John is a consummate world musician and teacher who’s devoted his life to using music to elevate the human spirit. His soulful and fiery saxophone style is instantly recognizable to generations of jazz fans world-wide. As a singer, he brings a kind of storytelling narrative to the blues that is entertaining, educational, and moving; while his up tempo scat vocals could be compared to the best scat singers anywhere.

 

John has performed in the world’s great concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Berlin Philharmonic Auditorium, San Francisco Opera House, Davies Hall; the major performance venues including Tanglewood, Saratoga (NY), and Wolf Trap. He played alto and tenor sax and clarinet with Charles Mingus on the album: Mingus Ah Hum in 1959. His recent recordings include John Handy Live at Yoshi’s and John Handy’s Musical Dreamland, available only on Boulevard Records, Germany; Centerpiece, and Excursion in Blue.

 

John has taught at San Francisco State University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is a popular performer on university and college campuses where he also gives inspired lecture-demonstrations on the technical, academic, spiritual, and creative aspects of music, winning new converts to jazz.