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Charlton Singleton

A native of Awendaw, SC, Charlton Singleton began his musical studies at the age of three on the piano. He would then go on to study the organ, violin, cello, and the trumpet throughout elementary, middle and high school. In 1994, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from South Carolina State University. Since that time, he has taught music at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, as well as being an adjunct faculty member at the College of Charleston. In 2008 he co-founded and became the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Charleston Jazz Orchestra; an 18 piece jazz ensemble of some of the finest professional musicians in the Southeast and the resident big band in Charleston, SC. Mr. Singleton is also the organist and choir director at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Charleston, SC. In November of 2016 he was named the inaugural Artist in Residence at the recently renovated Gaillard Center in downtown Charleston. He remained in this position until July 2019; at that point he was named Artist in Residence Emeritus. In this position he continues to lead the Summer Youth Jazz Orchestra Camp as well as lead the “Jazz Through the Ages” assembly, which attracts a capacity crowd of students at the Gaillard Center.

As a performer, Charlton leads his own ensembles that vary in size and style. He has performed in France, Great Britain, Scotland, Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, The Netherlands, as well as many great cities throughout the United States. He is a founding member of a new ensemble called Ranky Tanky. The group is a quintet that interprets the sounds of Gullah from the Southeast Coast of the United States. In 2018 Ranky Tanky reached the top of the Billboard, iTunes, and Amazon Contemporary Jazz charts with their self-titled debut recording. In 2019 they accomplished the same feat with the release of their sophomore effort, “Good Time”, which was recently nominated for a Grammy Award.

In addition to performing, he is in demand as a speaker, clinician, composer, and arranger. He has also shared the stage with and/or worked with some of most talented entertainers in the world, including Bobby McFerrin, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, Houston Person, Darius Rucker, Fred Wesley, and Cyrus Chestnut to name a few. Outside of music and entertainment, he and his wife, MaryJo, are the proud parents of Shalamar and D’Marcus, as well as their pets…Sassy, Jango, Mojo, Kota Bear, Pumpkin, and Ginger.

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Radio & Podcasts

Ramsey Lewis, Duke Ellington & Charlton Singleton

Read "Ramsey Lewis, Duke Ellington & Charlton Singleton" reviewed by Joe Dimino


We begin the 771st Episode of Neon Jazz with South Carolina-based trumpeter Charlton Singleton with a song off his album Crossroads. From there, we hear from a legend and the headliner at Charlton's first jazz concert in Dizzy Gillespie. We also hear from some local Kansas City talent in veteran drummer Arnold Young, guitarist Alex Frank and singer Jenna Bauer. In between, we hear new music from Todd Herbert and Johnny Steele. Finally, we say good-bye to a jazz saint ...

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Live Review

Charlton Singleton At The Jazz Corner

Read "Charlton Singleton At The Jazz Corner" reviewed by Martin McFie


The Charlton Singleton Quartet The Jazz Corner Hilton Head Island, SC October 27th, 2019 It was Sunday. Charlton Singleton played the organ for the morning congregation at his church in jny: Charleston, South Carolina. Then he drove with his quartet a hundred miles south through the Carolina Lowcountry to play trumpet on the sea island of Hilton Head. His day was a parody of the musical journey of Soul, which started from ...

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Album Review

Ranky Tanky: Good Time

Read "Good Time" reviewed by Chris Mosey


Why change a winning formula? Ranky Tanky's follow-up to their hit debut album takes things further in the same vein: a heady mix of gospel and traditional Gullah songs from the Sea Islands of South Carolina, laced with original music and lyrics. The emphasis this time is on a pounding beat generated by the electric guitar of lone white man Clay Ross and the drumming of Quentin Baxter. Much of the music, especially “Pay Me My Money ...

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Album Review

Ranky Tanky: Good Time

Read "Good Time" reviewed by John Bricker


The West African phrase Ranky Tanky roughly translates to “get funky" or “work it," according to the band's website. The band earns this title with danceable blends of gospel and jazz, celebrating the Gullah culture found in their home state of South Carolina. Although Good Time delivers more infectious energy than their self-titled debut, Ranky Tanky fails to leave a lasting impression due to weak arrangements and lackluster lyrics. In 2017, Ranky Tanky's first album introduced their unique ...

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Album Review

Ranky Tanky: Ranky Tanky

Read "Ranky Tanky" reviewed by Chris Mosey


Ranky Tanky are based in Charleston, South Carolina. They specialize in jazz-and blues-influenced arrangements of the traditional music of the Gullah people, who came from West Africa as slaves in the 19th century. They were brought to South Carolina's Low Country and Sea Islands to work on plantations where their knowledge of rice cultivation could be put to good use and where high humidity and mosquitoes made life unbearable for whites and blacks from elsewhere in Africa. Best-known descendant of ...

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Album Review

Ranky Tanky: Ranky Tanky

Read "Ranky Tanky" reviewed by James Nadal


Against all odds, the Gullah tradition prevails on the Sea Islands of South Carolina's Low Country. Maintaining their West African traditions and singular way of life for generations, their direct impact on African-American music is undeniable, and continues to be a vital source of inspiration. Combining revered Gullah kinship with a jazz sensibility, Ranky Tanky accentuates the spirituality connected to the ring shouts and praise houses, proposing a modern rendition of their ancestral music. Ranky Tanky loosely translates ...

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Recording

Quentin E. Baxter & Charlton Singleton Mark Nearly 30 Years Making Music Together With Joint Albums 'Art Moves Jazz' & 'Crossroads,' Set For Aug. 12 Release By Baxter Music Enterprises

Quentin E. Baxter & Charlton Singleton Mark Nearly 30 Years Making Music Together With Joint Albums 'Art Moves Jazz' & 'Crossroads,' Set For Aug. 12 Release By Baxter Music Enterprises

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

Friends, bandmates, and fellow members of the Gullah cultural community Quentin E. Baxter and Charlton Singleton enrich their relationship yet further with the tandem August 12 release of their albums—Baxter’s Art Moves Jazz and Singleton’s Crossroads—on Baxter’s own BME/Baxter Music Enterprises. Two-fifths of the Grammy-winning Gullah music ensemble Ranky Tanky, drummer Baxter and trumpeter Singleton each also plays a prominent supporting role on the other’s record, with Baxter as the producer of both. Friends for nearly 30 years, Baxter and ...

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Influencers vol. 1

Self-produced
2022

buy

Crossroads

Baxter Music Enterprises
2022

buy

Good Time

Resilience Music Alliance
2019

buy

Ranky Tanky

Resilience Music Alliance
2018

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