John Handy
Encyclopedia
John Richard Handy III is an American jazz
alto saxophonist
.
violin, Jerry Hahn
- guitar, Don Thompson
– bass, Terry Clarke - drums.
This group's performance at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival
was recorded and released as an album; Handy received Grammy
nominations for "Spanish Lady" (jazz performance) and "If Only We Knew" (jazz composition).
Handy has also taught music history and performance at San Francisco State University
; Stanford University
; The University of California, Berkeley
; the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
; and other schools.
In the 1980s he worked in the project Bebop & Beyond
, who recorded tribute albums to Dizzy Gillespie
and Thelonious Monk
.
Handy's son, John Richard Handy IV, is a drummer who has played with Handy on occasion.
With Brass Fever
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
alto saxophonist
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
.
Biography
In the 1960s, Handy led several groups. The most common was a quintet with members: Michael WhiteMichael White (violinist)
Michael Walter White is an American jazz violinist.White was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in Oakland, California, taking up the violin when he was nine years old. He first became known in 1965 when he played with the John Handy Quintet at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and recorded three...
violin, Jerry Hahn
Jerry Hahn
Jerry Hahn is an American jazz guitarist.Hahn studied at Wichita State University, then moved to San Francisco in 1962, where he played with John Handy . He toured with The 5th Dimension in 1968 and worked with Gary Burton in 1968-69...
- guitar, Don Thompson
Don Thompson (musician)
Donald Winston Thompson, OC is a Canadian jazz musician who plays bass, piano, and vibes. Thompson formed part of the Toronto Quartet of Paul Desmond during the mid seventies, and that effort produced two stellar albums. Other personnel on those dates, mostly at Bourbon Street in Toronto, were...
– bass, Terry Clarke - drums.
This group's performance at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of the longest consecutively running jazz festivals. It debuted on October 3, 1958 and was founded by San Francisco jazz radio broadcaster Jimmy Lyons.-History:...
was recorded and released as an album; Handy received Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations for "Spanish Lady" (jazz performance) and "If Only We Knew" (jazz composition).
Handy has also taught music history and performance at San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
; Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
; The University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
; the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music, formerly the California Conservatory of Music, founded in 1917, is a music school, with an enrollment of about 400 students. It was launched by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgehead in the remodeled home of Lillian's parents on Sacramento Street. It was called the...
; and other schools.
In the 1980s he worked in the project Bebop & Beyond
Bebop & Beyond
Bebop & Beyond is a jazz tribute bebop ensemble led by saxophonist Mel Martin.Plays Dizzy Gillespie featured Gillespie, Vince Lateano, George Cables, Donald Bailey and others.Plays Thelonious Monk featured drummer Eddie Marshall among others....
, who recorded tribute albums to Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
and Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
.
Handy's son, John Richard Handy IV, is a drummer who has played with Handy on occasion.
As leader
- In the Vernacular (Roulette RecordsRoulette RecordsRoulette Records is an American record label, which was founded in late 1956, by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed as director...
, 1959) - No Coast Jazz (Roulette Records, 1960)
- Jazz (Roulette Records, 1962)
- Recorded Live at the Monterey Jazz FestivalRecorded Live at the Monterey Jazz FestivalRecorded Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival is a live album by saxophonist John Handy, recorded in 1965 and released in 1966. It is Handy's most famous album and his debut on Columbia...
(Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, 1966) - The 2nd John Handy AlbumThe 2nd John Handy AlbumThe 2nd John Handy Album is a studio album by saxophonist John Handy and his quintet, recorded and released in 1966. It was Handy's second release for Columbia. The original album features five pieces, all recorded on July 25, 1966 in Los Angeles...
(Columbia, 1966) - Quote Unquote (Roulette, 1967)
- New View!New View!New View! is a live album by saxophonist John Handy and his quintet, recorded and released in 1967. It was Handy's second live and third release for Columbia. The original LP features three pieces: two Handy originals and a version of "Naima", recorded as a homage to saxophone legend John Coltrane,...
(Columbia, 1967) - Projections (Columbia, 1968)
- Two Originals: Karuna Supreme/Rainbow [with Ali Akbar KhanAli Akbar KhanAli Akbar Khan , often referred to as Khansahib or by the title Ustad , was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod...
] (MPS, 1975) - Hard WorkHard WorkHard Work is a 1976 album by jazz saxophonist John Handy, only his second album of the 1970sA surprise hit, the album topped out at #4 on the Billboard jazz chart and #43 on the Billboard Top 200.The second track is a tribute to saxophonist Louis Jordan....
(Impulse! RecordsImpulse! RecordsImpulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...
, 1976) - Carnival (Columbia, 1977)
- Where Go the BoatsWhere Go the BoatsWhere Go the Boats is a 1978 album by jazz saxophonist John Handy.-Side one:# "Right There, Right There"# "Moogie Woogie"# "Where Go the Boats"# "Go for Yourself"-Side two:# "The Hissing of Summer Lawns"# "She Just Won't Boogie with Me"# "Erica"...
(Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, 1978) - Handy Dandy Man (Warner Bros., 1978)
- Excursion in Blue (Quartet Records, 1988)
- Centerpiece [with CLASS] (Milestone RecordsMilestone RecordsMilestone Records is a United States based jazz record label, founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz in New York City. The company was incorporated into Fantasy Records in 1972, since then it has been used for reissues as well as for new recordings....
, 1989) - Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival (Koch International Records, 1996)
- Live at Yoshi's Nightspot (Boulevard RecordsBoulevard Records (U.S.)Boulevard Records was an American record label. In 1954, it released the hit record "Runaround" by The Three Chuckles. It later released novelty records, including several albums by Barnes & Barnes....
, 1996) - John Handy's Musical Dreamland (Boulevard, 1996)
As sideman
With Charles MingusCharles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
- Jazz Portraits: Mingus in WonderlandJazz Portraits: Mingus in WonderlandJazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland is a live album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus recorded in 1959 and released on the United Artists label...
(United Artists, 1959) - Blues & RootsBlues & RootsBlues & Roots is an album by Charles Mingus, recorded in 1959 and released in 1960. It has been reissued twice as a CD, first by Atlantic Records, and then again by Rhino Entertainment in 1998....
(Atlantic, 1959) - Mingus Ah UmMingus Ah UmMingus Ah Um is a jazz album by Charles Mingus, recorded and released on Columbia Records in 1959. It was his first album recorded for Columbia. The cover features a painting by S...
(Columbia, 1959) - Mingus DynastyMingus DynastyMingus Dynasty is an album by Charles Mingus, recorded and released in 1959, and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.- Track listing :All compositions by Charles Mingus except where noted.# "Slop"# "Diane"# "Song With Orange"...
(Columbia, 1960) - Right Now: Live at the Jazz WorkshopRight Now: Live at the Jazz Workshop-Track listing:# "New Fables" - 23:18# "Meditation " - 23:44*Recorded at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco, California on June 2 & 3, 1964-Personnel:*Charles Mingus - bass*John Handy - alto saxophone...
(Fantasy, 1964)
With Brass Fever
Brass Fever
Brass Fever was an American jazz musical ensemble, which recorded two albums for Impulse! Records. Consisting of both session musicians and leaders such as Shelly Manne, their two albums covered jazz and R&B genres....
- Time is Running Out (Impulse! RecordsImpulse! RecordsImpulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...
, 1976)