Bluesdays: Terry Hanck

Terry Hanck returns to Bluesdays in The Village at Palisades Tahoe.

An all-time Bluedays favorite, saxophonist Terry Hanck’s appearance last year was smoked out by the Caldor Fire. He and his band will make their first Village appearance in four years on Tuesday, July 12.

Hanck’s blues-based sound is flavored with early rock and roll — when the saxophone, and not guitar, was the featured instrument. A Chicago native, Hanck was inspired by the blues at a 1962 B.B. King concert.

His blues has an early rock and roll sound, and for good reason. He was around when the music began.

“The first rock and roll I heard was Fats Domino and Little Richard,” Hanck said. “Fats Domino never called it rock and roll. He called it rhythm and blues.

“Early rock and roll is what influenced me. Jazz, soul, blues, I really don’t separate it. Great tenor players from the bebop era could all really get down and play blues. I don’t think they thought, ‘Now I am playing blues and now I am playing jazz.’ They are interrelated.”

Hanck has won three Blues Music Awards and 2019 album, “I Still Get Excited,” spent 10 months in the top 12 of the Classic Blues Roots Music Charts. It was Hanck’s fifth record was produced by Kid Andersen at Greaseland Studios.

Hanck’s West Coast band has had the same personnel for each Bluesdays show: Johnny “Cat” Soubrand plays a Fender Telecaster guitar, Butch Cousins plays drums and the bassist is Tim Wagar.

Hanck lives in Florida, but spends most of summers in California, where he built a fan base from 1977-87 when he was in Elvin Bishop’s band during its heyday of hit songs. Before he accepted Bishop’s third offer to become a member of his touring band, he performed on sessions for “Struttin’ My Stuff,” which included Bishop’s greatest hit, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.”

While Bishop ended up helping Thomas get a big break, Hanck gets credit for bringing Chris “Kid” Andersen from Norway to Northern California.

Hanck, whose wife is from Norway, often plays shows during his visits there. Andersen played guitar in the house band for a venue that featured headlining blues players from the United States.

“I was looking for a guitar player and all (Andersen’s) heroes were from California, guys like Junior Watson,” Hanck said. “I said, ‘If you are serious, let’s do it.’ He is such a talent, it (moving to the U.S.) was going to happen sooner or later. The guy is a force of nature.”