Roland Hanna

Roland Hanna
Roland Hanna
	Hanna in 2001
Background information
Birth name	Roland Pembroke Hanna
Born	February 10, 1932; Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	November 13, 2002 (aged 70); Hackensack, New Jersey
Genres	Jazz, avant-garde, jazz fusion
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, bandleader
Instrument(s)	Piano, electric piano, cello

Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 – November 13, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher.^[1]

Biography

Hanna studied classical piano from the age of 11, but was strongly interested in jazz, having been introduced to it by his friend, pianist Tommy Flanagan.^[2] This interest increased after his time in military service (1950–1952). He studied briefly at the Eastman School of Music in 1953 and then enrolled at the Juilliard School when he moved to New York City two years later.^[2] He worked with several big names in the 1950s, including Benny Goodman and Charles Mingus, and graduated in 1960.^[2] Between 1963 and 1966, Hanna led his own trio, then from 1966 to 1974 he was a regular member of The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra.^[2] Hanna also toured the Soviet Union with the orchestra in 1972.^[3] During the 1970s, he was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet.

Roland Hanna was in semi-retirement for most of the 1980s, though he played piano and wrote the song "Seasons" for Sarah Vaughan's 1982 album Crazy and Mixed Up, and returned to music later in the decade. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hanna was a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.^[2] Around this time, he also began composing chamber and orchestral music; a ballet he wrote has also been performed.^[3]

In 1970, Hanna was given an honorary knighthood by President William Tubman of Liberia in recognition of concerts he played in the country to raise money for education.^[2]^[4] Thereafter, Hanna was often known as "Sir Roland Hanna." Hanna was a professor of jazz at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in Flushing, New York, and taught at several other music schools.^[2] He was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey.^[5]

He died in Hackensack, New Jersey, of a viral infection of the heart, on November 13, 2002.^[2]

