Spirit of John Handy
Louisiana Shakers
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Cap'n John Handy
During the 1930s to 1960s, John Handy's band was known as the Louisiana Shakers, but like many musicians of his time, he sat in with a number of other famous groups. His father and mother taught their children how to play instruments, resulting in young John mastering the drums at 12, and then he moved on to violin, clarinet and eventually to his own version of an alto sax.
It was late in life, during the 1960s, when he made most of his recordings famous and made one Far East tour and two recording tours to Europe.
Some of his best friends were Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, Papa Celestin, and many others.
His unique musical style was a great influence on New Orleans Revival Jazz and as a trendsetter for Rhythm and Blues. Famed Handy tradition numbers such as Handy’s Gulf Coast Boogie and Cap’n’s Blues are still played ‘round the jazz-world.
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