Carnival [Vinyl]

After the surprise success of Hard Work, altoist John Handy was rushed back into the studio with hopes of duplicating that album's sales. As it turned out, this record never did catch on (Hard Work was a fluke). Handy is mostly featured here in commercial settings, singing two songs and interacting with an electric rhythm section (which sometimes includes guitarist Lee Ritenour and, in one case, Larry Carlton). Best is a duet version of "All the Things You Are" with pianist Sonny Burke, but that lasts less than three minutes. However, this LP is superior to John Handy's next two strictly-for-the-money projects for Warner Bros. ~ Scott Yanow