George Handy was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist born George Joseph Hendleman in Brooklyn, New York, in 1920. His reputation rests on an intense burst of creative activity during 1945 and 1946 as the chief composer, arranger, and musical director of the Boyd Raeburn Orchestra. During this period Handy produced harmonically adventurous big band writing that placed him among progressive jazz arrangers alongside Eddie Sauter, Gil Evans, and Pete Rugolo. Notable compositions from the Raeburn years include "Dalvatore Sally," "Hey Look, I'm Dancing," and "Yerxa." On AllSolos his composition "Diggin' Diz" is featured. After leaving Raeburn his output became intermittent. He died in New York City in 1997, remembered for a concentrated body of work that pushed the boundaries of jazz orchestration.