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Year recorded	Title	Label	Year released	Personnel/Notes
1959	Destry Rides Again	ATCO	1959	Trio/quartet, with George Duvivier, Roy Burns, Kenny Burrell^[6]
1959	Easy to Love	ATCO	1960	Trio, with Ben Tucker, Roy Burns^[6]
1971	Child of Gemini	MPS	1971	Trio, with Dave Holland, Daniel Humair^[7]
1973	The New Heritage Keyboard Quartet	Blue Note	1973	As The New Heritage Keyboard Quartet, with Mickey Tucker, Richard Davis, Eddie Gladden
1973	Sir Elf:	Choice	1973	Solo piano^[8]
1974	Let It Happen	RCA	1974	As The Jazz Piano Quartet, with Dick Hyman, Hank Jones, Marian McPartland
1973–1974	Walkin'	Jazz Hour	1990	Some tracks trio, with George Mraz, Mel Lewis; some tracks quartet, with Stéphane Grappelli added
1974	Perugia	Freedom	1975	Solo piano; in concert^[9]
1974	Informal Solo	Hi-Fly	1974	Solo piano. Reissued as Solo Piano (Storyville, 2005)^[10]
1974	1 X 1	Toho (Japan)	1974	Duo, with George Mraz
1975	Roland Hanna Trio	Salvation (Japan)	1975	Trio, with Ron Carter, Ben Riley
1976	Porgy & Bess	Trio (Japan)	1976	Duo, with George Mraz
1976	24 Preludes Book 1	Salvation (Japan)	1976	Some tracks solo piano; some tracks duo, with George Mraz
1977	At Home With Friends	Progressive	1977	Trio, with George Mraz, Richard Pratt; also released as Time for the Dancers (1980)
1977	Sir Elf Plus 1	Choice	1978	Some tracks solo piano; some tracks duo, with George Mraz^[8]
1977	Glove	Trio (Japan)	1977	Trio, with George Mraz, Motohiko Hino^[11]
1977	24 Preludes Book 2	Salvation (Japan)	1978	Some tracks solo piano; some tracks duo, with George Mraz
1978	Roland Hanna Plays the Music of Alec Wilder	Trio (Japan)	1978	Solo piano
1978	This Must Be Love	Progressive	1978	Trio, with George Mraz, Ben Riley^[12]
1978	Rolandscape	Progressive	1978	Trio, with George Mraz, Ben Riley
1978	'Bird Watching	Progressive	1978	Solo piano^[13]
1978	Roland Hanna and George Mraz Play for Monk	Musical Heritage Society	1978	Duo, with George Mraz^[14]
1978	A Gift from the Magi	West 54	1979	Solo piano^[15]
1979	Swing Me No Waltzes	Storyville	1980	Solo piano. Additional tracks from 1973 included in 2000 reissue.^[16]
1979	Trinity	L+R	1979	Trio, with Hans Koller, Attila Zoller
1979	Piano Soliloquy	L+R	1980	Solo piano^[11]
1979	Impressions	Black & Blue	1979	Trio, with Major Holley, Alan Dawson.^[9] also released as Lover Come Back to Me (Norma, 1979).
1979	Och Jungfrun Gick Åt Killan...	Sonet	1979	Solo piano
1979	Sunrise, Sunset	Lob (Japan)	1979	Duo, with George Mraz. Reissued as When You Wish Upon a Star (AMJ, 2002)
1982	Romanesque	Trio (Japan)	1982	Duo, with George Mraz^[11]
1982	Gershwin Carmichael Cats	CTI	1982	Duo/trio/quartet/quintet/sextet/dectet^[17]
1987?	Manhattan Christmas	Fun House	1987	Solo piano
1987	Round Midnight	Town Crier Recordings	1987	Solo piano^[6]
1987	This Time It's Real - Live At Slukefter-Tivoli Gardens	Storyville	1988	Quartet, with Jesper Thilo, Mads Winding, Aage Tanggaard; in concert^[9]
1987	Persia My Dear	DIW	1987	Trio, with Richard Davis, Freddie Waits^[9]
1987?	The Bar	Fun House	1988	Trio, with Clint Houston, Lewis Nash
1990	Duke Ellington Piano Solos	MusicMasters	1991	Solo piano^[9]
1990	Memoir	Century (Japan)	1990	Duo, with Eiji Nakayama
1993	Sir Roland Hanna Quartet Plays Gershwin	LRC/Laserlight^[6]	1993	Quartet, with Bill Easley, Jon Burr, Ronnie Burrage
1993	Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Volume Thirty-Two	Concord	1994	Solo piano; in concert^[9]
1994?	Jazz Sonatas	Angel	1994	Some tracks duo, with Dick Hyman; some tracks quartet, with chamber trio
1995	Ancestral Light	Red Earth Jazz	1999	Duo, with George Mraz
1996	3 for All	Cei Cymekob	1996	Trio, with Bucky Pizzarelli, Jon Burr
1996	Hush A Bye	What'sNew (Japan)	1997	Trio, with Eiji Nakayama, Seiji Komatsu
1997	The Three Black Kings	Jazz Friends Productions	1997	Trio, with Richard Davis, Andrew Cyrille
1997	I Love Be-Bop	Rahanna Music	1998	Trio, with Yoshio Aomori, Cris Roselli. Self-released.
1998?	Family & Friends	Prestige Elite	1998	With Michael Hanna
1998	Royal Essence: An Evening of Ellington	Jazzmont	1999	Duo, with Davey Yarborough; in concert
2001	Dream	Venus	2001	Trio, with Paul West, Eddie Locke (drums)^[18]^[19]
2002	Milano, Paris, New York: Finding John Lewis	Venus	2002	Trio, with George Mraz, Lewis Nash
2002	Everything I Love	IPO	2002	Solo piano^[6]
2002	I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues	IPO	2002	Duo, with Carrie Smith^[6]
2002	Tributaries: Reflections on Tommy Flanagan	IPO	2003	Solo piano^[6]
2002	Après Un Rêve	Venus	2003	Trio, with Ron Carter, Grady Tate^[20]
2002	Last Concert	What's New (Japan)	2003	Some tracks duo, with Eiji Nakayaｍa and Mihoko Hazama (separately); some tracks trio, with Nakayaｍa and Hazama; in concert

