Drummer

This Grammy Award winning Charleston, SC- based quintet, performs timeless music born from the Gullah culture of the southeastern Sea Islands. Playful game songs, ecstatic shouts, and heartbreaking spirituals can all be found on their latest release Good Time, which also offers the groups first original songs inspired by Gullah tradition.

Ranky Tanky

The Rosen House at Caramoor

Trinidad-born trumpeter, composer, and storyteller Etienne Charles embarks on a captivating musical journey that explores the rich history and culture of the Gullah Geechee people, drawing parallels to his Caribbean heritage. Joined by the masterly percussion of Quentin Baxter, a Charleston native and Festival favorite, Charles weaves a mesmerizing sonic tapestry. The varied compositional textures and pulsating rhythms evoke a trance-like state, inviting listeners to explore the deep connections between Afro-Caribbean, Gullah, and American jazz traditions.

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Etienne Charles Gullah Roots with Special Guest Quentin Baxter

College of Charleston Cistern Yard

The Grammy® Award-winning, Charleston, SC-based quintet performs timeless music born from the Gullah culture of the Southeastern Sea Islands. Their debut album soared to the number-one position on the charts. Playful game songs, ecstatic shouts, and heartbreaking spirituals inspired by the Gullah tradition.  

Clayton State University

Praise house melodies meet modern jazz in an unforgettable celebration of Gullah history and musical heritage. The star-studded performance—helmed by trumpeter, composer, and Guggenheim Fellow Matt White—unites 20-plus South Carolinian artists including Grammy Award-winning drummer Quentin Baxter and renowned saxophonist Chris Potter. Featuring a full jazz band, a string section, three Gullah elders, and a narrator, Lowcountry forms a prismatic view of the vibrant Gullah culture.

Lowcountry: South Carolina Music in the Gullah Tradition

College of Charleston

“Hers is a voice so big and so spine-tinglingly beautiful that on a nightly basis it does the near impossible” (The Guardian). Two-time GRAMMY winner Lisa Fischer joins Gullah groovemasters Ranky Tanky for an incendiary reprise of their sold out 2022 residency.

Known far and wide for her powerhouse vocals and prominent role in director Morgan Neville’s Oscar-winning 2013 music documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, Fischer won a GRAMMY for her #1 charting R&B single “How Can I Ease the Pain” and has toured for over two decades with the Rolling Stones, belting out “Gimme Shelter” to astonished audiences around the world. She’s contributed her soaring instrument to innumerable film soundtracks and performances alongside Luther Vandross, Tina Turner, Gregory Porter, Chris Botti, Sting, and industrial rock juggernaut Nine Inch Nails.

Ms. Lisa Fischer w/ Ranky Tanky

SFJAZZ Center

Get in a Gullah groove with GRAMMY® winning South Carolina band Ranky Tanky. Born of the Gullah culture of the Carolina Coast and Sea Islands, their music is a thrilling collision of traditional spirituals, call and response, folk songs, and playground chants, infused with hot American jazz. Featuring Quentin Baxter (Drums and Percussion), Kevin Hamilton (Bass), Clay Ross (Guitar and Vocals), Charlton Singleton (Trumpet and Vocals) and the phenomenal vocals of lead singer Quiana Parler.

Ranky Tanky with very special guest Ms. Lisa Fischer

New Jersey Performing Arts Center

In a rollicking homecoming concert, Quentin Baxter electrifies the Cistern Yard— where, as a child, he heard evening concerts from outside its wrought-iron gates. While the Grammy-winning drummer—a Spoleto veteran—has anchored other ensembles, this evening puts Baxter front and center, leading a phenomenal band through time-honored classics and his own compositions that infuse modern jazz with the Gullah and church traditions of his Charleston roots.

Drummer

Quentin Baxter

Events

Past events

Jul 11, 2025

Ranky Tanky · Caramoor

Jun 4, 2025

Etienne Charles Gullah Roots with Special Guest Quentin Baxter · Spoleto Festival USA

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