Strappado is an original jazz composition by Ken Weiner, a Los Angeles-based tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. The title references a medieval torture device involving suspension by the arms, suggesting an intensity or tension that likely carries into the music's character. Weiner is known for blending straight-ahead jazz sensibilities with adventurous harmonic and rhythmic ideas, and Strappado fits within his body of original works performed alongside standards in live settings. The composition is part of a repertoire that reflects Weiner's deep engagement with the jazz tradition while pushing into personal creative territory. As a relatively obscure original rather than a widely covered standard, Strappado represents the kind of tune that emerges from the working jazz musician's craft, written for the bandstand and shaped through live performance with a regular ensemble. Its place in Weiner's catalog speaks to his dual identity as both a practitioner of the jazz tradition and an inventive composer willing to explore darker or more provocative thematic material. The tune has been performed by Weiner's quintet, featuring trumpet, keyboard, and acoustic bass alongside his tenor saxophone, in a configuration well suited to the interplay and solo exchanges characteristic of small-group jazz.
