Hanna Rifkin and the Handsomes

Hanna Rifkin began her singing career fronting the rock band “Roxy.” While belting out guttural tones in the fashion of Janis Joplin and Debbie Harry was fun, she fell in love with the playful trumpeting of Louis Armstrong that underscored the horn like purity of Ella’s Fitzgerald’s voice on their recording of “They Can’t Take That Away from me”. Hanna immediately recognized in Jazz a greater opportunity to grow as an artist. “When I sang rock I felt like I was trying to replicate, but with jazz I got to give it my own spin.” She later spent a year in Italy where through a strange turn of events, met and formed a musical bond with renowned guitarist Francesco Lesi. After earning her degree in Italian, she sang her way across Europe doing old standards from the street corners and cafes of Paris, Budapest, Rome and Barcelona. She also speaks Spanish and a bit of French. Back in the states, Hanna moved to Santa Cruz where she studied jazz improvisation (under trumpeter Ray Brown), theory, and piano. In San Francisco, she’s played with Chris Siebert, Allen Smith, Sameer Gupta, Daniel Fabricant, Howard Wiley, BJ Papa, Michael Coleman, Scott Larson and others in the San Francisco scene. “I adore picking up a song that I’ve done so many times, and loved singing, then the player I’m with wants to do it in a different way, and it completely changes my perspective on the song. It usually happens spontaneously during a performance, and it’s so satisfying. I feel as if I’m giving the song and the players respect and that’s part of the beauty of jazz.” She also has a debut CD titled “Apples and Oranges” available through her website. The Handsomes perform 70% jazz, 30% mixed and 1% standup comedy- all done with extra grit, dynamics and the all-mighty downstrum.