Skeletonality
Skeletonality was written for the virtuoso percussionist, Dave Danford and is a tribute to the late Teddy Brown, a popular variety artist of the 1920s and 30s.
From 1917 to 1925, Teddy Brown was drummer and xylophone soloist with a number of New York bands, many of them appearing regularly on Boadway. He came to England with Joseph C. Smith and his Orchestra in the autumn of 1925 and became a popular figure on the British variety stage, topping the bill at theatres up and down the country. He made records for the Imperial, Vocalion and Broadcast labels and, during 1929, led a band of his own. He died suddenly in 1930, following an appearance at the Wolverhampton Hippodrome.
Teddy Brown was a man whose immense girth belied an extraordinarily light touch and gracefulness in performance. Indeed, watching films of his act is rather like watching an elephant perform Swan Lake! He was double-jointed in both hands and was able to execute feats such as chromatic scales played with one hand alone. Everything was done in a relaxed, whimsical manner and this piece attempts to capture the character of his playing.