A multi-instrumentalist and reed player, the prolific and always solicited Handy has four albums under his own name (including two New York Times albums of the year) and has recorded on hundreds of albums as a sideman. An extraordinary body of work already behind him, Handy’s ability to inhabit the emotional dimensions of a song, delivering his own striking and elegant interpretations make him a musician to watch.

Craig is one of the giants of the Marsalis generation who reinvigorated acoustic jazz in the 80’s and 90’s. Born in Oakland, CA, as a music-hungry youngster, Craig Handy experimented on guitar, trombone, and piano before settling on his true love, the saxophone. At the age of 11 while listening to the radio, Handy fell under the spell of the transcendent saxophone playing of jazz legend Dexter Gordon. Berkeley High School’s (CA) reputable Jazz Program soon beckoned, and Handy joined the ranks of graduating stellar saxophone talent including David Murray, Peter Apfelbaum, and Joshua Redman, to name a few.

He attended North Texas State University and won the coveted Charlie Parker Scholarship. Handy moved to New York in 1986 and began several associations with formidable artists including master drummers Art Blakey and Roy Haynes, South African melodist Abdullah Ibrahim, and the Mingus Dynasty Band.

Eager to begin leading his own bands, by his late 20s Handy was already considered a technical master and prodigious post-bop talent. He also relished musical range by performing with veteran vocalist bandleaders such as the iconic Betty Carter and later the irrepressible Dee Dee Bridgewater. In 1995, he continued playing with the new critically acclaimed band “Chartbusters”, featuring alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, organist Dr Lonnie Smith and recorded two releases on the NYC and Prestige labels. Handy toured with Herbie Hancock throughout 1996 to mid-1999, and he led two more recording projects on the Sirroco label – 1999’s Reflections in Change and 2000’s Flow. By this time he had amassed performing and recording credits with Cedar Walton, Elvin Jones, Joe Henderson, George Adams, Freddie Hubbard, and Wynton Marsalis.

For the past several years, Handy has recorded or toured consistently with guitarist John Scofield, trumpeter Charles Tolliver, the John Hicks Legacy Band, pianist Kirk Lightsey, trombonist Conrad Herwig and the acclaimed ‘The Cookers‘. Handy is also touring of late with the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra. In 2014, Handy returned as an original bandleader. Titled Craig Handy and 2nd Line Smith, Handy draws from his fondness for the music of New Orleans, smack attached to the groove-filled re-imaginings of originals and standards by the late, great organist Jimmy Smith. The release included guest appearances by Dee Dee Bridgewater and Wynton Marsalis. craighandy.com

Since Jonathan Gee was named ‘Most Promising Newcomer‘ in the British Jazz Awards in 1991 he has become, according to Visions of Britain, One of European Jazz’s most celebrated musicians. His music is precise, lucid and original, and at times breathtakingly lyrical.

As a specialist trio pianist he was for many years featured at Ronnie Scott’s as the trio or as rhythm section for luminaries such as Joe Lovano or Benny Golson. He has released eight of his own albums, including by his Italian trio Gee Gallo Minetto, and his New York trio with Joseph Lepore and Nasheet Waits. He recently sold out Dizzy’s at Lincoln Centre in New York.

Currently he is working regularly with Cleveland Watkiss with whom he collaborates on their Song Diasporas project, with Tim Whitehead on various projects, and with Tony Kofi playing Monk. He is also an accomplished singer, and plays electronic music with Northern Star People and Japan’s ‘Coppe’. Robert Shaw in Jazzwise Magazine said The fire and invention that marked his recent performances with Pharoah Sanders are in full evidence on this disc (Dragonfly) ...his breathlessly sparkling originality shines through. jonathangeetrio.co.uk

Parisian bassist Nicola Sabato, one of the most swinging players in Europe, is the go-to bassist in France. Apart from leading his own band and having released a number of his own albums, he works regularly with Craig Handy, with other New York legends Kirk Lightsey, Harry Allen and Jeff Hamilton, and with a who's-who of French stars such as Alain Jean-Marie and Anne Ducros. nicolasabatojazz.com

Music OMH magazine describes the London-based drummer and composer Rod Youngs as supremely subtle and melodic...dynamic and powerful. To be sure, he is one of the most expressive and adept musicians in the music arena today. A native of Washington, D.C. Rod’s formal training began in his teenage years. He later attended Howard University where he received a Bachelor of Music degree in performance. He was subsequently chosen to study jazz performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. under the tutelage of Keith Copland. Since those formative years Rod’s consummate musicianship has garnered him a wide variety of work from concerts and recordings to sessions for radio, TV and film. He has performed/recorded with a formidable array of artists including Lee Konitz, Jon Hendricks, Gil Scott-Heron, Hugh Masekela, Natalie Cole, Mica Paris, Denys Baptiste, Abdullah Ibrahim, BBC Concert Orchestra, Julian Joseph, Courtney Pine, Jazz Jamaica All Stars, and David Murray amongst others.

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