He was born in
Faith, South Dakota, United States. For the rest of the decade, he worked in dance bands, sometimes leading them. In the next decade, the group passed through swing before becoming identified with the bop school. His later
big band, which was active c. 1944-1947, performed arrangements that were often comparable to those used by
Woody Herman and the "progressive jazz" of
Stan Kenton during the same period. The compositions arranged by
George Handy were the most contemporary, utilizing dissonance somewhat in the manner of
Igor Stravinsky.
Johnny Richards joined in 1947, following Handy and stayed for a year writing 50 compositions. ==Later life and death==