Posthumous compilations

Memoir One For Eiji with Eiji Nakayama (What's New, 2004)
Colors from a Giant's Kit (IPO, 2011)

As group

The New York Jazz Quartet

In Concert in Japan with Ron Carter, Ben Riley, Frank Wess (Salvation, 1975) – live
Surge with George Mraz, Richard Pratt, Frank Wess, (Enja, 1977)
Song of the Black Knight with George Mraz, Richard Pratt, Frank Wess (Sonet, 1978)
Blues for Sarka with George Mraz, Grady Tate, Frank Wess (Enja, 1978) – live
Oasis with George Mraz, Ben Riley, Frank Wess (Enja, 1981)
The New York Jazz Quartet in Chicago with George Mraz, Ben Riley, Frank Wess (Bee Hive, 1981)

Mingus Dynasty

Live At Montreux (Atlantic, 1981) – live
Reincarnation (Soul Note, 1982)
Mingus' Sounds Of Love (Soul Note, 1988)
Live At The Village Vanguard (Storyville, 1989) – live
Epitaph (Charles Mingus composition) (Columbia, 1990) – live recorded in 1989

As sideman

With Pepper Adams

Ephemera (Spotlite, 1974) – recorded in 1973
Reflectory (Muse, 1978)

With Kenny Burrell

Swingin' (Blue Note, 1980) – recorded in 1956
On View at the Five Spot Cafe (Blue Note, 1959) – live
Asphalt Canyon Suite (Verve, 1969)
Ellington Is Forever Volume Two (Fantasy, 1977) – recorded in 1975

With Ron Carter

All Blues (CTI, 1973)
Spanish Blue (CTI, 1974)
Stardust (Somethin' Else, 2001)

With Richard Davis

Muses for Richard Davis (MPS, 1969)
Persia My Dear (DIW, 1987)

With Elvin Jones

Dear John C. (Impulse!, 1965)
Very R.A.R.E. (Trio (Japan), 1979)

With Jimmy Knepper

Cunningbird (SteepleChase, 1977)
I Dream Too Much (Soul Note, 1984)

With Red Rodney

The Red Tornado (Muse, 1975)
Red, White and Blues (Muse, 1978)
The 3R's (Muse, 1982) – recorded in 1979

With Sonny Stitt

Mr. Bojangles (Cadet, 1973)
Satan (Cadet, 1974)

With others

Gene Ammons, My Way (Prestige, 1971)
George Benson, Good King Bad (CTI, 1975)
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Afro Blue (Trio, 1974)
Ruth Brown, Ruth Brown '65 (Mainstream, 1965)
Benny Carter, In the Mood for Swing (MusicMasters, 1988)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Love Calls (RCA Victor, 1968)
Eddie Daniels, First Prize! (Prestige 1967)
Jon Faddis and Billy Harper, Jon & Billy (Trio, 1974)
Stéphane Grappelli, Meets the Rhythm Section (1973)
John Handy, In the Vernacular (Roulette, 1958)
Jimmy Heath, Little Man Big Band (Verve, 1992)
Al Hibbler, Early One Morning (LMI, 1964)
Freddie Hubbard, The Hub of Hubbard (MPS, 1970)
Jim Hall, Concierto (CTI,1975)
Miriam Klein, By Myself (L+R, 1979)
Hubert Laws, Laws' Cause (Atlantic, 1968)
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra – Jazz At Lincoln Center: They Came To Swing (Sony, 1992)
Herbie Mann, Glory of Love (A&M, 1967)
Les McCann, Comment (Atlantic, 1970)
Charles Mingus, Mingus Dynasty (Columbia, 1959)
Frank Morgan, You Must Believe in Spring (Antilles, 1992)
Idris Muhammad, House of the Rising Sun (Kudu, 1976)
Ray Nance, Body and Soul (Solid State, 1969)
Kwame Nkrumah, The Ninth Son (Columbia, 1969)
Seldon Powell, Seldon Powell Sextet Featuring Jimmy Cleveland (Roost 1956)
Don Sebesky, The Rape of El Morro (CTI, 1975)
Louis Smith (musician), Prancin (Steeple Chase 1979)
Stanley Turrentine,If I Could (MusicMasters, 1993)
Phil Woods,Round Trip (Verve, 1969)

