonstrates a direct link to ancient West African religious beliefs that rigidity is next to death and one must keep the body moving to feel alive. The playing and singing can get down and dirty, but it’s always guided by a delicacy of feeling, of commitment to something greater. (“Got to Move”)

“The way I approach these songs, it’s all about what I feel in the moment. I’m from the country, I was introduced to Gullah language and culture through my son’s father. I had no idea what he was singing when I first met him, 16 years ago,” reflects Parler with a laugh. “Our connection to the songs’ spiritual aspect is through church in many cases. So when I approach these songs, I take a spiritual approach. It’s all about feeling for me.”

 “We are a leaderless group and a musical family. There is a constant give and a take, giving each other shit, and knowing it’s all in love,” muses Ross. “At the core is something real, and a process that filters truth. Most members of this band were born Gullah, and I’m an adopted son, digging deeper with a book. Our different perspectives give us an opportunity to find mutual understanding. We just laugh through the process.” That laughter and close connection is palpable on Ranky Tanky and whenever the band gets on stage.

Event
11/26/2017