Roland Hanna


Roland Pembroke Hanna was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher.

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. This interest increased after his time in military service. 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. He worked with several big names in the 1950s, including Benny Goodman and Charles Mingus, and graduated in 1960. 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. Hanna also toured the Soviet Union with the orchestra in 1972. 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. Around this time, he also began composing chamber and orchestral music; a ballet he wrote has also been performed.
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. 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. He was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey.
He died in Hackensack, New Jersey, of a viral infection of the heart, on November 13, 2002.
Critic and jazz pianist Len Lyons grouped Hanna with fellow Detroit pianists Hank Jones, Barry Harris, and Flanagan for their "tasteful accompaniment and the sophisticated use of modern jazz elements in their soloing and trio work." Jazz pianist Dick Katz observed, "Because of Roland's extensive training... he developed a bravura technique that led him into areas where many jazz pianists don't go. He learned how to integrate his classical background into much of what he composed and played.... Roland had the rare gift of being able to truly improvise from scratch, letting his imagination take him almost anywhere on a given theme. He was not dependent on any specific style to tell his stories. Like Earl Hines and few others, he never played a piece the same way twice."

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Posthumous compilationsMemoir One For Eiji with Eiji Nakayama
  • ''Colors from a Giant's Kit''

As member of a group

The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
The New York Jazz Quartet
Mingus DynastyLive At Montreux – liveReincarnation Mingus' Sounds Of Love Live At The Village Vanguard – liveEpitaph (Charles Mingus composition) – live recorded in 1989

As sideman

With Pepper AdamsEphemera – recorded in 1973Reflectory
With Kenny BurrellSwingin' – recorded in 1956On View at the Five Spot Cafe – liveAsphalt Canyon Suite Ellington Is Forever Volume Two – recorded in 1975
With Ron CarterAll Blues Spanish Blue Stardust
With Richard DavisMuses for Richard Davis Persia My Dear
With Elvin JonesDear John C. Very R.A.R.E.
With Jimmy KnepperCunningbird I Dream Too Much
With Red RodneyThe Red Tornado Red, White and Blues The 3R's – recorded in 1979
With Sonny StittMr. Bojangles Satan
With others