Choose artist...
Home   >   Projects   >   & 2nd Line Smith
Craig Handy

& 2nd Line Smith

Sony Masterworks | OKeh

Press Release

Read press

Artist Details

Read bio

Website

Visit
Craig Handy talks about the project/band, organist Jimmy Smith & New Orleans 2nd line rhythms

Tour Dates

04/17/2019 - JZ Club / Huangpu Qu, China
04/18/2019 - Blue Note Beijing / Beijing, China
04/19/2019 - Blue Note Beijing / Beijing, China
1 Minor Chant
2 On the Sunny Side of the Street
3 Organ Grinder's Swing
4 I Almost Lost My Mind
5 High Heel Sneakers
6 Ready 'n Able
7 O.G.D. aka Road Song
8 Mojo Workin'
9 Mellow Mood
10 I'll Close My Eyes
Show all tracks
Hide

Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, is the saxophonist's first recording as a leader in more than a decade and his Sony/Okeh Records debut. Funk and groove supply the motive and the motivation with repertoire consisting of 10 numbers from the songbook of Jimmy Smith - the founder of modern jazz organ expression, a creative inspiration that evolved from Handy's realization several years ago that his distinguished resume included no opportunities "to cut my teeth with any of the great organ players." As an added---and surprising---turn, Handy's reinterpretation of Smith's work includes rhythm and grooves derived from the tight second-line funk of New Orleans.

17 New 'ON'  82 Total
SYND: PRI/Jazz After Hours
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Cleveland, Miami, Minneapolis, Portland, San Diego, Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Austin, Memphis, San Antonio, Berkeley CA, Orlando FL, Honolulu, Toronto + CAN
Online: MOJA, RadioIO, Jazz From Gallery 41, jazzradio.com

  • Craig Handy set for Shanghai's JZ Club / that's
    Posted At: April 11, 2019

    Acclaimed saxophonist Craig Handy is all set to perform at Shanghai's JZ Club on Wednesday April 17 as part of the Craig Handy Trio.  Born in Oakland, California, Handy started experimenting with guitar, trombone and piano at an early age. It didn't take long before he settled on his first true love, the saxophone. He went on to attended North Texas State University, won the coveted Char...

  • Craig Handy blowing so naturally at Albert Autumn sessions / Bristol 24/7
    Posted At: October 10, 2017

    Another impressive billing at the Jazz at the Albert Autumn sessions sees US reedman Craig Handy blowing so naturally that his sax seems like an extension of his own body. He's played with luminaries such as Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Abdullah Ibrahim, Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis amongst many others. Opening with the breezy bop of Chick's Tune by Chick Corea, the stage is set for some great interplay...

  • Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith set to play Hudson Riverfront Summer Concerts / NJ.com
    Posted At: July 29, 2015

    Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, with special guest Catherine Russell, will perform as part of Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center's "Summer Concerts on the Hudson" on Aug. 5 at 7 p.m.  Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith combines the repertoire of late organist Jimmy Smith with the rhythms of New Orleans. The band takes original Smith songs and adds their own personal touch with sousaphones,...

  • Kennedy Center's KC Jazz Club presents Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith
    Posted At: October 18, 2014

    Throughout the season, the KC Jazz Club lights up the Kennedy Center roof-level Terrace Gallery with performances by today's hottest new talents and seasoned jazz veterans. Saxophonist Craig Handy makes his Kennedy Center debut as leader on October 18 with music from his recently released album: Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith which reinterprets, in New Orleans style, ten numbers made famous by...

  • Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith play MN's Dakota Jazz Club / Pioneer Press review
    Posted At: June 30, 2014

    Saxophonist Craig Handy, who played two sets with his quartet Monday night at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis, isn't from New Orleans (he grew up in Oakland, Calif.), but, like many other musicians before him, has been attracted to the funky, indigenous music that has echoed through the streets of NOLA for more than a century. The New Orleans grooves have plenty of rhythmic punch an...

  • Craig Handy & Second Line Smith / Ottawa Citizen review
    Posted At: May 19, 2014

    After letting more than almost 14 years go by without putting out an album under his own name, saxophonist Craig Handy earlier this year released the disc Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, which has more than a few talking points going for it. It is, first of all, an organ-band disc, with Handy well supported by Kyle Koehler's Hammond B-3. The "Smith" aspect of Handy's project is surely a tip of...

  • Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith / JazzTimes review
    Posted At: May 10, 2014

    Craig Handy is one of the strongest saxophone sidemen in jazz. He waited until he had a good reason to make his first record, Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, as a leader in 14 years. The idea is this: Get an organ combo together; revisit 10 numbers from the Jimmy Smith songbook; invite heavyweight guests, most from New Orleans. (Smith likes New Orleans second-line rhythms.) READ THE JazzTimes REVIEW....

  • Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith / PopMatters article
    Posted At: May 7, 2014

    Saxophonist Craig Handy has a killer new band that combines the jazz-funk of Jimmy Smith with a New Orleans second line groove. The band is gloriously loud and rocking - the sousaphone is bumping out a bass line that locks in tight with the drummer's second-line backbeat. Stinging Stratocaster chords and a thick layer of B3 organ are ladled on. Craig Handy, whose tenor sax was mainstay of Jazz Me...

  • Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith is 'Most ADDed' and 'Biggest Gainer'@Jazzweek
    Posted At: February 6, 2014

    On Craig Handy's Okeh Records debut, Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, funk and groove supply the motive and the motivation. The album is the saxophonist's first recording as a leader in more than a decade. The repertoire consists of 10 numbers from the songbook of Jimmy Smith - the founder of modern jazz organ expression, a creative inspiration that evolved from Handy's realization seve...

  • Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith / 'Underrated' by The Los Angeles Times
    Posted At: January 23, 2014

    'Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith': Miss the rollicking musical gumbo of HBO's Treme? Oakland-born saxophonist Handy captures the groove-heavy sound of New Orleans on this recently released album. Handy's name may be familiar to those who saw Robert Altman's "Kansas City," where he played Coleman Hawkins, but here he conjures the soul-jazz spirit of organist Jimmy Smith, inc...

  • Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith / East Bay Express review
    Posted At: January 20, 2014

    New Orleans brass bands and organ-tenor sax jazz combos are two traditions that had pretty much fallen off the radar screen until they experienced recent revivals. With Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, the Oakland-born, Berkeley-reared tenor and soprano saxophonist - best known for his work with Herbie Hancock and for playing the role of tenor pioneer Coleman Hawkins in the 1994 Robert Altman film&...
Go to artist details