Thomas Handy

Born in Windsor, Ontario in 1949, Thomas is a self-taught guitarist/composer. His first influences were from his mother, a pianist, organist and teacher who appreciated all things musical, and early lessons in classical violin. By high school, he had found the acoustic guitar and began an evolving journey, beginning with an interest in folk, roots, blues and popular styles, followed by explorations in jazz, contemporary music and world music traditions.

Since 1968 he has been active in diverse musical realms: as an accompanist for some of Canada's finest singer songwriters including Colleen Petersen, Doug MacArthur, and blues/jazz/ragtime singer/guitarist Mose Scarlett, a touring theatre group musician, and collaborator on Kingston and Toronto based jazz duos and trios. In 1988, his ongoing explorations led him to non-traditional alternatives in music and sound composition during an extended period of activity in electronic music/audio, free improvisation and experimental film, performance and recording with his life-long friend, the conceptual visual/audio artist John Kamevaar.

From 1993 to 1999 Thomas led the critically acclaimed Thomas Handy Trio, a Toronto-based cross cultural music ensemble, using his compositions as a basis for improvisation. with partners Ravi Naimpally on tabla/percussion and Oliver Schroer on violin. This experience fulfilled a long held desire to participate in a world music ensemble and the Trio's second release "Arc" was Juno nominated in 1998. He continued his guitar and composition experiments on projects with Ravi and Jennifer Moore (voice) among others, also performing part time in a duo with the great bassist/composer George Koller, and as an accompanist to his partner, the soulful singer songwriter Rachel Page.

After a much needed hiatus and relocation to the west coast, Thomas has re-emerged with the release of "Storybook" - a collection of original music for solo guitar echoing his broad influences and personal touch on the guitar. With contrasting guitar techniques from bass-chord-melody finger style to complex flat picking patterns, Thomas uses the full range of the nylon six string, sometimes extended with lowered tunings in the bass strings. The pieces vary in form and mood while Thomas' skilled use of subtle changes in dynamics in these "live" performances gives the pieces a multifaceted character, sometimes an illusion of two instruments and an intimate listening experience. With Storybook and a companion album in the works, Thomas offers his unique sound and most direct expression as a solo acoustic guitarist and composer.

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