Quintet-à-tête

Let's end March with a rare reunion of a band for the ages, celebrating an anniversary today.

I have about four or five friends who claim that their all-time favorite Jazz platter is John Handy Recorded Live At the Monterey Jazz Festival from 1965.

They aren't lying, it's up there for sure.

The fivesome that made it stayed together as a band until January of 1967, when they broke up and went their separate ways.

Since then, up to the point of today's share, they had only played together once, which was in Oakland and was documented on a live album.

Two years later, they reconvened across the Bay as part of the SF Jazz Festival, for a residency at a then-new (and now defunct) club in The City.

I remember this well, as I was too broke to go and unhappy about missing such an opportunity.

Michael White, Maestro of the violin, is gone now, so there won't be any such opportunities any longer.

What can I say? At least there's soundpeople mixing shows with the good sense to document the living history taking place in front of their consoles.

John Handy Quintet

Storyville

San Francisco, California USA

3.31.1997

  01 set I introduction

02 All the Things You Are

03 Cherokee/It Could Happen To You

04 John Handy announcements

05 unidentified Blues: traditional American music

06 Spanish Lady

07 band introductions & set break outro

08 set II introduction & tuning

09 New Thing

         10 I Will Leave You       

11 My Funny Valentine

12 unidentified Blues

13 If Only We Knew

         14 band introductions & outro        

Total time: 3:01:27

disc breaks go after Tracks 05 and 10

John Handy - alto saxophone

Jerry Hahn - guitar

Don Thompson  - bass & piano

Terry Clarke - drums & percussion

Michael White - violin

live 16-track soundboard mix by Peter Oshman & Marcus Buick
856 MB FLAC/March 2021 archive link

That's it for March, so let's get ready for an April to remember... but not before checking out this 24th anniversary special, if only we knew!--J.