Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 – November 13, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher.[1]
Roland Hanna | |
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![]() Roland Hanna with Ed Wiley, 2001 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Roland Pembroke Hanna |
Born | (1932-02-10)February 10, 1932 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
Died | November 13, 2002(2002-11-13) (aged 70) Hackensack, New Jersey |
Genres | Jazz, avant-garde, jazz fusion |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, bandleader |
Instrument(s) | Piano, electric piano, cello |
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 (CUNY) 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]
Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
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1959 | Destry Rides Again | ATCO | Trio/Quartet with George Duvivier, Roy Burns and Kenny Burrell[6] |
1959 | Easy to Love | ATCO | Trio with Ben Tucker and Roy Burns[6] |
1971 | Child of Gemini | MPS | Trio with Dave Holland and Daniel Humair[7] |
1973 | The New Heritage Keyboard Quartet | Blue Note | As The New Heritage Keyboard Quartet with Mickey Tucker, Richard Davis and Eddie Gladden |
1973 | Sir Elf: | Choice | Solo piano[8] |
1974 | Let It Happen | RCA | As The Jazz Piano Quartet with Dick Hyman, Hank Jones and Marian McPartland |
1973 - 1974 | Walkin' | Jazz Hour | Trio with George Mraz and Mel Lewis, Quartet with the trio plus Stéphane Grappelli |
1974 | Perugia | Freedom | Solo piano; in concert[9] |
1974 | Informal Solo | Hi-Fly | Solo piano |
1974 | 1 X 1 | Toho (Japan) | Duo with George Mraz |
1976 | Porgy & Bess | Trio (Japan) | Duo with George Mraz |
1976 | 24 Preludes Book 1 | Salvation (Japan) | Solo piano/Duo with George Mraz |
1976 | Roland Hanna Trio | Salvation (Japan) | Trio with Ron Carter and Ben Riley |
1977 | Time for the Dancers | Progressive | Trio with George Mraz and Richard Pratt - also released as At Home with Friends |
1977 | Sir Elf Plus 1 | Choice | Solo piano/Duo with George Mraz[8] |
1977 | Glove | Trio (Japan) | Trio with George Mraz and Motohiko Hino[10] |
1977 | 24 Preludes Book 2 | Salvation (Japan) | Solo piano/Duo with George Mraz |
1978 | Roland Hanna Plays the Music of Alec Wilder | Inner City | Solo piano |
1978 | This Must Be Love | Progressive | Trio with George Mraz and Ben Riley[11] |
1978 | Rolandscape | Progressive | Trio with George Mraz and Ben Riley |
1978 | Bird Tracks | Progressive | Solo piano[12] |
1978 | Roland Hanna and George Mraz Play for Monk | Musical Heritage Society | Duo with George Mraz[13] |
1978 | A Gift from the Magi | West 54 | Solo piano[14] |
1979 | Swing Me No Waltzes | Storyville | Solo piano[12] |
1979 | Trinity | L+R | Trio with Hans Koller and Attila Zoller |
1979 | Piano Soliloquy | L+R | Solo piano[10] |
1979 | Impressions | Black & Blue | Trio with Major Holley and Alan Dawson[9] - also released as Lover Come Back to Me from NORMA |
1979 | Och Jungfrun Gick Åt Killan... | Sonet | Solo piano |
1979 | Sunrise, Sunset | Lob (Japan) | Duo with George Mraz |
1982 | Romanesque | Trio (Japan) | Duo with George Mraz[10] |
1982 | Gershwin Carmichael Cats | CTI | Duo/Trio/Quartet/Quintet/Sextet/Dectet[15] |
1987? | Manhattan Christmas | Fun House | Solo piano |
1987 | Round Midnight | Town Crier Recordings | Solo piano[6] |
1987 | This Time It's Real - Live At Slukefter-Tivoli Gardens | Storyville | Quartet with Jesper Thilo, Mads Winding and Aage Tanggaard; in concert[9] |
1987 | Persia My Dear | DIW | Trio with Richard Davis and Freddie Waits[9] |
1988 | The Bar | Fun House | Trio with Clint Houston and Lewis Nash |
1990 | Duke Ellington Piano Solos | MusicMasters | Solo piano[9] |
1990 | Memoir | Century (Japan) | Duo with Eiji Nakayama |
1993 | Sir Roland Hanna Quartet Plays Gershwin | LRC/Laserlight[6] | Quartet with Bill Easley, Jon Burr and Ronnie Burrage |
1993 | Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Volume Thirty-Two | Concord | Solo piano; in concert[9] |
1994? | Jazz Sonatas | Angel | Duo with Dick Hyman and Quartet with chamber trio |
1996 | 3 for All | Cymekob Enterprises | Trio with Bucky Pizzarelli and Jon Burr |
1996 | Hush A Bye | What'sNew (Japan) | Trio with Eiji Nakayama and Seiji Komatsu |
1997 | The Three Black Kings | Jazz Friends Productions | Trio with Richard Davis and Andrew Cyrille |
1998? | Family & Friends | Prestige Elite | with Michael Hanna(Vo.) |
1998? | I Love Be-Bop | Rahanna Music | Trio with Yoshio Aomori(b) and Cris Roselli(ds) |
1998 | Royal Essence: An Evening of Ellington | Jazzmont | Duo with Davey Yarborough; in concert |
1995 | Ancestral Light | Red Earth Jazz | Duo with George Mraz |
2001 | Dream | Venus | Trio with Paul West and Eddie Locke (drums)[16][17] |
2002 | Milano, Paris, New York: Finding John Lewis | Venus | Trio with George Mraz and Lewis Nash[18] |
2002 | Everything I Love | IPO | Solo piano[6] |
2002 | I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues | IPO | Duo with Carrie Smith[6] |
2002 | Tributaries: Reflections on Tommy Flanagan | IPO | Solo piano[6] |
2002 | Après Un Rêve | Venus | Trio with Ron Carter and Grady Tate[18] |
2002 | Last Concert | What's New (Japan) | Duo with Eiji Nakayama, Duo with Mihoko Hazama, trio with Eiji Nakayama and Mihoko Hazama; in concert |
Compilations
With Pepper Adams
With Gene Ammons
With George Benson
With Dee Dee Bridgewater
With Ruth Brown
With Kenny Burrell
With Benny Carter
With Ron Carter
With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
With Richard Davis
With Eddie Daniels
With Jon Faddis and Billy Harper
With Stéphane Grappelli
With John Handy
With Jimmy Heath
With Al Hibbler
With Freddie Hubbard
With Elvin Jones
With Jim Hall
With Miriam Klein
With Jimmy Knepper
With Hubert Laws
With Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
With Herbie Mann
With Les McCann
With Charles Mingus
With Frank Morgan
With Idris Muhammad
With Ray Nance
With Kwame Nkrumah
With Seldon Powell
With Red Rodney
With Don Sebesky
With Louis Smith (musician)
With Sonny Stitt
With Stanley Turrentine
With Phil Woods
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National libraries | |
Other |
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