References

^ "Roland Hanna | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Keepnews, Peter (November 15, 2002) "Roland Hanna, a Jazz Pianist and Composer, Dies at 70". New York Times
^ ^a ^b Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz, p. 292, Oxford University Press
^ Stryker, Mark (2019-07-08). Jazz from Detroit. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-12591-3.
^ Wilson, John S. "Jazz Pianist Sees the Stardom at End of Tunnel", The New York Times, June 1, 1975. Accessed June 28, 2019. "Then last June, the Thad Jones‐Mel Lewis Band, which plays every Monday night at the Village Vanguard in New York, suddenly lost its pianist, Roland Hanna of Teaneck, who left to form his own group."
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 647. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
^ Dryden, Ken. "Roland Hanna: Child of Gemini". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Yanow, Scott. "Roland Hanna: Sir Elf (1977)". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1996). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (3rd ed.). Penguin. pp. 577–578. ISBN 978-0-14-051368-4.
^ Dryden, Ken. "Solo Piano: Roland Hanna". AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. p. 477. ISBN 978-0-14-015364-4.
^ Yanow, Scott. "Roland Hanna: This Must Be Love". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2004). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (7th ed.). Penguin. pp. 717–718. ISBN 978-0-14-101416-6.
^ Yanow, Scott. "Roland Hanna: Play for Monk". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
^ Dryden, Ken. "Roland Hanna: A Gift from the Magi". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
^ Yanow, Scott. "Swing Me No Waltzes: Roland Hanna". AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
^ Yanow, Scott. "Roland Hanna: Gershwin Carmichael Cats". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
^ Dryden, Ken. "Roland Hanna: Dream". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
^ "VHCD-2054". Venusrecord.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
^ "VHCD-2031". Venusrecord.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.

External links

[1] "Roland Hanna | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2020.

[NYT-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Keepnews, Peter (November 15, 2002) "Roland Hanna, a Jazz Pianist and Composer, Dies at 70". New York Times

[LF-3] Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz, p. 292, Oxford University Press

[4] Stryker, Mark (2019-07-08). Jazz from Detroit. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-12591-3.

[5] Wilson, John S. "Jazz Pianist Sees the Stardom at End of Tunnel", The New York Times, June 1, 1975. Accessed June 28, 2019. "Then last June, the Thad Jones‐Mel Lewis Band, which plays every Monday night at the Village Vanguard in New York, suddenly lost its pianist, Roland Hanna of Teaneck, who left to form his own group."

[Penguin9-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 647. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

[AMgem-7] Dryden, Ken. "Roland Hanna: Child of Gemini". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.

[AMelf-8] Yanow, Scott. "Roland Hanna: Sir Elf (1977)". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.

[Penguin3-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1996). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (3rd ed.). Penguin. pp. 577–578. ISBN 978-0-14-051368-4.

[10] Dryden, Ken. "Solo Piano: Roland Hanna". AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2024.

[Penguin1-11] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. p. 477. ISBN 978-0-14-015364-4.

[AMmust-12] Yanow, Scott. "Roland Hanna: This Must Be Love". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.

[Penguin7-13] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2004). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (7th ed.). Penguin. pp. 717–718. ISBN 978-0-14-101416-6.

[AMmonk-14] Yanow, Scott. "Roland Hanna: Play for Monk". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.

[AMmagi-15] Dryden, Ken. "Roland Hanna: A Gift from the Magi". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.

[16] Yanow, Scott. "Swing Me No Waltzes: Roland Hanna". AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2024.

[AMcats-17] Yanow, Scott. "Roland Hanna: Gershwin Carmichael Cats". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.

[AMdream-18] Dryden, Ken. "Roland Hanna: Dream". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.

[19] "VHCD-2054". Venusrecord.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.

[auto-20] "VHCD-2031". Venusrecord.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.

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