Craig Handy’s debut for OKeh, 2nd Line Smith, has been confirmed by the label. The saxophonist who most recently has been touring and recording with hard bop supergroup The Cookers is probably best known for his tenure in the bands of Betty Carter and Herbie Hancock. It’s been some dozen years, though, since Flow the second of Handy's records for John Priestley’s now inactive but much missed label Sirocco. Handy also recorded Reflections in Change for the label based in the north-west of England, and before that a pair of albums for Arabesque in the early-1990s. In more recent years the Oakland-born 51-year-old has toured widely with the Mingus Big Band, his languid laconic saxophone style a standout feature of that constantly invigorating constellation of talent. Handy’s debut for OKeh, one of the most historic labels in jazz but a marque that had disappeared for many years only to be revived by Sony this year, will have a New Orleans flavour, as the album title suggests. Guests are understood to include both Wynton Marsalis and Dee Dee Bridgewater. The album is to be released on 16 September, according to Amazon.
Saxophonist Craig Handy's debut for OKeh due next month photo: Martin Cohen