As much as I love music, and as much info as I enjoy absorbing about the medium, I have to admit that I have a weak spot—jazz. That isn't to say that I dislike the musical style, quite the contrary. One of my favorite childhood musical memories was attending a performance at the Gaillard Auditorium by the late Dizzy Gillespie. I'll admit that I paid more attention to the jazz trumpeter's cheeks, which puffed out like a bullfrog when he played his trumpet, than the actual music, but I enjoyed the show. My friend and classmate, Alex Haddad, was really into jazz back then, which we'll go ahead and admit was kind of weird for a seventh grader in 1983. Of course it seems that way then, but in reality ol' Alex was ahead of the curve—an early adapter—and had probably the most open mind at Christ Our King Stella Maris. While Dizzy was doing his thing, Alex was sitting a couple of seats down from me, snapping his fingers and nodding his head in time to the music. I mean, that cat was swingin', and I had to hand it to him for being so free in liking what he liked, and if you didn't like it, you could go pound sand.
So, like I said, I was aware of jazz. And thanks to my open-minded parents, I heard a bit growing up, but since neither Mom nor Dad was a jazz enthusiast, I grew up listening to more rock, folk, and country. Later on, as I grew more musically adventurous, I checked out the likes of Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and even more modern jazz artists like Chick Corea and Michael Brecker. I even got to see Brecker play with Paul Simon in Germany, complete with a solo on his Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI). But even as I started on a career as a music journalist, jazz was still the weak link in my chain of musical knowledge.
That's why I'm very thankful that there are folks such as Charlton Singleton in this world. I've known Charlton for nearly 30 years now. I was a year ahead of him at Wando High School, and thanks to my amazing ability to totally not understand anything math related, we sat next to one another in Mrs. Weiss's algebra class. Even back then, Charlton knew music, specifically jazz. He played in the marching band, eventually becoming drum major. He's now the artistic director and bandleader of the Charleston Jazz Orchestra (CJO).
If you haven't yet experienced the incredible shows that the CJO puts on, then, well, I could say that you're missing one of Charleston's best-kept secrets. But in all honesty, the CJO is anything but a secret anymore. As a matter of fact, so many music lovers have discovered the CJO that Singleton has had to add a second show each evening it plays at the Charleston Music Hall downtown.
"We were having a great problem of being sold out with many people complaining that they didn't get tickets," says Singleton. "If you go to any major city with jazz, like New York, Chicago, or DC, there are always two sets, sometimes three, per gig, per night. It made sense for us. We actually have people that go to dinner before the show, catch the first show, then go out and have drinks after the show. Some even come back for the second set."
The CJO will be doing its thing again this Saturday night at the Charleston Music Hall as it presents "Atomic Basie," an evening focused on the music of Count Basie. According to Singleton, Saturday's show gets its name from the title of a 1958 Count Basie Orchestra album. "The Basie band is my favorite," says Singleton. "They have a long and significant relationship with Charleston, and South Carolina in general. Freddie Green is regarded as the greatest rhythm guitarist to ever live. He is from Charleston. He played with Basie for more than 49 years. Basie said that (Green) was the glue that held all of the rhythm section and the band together as far as timing goes. Rufus 'Speedy' Jones played drums for Basie. He was another native of Charleston. The late Pete Minger was the featured trumpet soloist for a number of years in the '70s and '80s. John Williams is a baritone saxophonist who was one of Basie's later hires in the '70s. He's still touring with the band. Both of them are from Orangeburg."
Singleton also urges anyone who hasn't yet experienced the CJO to come out this Saturday. "If you have never seen the CJO I beg you to come out," says Singleton. "We are extremely personable in the Charleston Music Hall. There isn't a bad seat in the house. The band and the audience laugh, sing, dance. It's just a great time! We have played Ellington, Mozart, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Basie, and everything in between."
Singleton recently had a chance to play with Cyrus Chestnut, one of jazz music's heavy hitters, in February. "The gig with Cyrus was fantastic," says Singleton. "He was my special guest for the Spoleto auction. This was the third time we had played together."
Singleton also recently celebrated another musical triumph as the Kickstarter.com fundraiser for his next studio album became fully funded ahead of schedule. "When I saw that I was fully funded with Kickstarter, I was relieved, emotional, and super excited. Lots of friends contributed. Unfortunately, we hear and see the fact that governments and school districts are cutting funding for the arts left and right. So many arts organizations are going under. I think that Kickstarter and some of the other public funding trends are a big part of the future for arts organizations."
For now though, Singleton is looking toward this weekend and the two sets of Basie's music he'll be leading the CJO through.
