# Surprisingly, George Handy recorded only two albums as a leader – Handyland, USA: Videos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2018/03/26/surprisingly-george-handy-recorded-only-two-albums-as-a-leader-handyland-usa-videos/
- Published: 2018-03-26T15:04:51+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Posting about Hal McKusick yesterday and re-reading my interviews with him, I 
was reminded of arranger George Handy. They were good friends and wound up in Los
Angeles together in the mid-1940s following an impulsive decision. **

The story involves Al Cohn and a u-turn. Hal turned me on to Handy during one of
our 2007 conversations, and Handy remains one of the great, forgotten arrangers 
of the 1950s. [Photo of George Handy by William P. Gottlieb]

[⌊R-6984637-1431007646-9129.jpeg⌉⌊R-6984637-1431007646-9129.jpeg⌉[
 With the rise
of the 12-inch LP in the mid-1950s, the demand for arrangers grew as labels needed
orchestrators to write precise, inventive scores for mid-size bands. Surprisingly,
Handy recorded only two albums as a leader—_Handyland, USA_ in August 1954 and _By
George! Handy, of Course_ in April 1955. Both were for RCA’s X label.

[⌊Dave_Lambert _John_Simmons _Chubby_Jackson _George_Handy _and_Dizzy_Gillespie 
_William_P._Gottlieb's_office _New_York _N.Y. _ca._July_1947_(William_P._Gottlieb_10248)⌉⌊
Dave_Lambert _John_Simmons _Chubby_Jackson _George_Handy _and_Dizzy_Gillespie _William_P.
_Gottlieb's_office _New_York _N.Y. _ca._July_1947_(William_P._Gottlieb_10248)⌉[
 The former
album featured fairly straight-up jazz. The latter was awash in modern classical
influences, which makes sense, since Handy studied with Aaron Copland and at New
York’s Juilliard School of Music. Handy cut his teeth in Boyd Raeburn’s experimental
big band from 1944 to 1946. After he and Hal wound up in L.A., Handy began to record
and write for a range of bands. [Photo above from left, Dave Lambert, John Simmons,
Chubby Jackson, George Handy and Dizzy Gillespie in 1947, by William P. Gottlieb]

[⌊51g4Q8KNCrL⌉⌊51g4Q8KNCrL⌉[
 Handy is playing piano on Charlie Parker and Dizzy
Gillespie’s Dial recording in L.A. of _Diggin’ Diz _in February 1946. Then he was
back with Raeburn and playing and arranging in Buddy Rich’s 1947 band. He arranged
for Dizzy Gillespie’s orchestra in 1949. I suspect he was ghostwriting from 1949
to 1954, the year in which he recorded the 12-inch LP _Handyland, USA_, which let
him stretch out.

[⌊(Portrait_of_Ralph_Burns _Edwin_A._Finckel _George_Handy _Neal_Hefti _Johnny_Richards
_and_Eddie_Sauter _Museum_of_Modern_Art _New_York _N.Y. _ca._Mar._1947)_(LOC)_(4843120275)⌉⌊(
Portrait_of_Ralph_Burns _Edwin_A._Finckel _George_Handy _Neal_Hefti _Johnny_Richards
_and_Eddie_Sauter _Museum_of_Modern_Art _New_York _N.Y. _ca._Mar._1947)_(LOC)_(4843120275
)⌉[
 But Handy’s masterpiece is _By George!_ a year later. The results exceed Gil
Evans during this period. Handy even beat Evans to the punch as an LP leader. Evans
wouldn’t lead with sophistication on a 12-inch album until Helen Merrill’s _Dream
of You_ in 1956 and his masterpiece in 1957, Miles Davis’s _Miles Ahead +19_. Evans’s
first leadership album, _Gil Evans and Ten,_would follow later that year. This takes
nothing away from Evans, only to point out how remarkable Handy was. [Pictured from
bottom, above: arrangers Ralph Burns, Neal Hefti, Johnny Richards, George Handy,
Ed Finckel and Eddie Sauter at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1947 by William
P. Gottlieb]

[⌊Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 8.04.19 PM⌉⌊Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 8.04.19 PM⌉[
 Handy’s
album _By George!_ is sophisticated and daring for 1955. He brashly combines Copland-
esque passages with a natural cinematic jazz touch. It’s easily one of the most 
dramatic classical-influened jazz orchestra albums of the decade and one of my favorites
of any decade. You can listen to it from start to finish without interruption and
it never grows dull. Most fascinating, there isn’t a dud among the 12 tracks. [Photo
above by William P. Gottlieb]

[⌊George_Handy _ca._Jan._1947_William_P._Gottlieb_(03881)⌉⌊George_Handy _ca._Jan.
_1947_William_P._Gottlieb_(03881)⌉[
 The band includes Dick Sherman (tp); Gene Orloff(
tp,violin); Frank Rehak (tb); Ray Beckenstein and Dave Schildkraut (as); Tom Mace(
ts); Danny Bank (bar); Tony Aless (p); Buddy Jones (b); Osie Johnson (d) and George
Handy (arr,cond). As you’ll hear, Danny Bank’s baritone saxophone stands out. [Photo
above by William P. Gottlieb]

[⌊Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 8.16.10 PM⌉⌊Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 8.16.10 PM⌉[
 After the
mid-1950s, Handy moved to the Catskill Mountains north of New York City and played
piano at the summer resorts. It’s a shame he wasn’t given a grant in the 1950s to
simply arrange for decades to come. At least we have these two albums as examples
of what Handy could do and what might have been if there was greater demand for 
his approach. In some ways, Gil Evans picked up where Handy left off, relaxing Handy’s
busy approach to allow for soloists and singers.

George Handy died in 1997.

![F0af8b254bcdb834aae7030722649c0c--flats](http://marcmyers.typepad.com/.a/6a00e008dca1f0883401b8d2e468a4970c-
500wi)

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