Today we’d like to introduce you to Colin Hancock
Hi Colin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a third generation classic jazz fan, thanks to my British grandfather who in WWII got into the music of Bix Beiderbecke from American GIs he met during the war. They introduced him to Bix’s music, and when he returned from the war he bought a few 78s by Bix with the Wolverine Orchestra, the first band he recorded with. My dad heard those growing up and eventually bought CDs, and then when I was a kid I heard those and was hooked from the first note. In addition to the great music, I was really intrigued by the recording technology used to make those records where you’d play into a big tin horn with a needle at the end which would then cut the sound into the wax record. So I picked up the trumpet and also started collecting old phonographs and records. My dad bought me a wax cylinder machine from 1906 when I was in high school, and I started cutting wax cylinders around town which is how I got into the professional music scene. By my senior year I was playing with many of the musicians who eventually joined the Joymakers in their bands. I went off to college at Cornell where I founded the Original Cornell Syncopators (which somehow still exists today under their fifth leader!) a 13 piece hot dance and jazz orchestra which toured across the country. Our show in NYC sold out, prompting me to move there for three years after undergrad. In NYC I operated the only acoustic (i.e. no mic) studio that city had seen since 1930! I also recieved my first GRAMMY nomination while living there, for my work on a reissue project with Archeophone Records. But I knew I’d end up back in Texas at some point, so when I decided to go to law school I chose UT Austin. When I returned, I put together the Joymakers with the same crew of folks I’d played with for all those years plus some wonderful new additions to the scene like Shane Dickens, our pianist (who, incidentally is the great great grandson of Emil Berliner, the guy who invented the flat disc record! Go figure…) I wanted to form a band focusing on the wonderful jazz heritage of Texas and this part of the country, which was critical in jazz’s development yet gets tragically overlooked. I’ve been very lucky to have such an amazing pool of musicians here and a great label in NYC (Turtle Bay) who have helped make that dream a reality!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a smooth but very windy road. The kind of jazz I play has been very overlooked, so it’s been a mission of mine to vouch for it in every way I can. Fortunately I’ve had some amazing educators and mentors who have helped me get where I am. Kaz Kazanoff and John Moon at St. Stephens here in Austin helped encourage me to write arrangements and strive for excellence on my instruments. David Jellema and Dan Torosian helped me learn how to play with soul and listen to the good stuff. Paul Merrill at Cornell let me start the syncopators and guided me through the logistics of operating a band, not to mention encouraged its growth and development. But it hasn’t all been easy. I had to build my recording apparatus from the ground up, often finding blueprints and creating new ways to make parts that could no longer be machined, especially on a college student budget. And in finding the records that I have worked to preserve i’ve been in some pretty precarious and dingy places. But again, my network of mentors and colleagues have made it all go as smoothly as it could.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I play 1920s jazz, record using 1920s technology, and specialize in the history of it all. As an artist, I strive for authenticity in everything. I know we’ll never have a time machine to go back to a Gregory Gym dance at UT in 1926, or to be a fly on the wall in a Wolverines or King Oliver session. But I also know that we can create in the same way as our heroes, but within our own contexts. I try to surround myself with likeminded folks who have developed a voice in this art. It’s sort of like using a certain kind of paint (oil for instance), to get a certain texture or draw certain feelings from whoever interacts with your work–I try to do that both in what I play and also how it’s recorded, presented, and programmed. I’m most proud of forming bands from the ground up into living breathing examples of the music I love (the Joymakers truly are a territory band with a previously extinct sound and approach), and for building and operating my acoustic studio because several people told me it would be impossible.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
If you have a spark, follow it! It’s easy to cast things like that aside, or see them as extraneous or unimportant, but often they’re the most important things in life. I got into Cornell mainly because of my cylinder recording! I wasn’t a straight A student, crazy athlete, or anything. It was my passion that stood out. And so many people said it was useless or would hurt my chances of success, but the truth is it’s gotten me the farthest. I think people can tell when you really love something. So follow it!
Pricing:
- Vinyl $30
- CD $25
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.turtlebayrecords.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joymakersatx/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SemperPhonographCo
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/4SMYys34676BL71w9Xx2sW
Image Credits
Photos by Chloe Hancock and Kim Yarbrough
