John Handy - Hard Work (1976/2018)

Other than an MPS set that fused together jazz and Indian music with indifferent results, this album was altoist John Handy's first as a leader since 1968. "Hard Work" became a surprise hit, and overall, the set is open to the influence of R&B, although there are some strong moments from Handy on both alto and tenor. The backup band includes Hotep Cecil Barnard on keyboards, guitarist Mike Hoffmann, and (on three of the seven numbers) Zakir Hussain on tabla.