Colin Hancock has been playing since the age of 8!
Colin Hancock (23) is a multi-instrumentalist (primarily playing the cornet), recording engineer, and music historian from Buda, Texas. An enthusiast of early jazz, ragtime and blues since the age of 8, Colin has been a staunch fan of Whitley Bay for as long as he can remember.
“I always looked forward to clips and stories of the Whitley Bay Jazz Party in high school and undergrad, and was never disappointed. From Josh Duffee’s incredible McKinney’s Cotton Pickers set to Michael McQuaid’s New Orleans Jazz set and everything in between, it’s always been such a treat to hear what the best musicians playing our kind of music could do when they came together.
Needless to say, it’s always been a dream of mine to share the stage with them, and I am beyond excited to do so this year!” Colin says.
Colin started playing trumpet at the age of 8, before switching to the cornet in High School. He was a member of the Texas All State Jazz Band and All State Orchestra (trumpet in the former, string bass in the latter), as well as his High School Jazz Band, Jazz Combo and Orchestra.
He started gigging professionally as a Junior in High School, and formed his own Buddy Bolden tribute band as a senior, with the help of Jazz notables David Sager and Hal Smith.
At university, Colin formed the Original Cornell Syncopators, the only collegiate jazz band dedicated to the preservation of early jazz. The group started as a quintet performing the music of the Original Dixieland Jass Band on the centennial of their first recordings, before expanding to a 13 piece dance orchestra which toured across the United States.
This past spring the band recorded an album for Rivermont Records which highlights the impact of collegiate bands on jazz both through their music and extensive liner notes.
When he isn’t playing or studying (Colin is currently getting a masters in Urban Planning at Columbia University in New York City), he is experimenting with acoustical recording both on wax cylinder and now disc (this summer Colin led the first acoustic disc session of Jazz to occur in nearly a century).
He is extremely excited about Whitley Bay, and is immensely grateful for the opportunity to play with some of his idols from around the world!
