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She studied classical piano for 10 years, but her earliest singing experiences consisted of improvising harmony parts with the rest of her family and the early influence of a close friend with whom she sang and whistled everything from Beatles songs to Bach two-part inventions. Hanna credits her mother, an ardent fan of ragtime music, with passing along a passion for syncopation and rhythm. Her earliest actual exposure to jazz was in high school in Geneva, when she would often join Flanigan & Hashim while they explored the depths of the extensive jazz record collection of Phil’s father. She first started singing professionally while in college, experimenting with rock (and finding it literally painful to sing), and with folk music. Like so many others, she found Ella Fitzgerald’s singing compelling, and after graduating from college Hanna decided to start singing jazz. She bought and studied recordings of all the female jazz singers she could find. The work of Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Helen Humes, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, and others was influential and instructive, but Rosemary Clooney’s albums with Scott Hamilton and the work of Maxine Sullivan convinced her that she was most at home with a straight-ahead, melodic and swinging approach. While working in academic administration, she has pursued her interest in both folk music and jazz. She taught herself to play the mandolin and performed in a duo with a ragtime-blues guitarist, and also sang frequently with many of the fine jazz musicians associated with the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Since moving to Syracuse in 1986, she has contributed back-up vocals to many recording projects, voice-overs for numerous videos, and has performed steadily in the Syracuse area. She recently reunited and started collaborating with her old friend bassist Phil Flanigan, who has performed with three of Hanna’s main influences, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, and Maxine Sullivan. Hanna and Phil were married in November, 2001 and released their first CD together, Something to Remember You By in September 2001. Their second, Things Are Looking Up, was released in May 2004. They recently completed a third album together for the Arbors label. Martin Richards of the Jazz Journal International, wrote of Something to Remember You By, “Hanna has a rich voice and I think it is this depth which enables her to generate such a warm sound to her performance. But on top of the warmth, Hanna has total command of the lyrics and the music and an obvious respect for the melody…best of all, she swings and that is the most essential requirement of all!"
Jerry Stonestreet, editor of The UK's In Tune Magazine wrote of Things Are Looking Up, “Hanna has just completed a British tour, and to my great regret I was unable to get to see her. However, I have the consolation of this superb CD, which is a delight from start to finish. Hanna displays innate good taste in her serene yet heartfelt approach to these songs, and is well supported by bass-playing husband Phil Flanigan and a tasty guitar-based quartet, who are featured on three instrumental tracks. Fine jazz-tinged singing with respect for the melody, mature interpretation of the lyrics without any histrionics and mannerisms. Highly recommended.” She has appeared at many Central New York clubs and events and at the Swinging Jazz Party in Blackpool, England, the Wilmington, North Carolina Jazz Party, the Dixieland Monterey (California) Festival, and the country’s largest jazz party, the Arbors Records March of Jazz in Clearwater, Florida. She and Phil Flanigan completed their third UK tour together in June 2006, along with guitarist Chris Flory. |
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Hanna
Richardson was born in Alexandria, Virginia but spent the first
eight years of her life abroad because her father was a foreign
service officer. He retired in 1965 to Geneva, New York, unwittingly
placing her in the town where she would befriend three future jazz
musicians: Phil Flanigan, Michael Hashim, and Chris Flory. 
