Charles Handy

Blues- and Gospel-Rooted Jazz Brilliance Sparks with Diversity, Personality, and Individualism: Mastered from the Original Master Tapes and Strictly Limited to 3,000 Numbered Copies.

A talented and adventurous altoist whose career has gone through several phases, John Handy started playing alto in 1949. After moving to New York in 1958, he had a fiery period with Charles Mingus (1958-1959) that resulted in several passionate recordings that show off his originality; he also recorded several dates as a leader for Roulette. Handy led his own bands during 1959-1964, and played with Mingus at the 1964 Monterey Jazz Festival, but it was at the following year's festival that he was a major hit, stretching out with his quintet (which included violinist Michael White and guitarist Jerry Hahn) on two long originals. Soon, Handy was signed to Columbia, where he recorded his finest work (three excellent albums) during 1966-1968…

This 2-CD set takes the 1974 album Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Atlantic) and adds seventy minutes of previously unissued material recorded at the same concert.
Mingus led many great bands during his career, but those from the the late 1950s and early 1960s have tended to be perceived as representing his belle epoque, overshadowing some equally outstanding later aggregations. One of these is Mingus' mid 1970s quintet with trumpeter Jack Walrath, tenor saxophonist George Adams, pianist Don Pullen and drummer Dannie Richmond, who are featured on the 1975 portion of the Bremen set. The previous year, Mingus led a sextet including Adams, Pullen and Richmond, in which Jon Faddis was the trumpeter and Hamiet Bluiett played baritone saxophone…