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Gary Hassay has been performing since 1979 with
various groups, both as a leader and a sideman. His large ensemble, "Dr. Vincent
Sakeeda's Attack Ensemble," founded in 1979, was a tour de force of free music which
drew critical acclaim, and helped establish Allentown, Pennsylvania as a vibrant home of
highly creative improvisational music. While not yet widely known outside the Northeast, Gary has performed with some of the world's leading new music artists including Fred Frith, Andrew Cyrille, Gerry Hemingway, Anne LeBaron, Peter Broetzmann, William Parker, Tom Cora, Wadada Leo Smith, and Milford Graves. Hassay cites among his formative influences Hungarian Gypsy violin music, R&B/soul music, Albert Ayler, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Broetzmann, and Evan Parker. Gary's first CD, A Survivor's Smile, is an intensely personal collection of 13 solo pieces for alto saxophone that eloquently bespeak the recording's title. His tone is reminiscent of that big 50s sound we all grew up on, tempered with an edge that comes from surviving in the 90s. But his tone is only the backdrop for a compositional approach that causes your spirit to soar beyond the confines of our daily boundaries and limitations. Gary is a survivor. On the sheer strength of his own desire, he has persevered against great odds to maintain an artistic vision filled with clarity, honesty, and purpose. That indeed is a rare and valuable luxury in this day...most worthy of support and praise. |
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