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BluesWax Sittin' In With Terry Hanck

Terry Hanck grew up in Chicago and dreamed of surfing California beaches. When he finally moved to California to ride out his dream, he took up the tenor sax. But it wasn't Surf music he wanted to play; it was the Blues and Soul music of Chicago that most caught his ear and landed him a job with Elvin Bishop that lasted more than 10 years."I played clarinet as a kid in fourth grade," says Hanck. "By seventh grade I forgot everything I'd learned. My father was a successful bandleader in Chicago, and he played all kinds of gigs and all kinds of music. I remember that I liked Dixieland music."

When Hanck was 11, Rock 'n' Roll ruled the airwaves. Those were the days in the mid-1950s when Cosimo Matassa was releasing the New Orleans R&B of Fats Domino, Lee Allen, and others. The first Rock 'n' Roll record Hanck bought was a Fats Domino 78 on Imperial: "I'm In Love Again," with "My Blue Heaven" on the flipside.

"Guys like Lee Allen and Huey 'Piano' Smith were playing the music that was just etched into my mind. Then, I didn't know that was New Orleans R&B. It was just music comin' outta the radio."

By 17, Hanck was going out to hear the Soul and Blues music Chicago offered. "I saw B.B. King at the Regal in 1962. I wasn't playing yet, so I didn't know who he was. I used to see Ray Charles there too, in 1963, when Ray was in his heyday. He did about 20 minutes before he broke into 'What'd I Say.' Then the Raylettes came strutting out and the place was going nuts. That did it for me. I was 17 or 18 then."

But there was also Hanck the diver and surfer. Without the endless surf of the West Coast, Hanck found a unique way to satisfy the beach boy in the Windy City, surfing on Lake Michigan. "Some of the best spots were around Northwestern University. I rode waves on a little reef I knew from diving. One day the waves were breaking on this reef into perfect little machine waves. There was never any doubt that I was gonna end up in California."

It was when Hanck moved permanently to Orange County in 1967 that his love of music returned. Hanck surfed all day and listened to radio all night. Specifically, he tuned into KBCA, a 24-hour AM Jazz station. That was when the sax spoke to him.

"I needed something for the nighttimes. So I figured, what's another career where I can't make any money? It was a natural to go from surf bum to sax player."

At first, Hanck was intrigued by the freedom of avant-garde playing. So he locked himself in a room and began honking and squawking without learning the basics. "I tried to go from A to Z without learning anything in between. I'd sit in a room and squawk like a dog with a rag in its mouth. Free form.

"After doing that for a couple of years, I got that outta my system and then I wasn't afraid to try things in my playing. I was so antisocial; I was looking for something that matched that. At that time, in the 1960s, music needed something like the avant-garde movement to blow everything open. There was a cultural explosion where walls had to be torn down. Nowadays, people have turned avant-garde into a style. It was meant to be an anti-style.

"Then I met some people who played Blues, and I started learning all over again, from the basics. I learned a lot from guitar and bass players. I started with the three-chord change. The first two keys I learned were E and A, and horn players hate E and A."

Hanck quickly rediscovered his love for Blues and Soul.

"I had the feeling and tone; I really didn't have the Blues theory. With me there's never been any division between Blues, Soul, and Jazz. The great horn players played the best Blues. If I'm gonna learn Blues licks, I'm gonna listen to Coleman Hawkins or Illinois Jacquet."

Hanck also reestablished his ties with earlier mentors like Lee Allen, King Curtis, and Hanck's personal favorite, Junior Walker.

"As far as Rock 'n' Roll, the guys who really stood out were King Curtis, Gene Barge, and Lee Allen. Junior Walker, to me, is in a class of his own. He wasn't playing Blues sax. He was playing Soul sax. His phrasing to me is the same as the way Albert King plays the guitar. He had the right tone. To me it was almost mystical. Not like Coltrane, but the same kind of feeling.

"Playing the horn helps me with my muscle control and breathing. It strengthened the diaphragm and throat muscles. I think being a vocalist helps me in the playing of the sax because the way I play I think more vocally. The sax is a real physical instrument. As a kid I was really into skin-diving and holding my breath. It's a release to kind of shout and get everything out. At the same time I'm screaming at everybody, I also have to control it so I can also whisper.

