Search - John Handy Quintet :: 2nd John Handy Album

Superb cutting edge jazz

Tyler Smith | Denver, CO United States | 10/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Handy put together one of jazz's most unique cooperatives for an unfortunately short-lived period in the mid-'60s. While the commercial climate wasn't kind to the band, they nonetheless produced some superb music, originally recorded on Columbia and now reissued on Koch. This release finds the quintet continuing to explore new ground.Handy, one of our finest and most underappreciated altoists, surrounded himself with musicians no less free-thinking than himself, most notably the superb guitarist Jerry Hahn and the fine violinist Michael White. The band was capable of moving effortlessly through through jazz, rock, blues and free material. Their willingness to push the boundaries of jazz is demonstrated most clearly on "Scheme #1," which concluded the original vinyl release. It is a wonderfully realized exercise in musical abstraction, but its free quality doesn't mean that it's aimless or chaotic. In fact, Handy wrote several sections for the piece. Rather, the piece moves about in ways that invite the listener to make his own connections between the statements made by each band member.The freedom of "Scheme #1" is balanced by some serious cooking from all involved. Hahn is astonishing on "Blues for a High-Strung Guitar" and Handy's playing on "Dancy Dancy" should make everyone wonder why he has received so little recognition during the course of his career.The best blendings of jazz talents show the listener that telepathy does indeed exist. This tightly fused band deserved many more opportunities to weave their magic."