Acclaimed saxophonist Craig Handy is all set to perform at JZ Club on Wednesday April 17 as part of the Craig Handy Trio. You can grab your tickets right here.

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 Charlie Parker Scholarship and became a frontrunner in the school’s exceptional One O’ Clock Jazz Ensemble. Handy moved to New York in 1986 and made several connections with formidable artists including master drummers Art Blakey and Roy Haynes, South African melodist Abdullah Ibrahim and the Mingus Dynasty Band. 

By his late 20s, Handy was already considered a technical master and prodigious post-bop talent. He performed with veteran vocalist bandleaders such as the iconic Betty Carter and Dee Dee Bridgewater. He soon released two advanced hard bop recordings Split Second Timing and Three For All + One. Handy even toured with the great Herbie Hancock from 1996 to 1999 which led two more recording projects Reflections in Change and Flow.

In 2014, Handy returned as an original bandleader and party-starter for his new touring and recording project. Titled Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, Handy draws from his fondness for the music of New Orleans. Expect groove-filled re-imaginings of originals and standards by the late, great organist Jimmy Smith. The release includes cameos by Dee Dee Bridgewater and Wynton Marsalis.

Purchase tickets here.