"The tenor is very close to the human voice. Playing the horn for a number of years has helped me in my singing. I didn't start out singing, but the horn opened up my throat. Now singing is as much a part of what I do as playing the horn."

In 1972 Hanck had a minor radio hit in the East Bay when the call came for him to join Elvin Bishop's band. Hanck didn't want to be part of a horn section, so he declined. Bishop persisted and asked again in 1976 after Hanck played on Strut My Stuff. Hanck again refused.

Finally, in 1977, "When he asked me the third time, I saw my record was going nowhere so I said yes. I went from driving around with my band in a potato chip truck to playing with Elvin for 10 years and riding in limousines and the best hotels. I went from playing in clubs with three people to playing at the Oakland Coliseum in front of 55,000 people screaming and loving it."

In 2005, Hanck released Night Train. The CD was co-produced by Chris "Kid" Andersen, who also plays guitar throughout. Andersen, one of Norway's top guitarists, is currently touring with Charlie Musselwhite.

"About five years ago, I went to Norway and played at the Muddy Waters club in Oslo, and [Andersen] was part of the house band I used. He said he wanted to come to California to meet one of his guitar heroes, Junior Watson. I told him I was goin' back to cut a record and Junior was gonna play on that and you can come and meet him. Chris also played on that CD from 2003. He was with my band for about four years. He's one of a kind. They are really into that style from the West Coast, guys like Junior Watson or Hollywood Fats. I'm really lucky to have worked with some of the best guitarists."

Night Train includes covers of the timeless music Hanck has always loved. There are two Tommy Ridgley tunes, Sam Cooke's wonderful "Somebody Have Mercy," and Hank Ballard's "Have Mercy Baby." And there are six Hanck originals. On "Junior's Walk" Hanck offers a tribute to his idol, Junior Walker. Close your eyes and it's "Shotgun" all over.

"I write songs very stylistically. I might want an early 1950s feel or an early 1960s sound, so I want the rhythm on the guitar a certain way. When I write songs, I'm writing for an ensemble. I'm very demanding stylistically on the guitar players who work for me."

--Art Tipaldi



Blues Revue Magazine
Bay Area tenor saxophonist Terry Hanck, a veteran of Elvin Bishop’s band who has also worked with Etta James, Sista Monica, and Tracy Nelson, hits a high-water mark with his latest solo project. Backed by a stellar team that includes Robert Cray B-3 player Jim Pugh and Charlie Musselwhite guitarist “Kid” Andersen, as well as Sid Morris (piano) and Butch Cousins (drums), with occasional bass from Michael Brooks, Hanck lays down a sizzling collection of R&B and blues tunes marked by vocals and sax playing that are well-phrased, tuneful, and soulful.

On “Night Train” (not the Jimmy Forrest and James Brown staple), Hanck’s shouted lyric combines with a driving rhythm, a minor-key chorus, skittering guitar, and powerful sax to shape an impressive leadoff track that suggests the R&B tour to come. Stylistically, this train makes several well selected stops. New Orleans receives the longest layover, as Hanck turn in a rollicking reading of Fats Domino’s “Let the Four Winds Blow” (with two sax solos, a memorable guitar break from Andersen, and terrific work from Morris) and covers two Tommy Ridgley numbers, “Wish I Had Never” and the upbeat “Ooh Lawdy My Baby.”

The band finds a perfectly swinging tempo for “All Around the World,” which could represent Atlanta (home of its author, Titus Turner), Chicago (Little Milton hit with it on Checker), or Detroit (Little Willie John, whose “Big Blue Diamonds” receives a shimmering swamp-pop treatment here, also sang this one). The Motor City is also represented by a smoking take on Hank Ballard’s “Have Mercy Baby.” A version of Sam Cooke’s “Somebody Have Mercy” is marked by Pugh’s rolling organ, B.B. King-style guitar line from Andersen, Hanck’s passionate vocals, and a sax ride-out livened up by honks and upper register squeals.

Hanck’s originals are just as diverse. “Another Light” could pass for a Meters of Dr. John number, while “Smilin’ Through My Tears” suggests Ray Charles’ gospel-R&B fusion. Andersen outdoes himself here, with muted arpeggios for the rhythm and stining lead breaks, while Hanck’s sax tone is never lovelier. “Run Run Baby” tilts toward the sophisticated, swinging end of the blues spectrum – you can almost hear Joe Williams singing it in front of Basie’s orchestra. Fans of soul and blues will find Night Train an irresistible ride.

