The second of altoist
John Handy's three Roulette albums (none of which are currently available on CD) finds
Handy performing six originals with a quartet also including pianist
Don Friedman, bassist
Bill Lee and drummer
Lex Humphries. The altoist already had a pretty original sound (his former employer
Charles Mingus would certainly not let him get away with copying
Charlie Parker), and although open to the influence of
John Coltrane,
Handy was getting quite distinctive. The inside/outside music (advanced hard bop that sometimes hints at the avant-garde) still sounds quite fresh.