--Tom Hyslop


Juke Blues
TERRY HANCK A regular sight on the West Coast, Hanck spent many years as sax-man in Elvin Bishop's band, and was last mentioned in these pages back in 1998. His new one, 'I Keep On Holdin' On' is an album of the highest quality, accessible, and with major label production values. Jump-jive, R&B, rock 'n' roll and soul all rub shoulders on a CD full of energy. Hanck's voice is excellent, particularly on soul songs like the title track, his songwriting contains a rare pop sensitivity and the band is flawless. This deserves to be heard by a wider audience.

--Ian Mariss


See Magazine
Jump Around: Terry Hanck gets up and gets down in E-town for a second round

When Saxophonist, Vocalist, and Songwriter Terry Hanck first played Edmonton two summers ago at Edmonton's Blues Festival, he was unknown to most local fans. He became one of the most talked about performers that year, mostly in the "who is that guy; where does he come from, and why haven't I heard of him before" vein of conversation that inevitably follows the debut of a talented performer.

-Cam Hayden


Edmonton Journal
Terry Hanck boasts one of the tightest groups around: Saxman's fans eagerly awaiting his return after nearly two years

Having American hornman Terry Hanck on the bandstand at Blues On Whyte is a breath of fresh air. The venue has been far too content in recycling the same 16 or 18 acts over the past three years, but that complaint can't be raised this week as this is only Hanck's second visit to our city as a frontman. This anticipated booking comes nearly two years after the tenor sax player and vocalist, whose talents were virtually unknown in this part of the world, wowed a crowd at the Labatt Blues Festival. Putting the same skilled group of musicians through their paces for the past three years is a bonus - for both Hanck and his audiences - as this quartet is one of the tightest units around, and not just on the club circuit.

With Hanck at the helm, patrons can discard any preconceived notions of watching a player light a smoke between tunes or witnessing members wonder aloud if they should play a shuffle or a ballad, while reminding a mate what key the piece is in. On Tuesday night, a large crowd tuned into this ensemble, which cast out polished, expertly arranged renditions of funk, R&B and soul tunes spun into perfectly paced hour-long sets. Hanck's horn of plenty leads the way as he and bassist Michael (Fly) Brooks, guitarist Chris (Kid) Andersen and drummer Butch Cousins snake their way through a classic '50s and '60s sound that draws on the inspiration of such departed greats as Junior Walker, King Curtis and Eddie (Cleanhead) Vinson. New Orleans-charged polyrhythmic attacks that give a nod to Professor Longhair or The Meters can give way at a moment's notice to a soulful vocal interpretation of a Chuck Willis gem from Hanck. Ditto for a bright and boastful arrangement of a T Bone Walker-style piece that puts Andersen, who is a show in his own right, in the driver's seat. Between sets, Hanck had an automatic response as to why he has been able to keep this particular unit together for three years when "bands are falling by the wayside in record numbers." "We've been able to get plugged into the country and state fair circuit back home and I can't tell you how important that is. We don't have to drive night after night from show to show. The working conditions are good. We might not be playing on the main stage at fairgrounds, but the production is always taken care of properly and we get to play three set a day. It just makes us tighter and tighter. Then when we show up for a festival date, we'll get up on the big stages and have been known to steal the show. We take a lot of people by surprise."

Hanck put in 10 years with the Elvin Bishop band between 1977 and '87, and it was there he and bassist Brooks first teamed up. Brooks had already been a member of the Bishop band for a few years, creating the pulse to tunes on such well-received albums as Let It Flow and the huge Bishop hit of '76, Fooled Around And Fell In Love. Brooks then joined the original Amos Garrett band in the early '80s and was a regular visitor to Edmonton between 1982 and '84, playing packed saloons like the Ambassador Blues Bar. With Brooks, Cousins is part of a rhythm section that lays everything down with authority while dissecting time signatures with great imagination and flair. Cousins comes from a musical family from the San Francisco bay area and his brother Richard is a longtime Robert Cray associate who co-wrote Smoking Gun. Hanck and company play through Saturday night at the popular Strathcona tavern. Fans can also take home the group's latest live disc, which is being sold off the bandstand. This is one R&B show that should not be missed.

--Peter North