Dave Hanson’s Week-Long Residency at Dazzle

Dave Hanson has a week-long residency on-stage at Dazzle on February 18, 19, and 21. These shows cover a lot of ground musically and feature many players that Hanson admires and has worked with over the years. In anticipation of his upcoming residency, Dave Hanson stopped by the KUVO Studios for a conversation with The Morning Set team.

 

Jazz pianist extraordinaire Dave Hanson recently retired from 36 years of teaching Jazz Arranging and Composition at DU’s Lamont School of Music and is doing more playing than he has been able to do in a long time. Of course, he was no slouch before. Besides teaching the next generation of Jazz arrangers, he was co-leader with Al Hood, of the H2 Big Band, who recorded their own albums and backed up artists like Renee Marie and Darius Rucker (of Hootie and the Blowfish fame). He has also written for ensembles, including the Boston Pops, Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, Denver Brass, Boulder Brass, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and the USAF Falconaires. The Littleton Symphony Orchestra recently performed his “Jazz Violin Concerto”  with Claude Sim.

Details on the Residency:

Sunday, Feb. 18 – 5 p.m — Dave Hanson and Claude Sim – Classical violinist and Associate Concertmaster for The Colorado Symphony, Claude Sim is one of those amazing artists who is as skilled at Jazz improvising as he is at classical violin. Dave says he heard Claude while doing arrangements for symphony pops concerts, but where they meet musically is on Jazz ground. “It’s rare to find someone so multi-talented” says Dave and he has been looking for ways for them to play together more. They will play an amazing variety of music such as Tango, Charlie Parker Be-bop, Stephane Grapelli, Sylvie Courvoisier avant-garde, a piece by Maria Schneider and more

Monday, Feb. 19 – 6:30 p.m. — Dave Hanson: A Tribute to Al Hood – Dave has put together the best of the best, a great array of trumpet players to pay tribute to his H2 Big Band co-founder Al Hood, who cannot be with them due to a tragic accident in 2022, but who is happy knowing he is loved and remembered by all his friends. Pete Olstad, Greg Gisbert, and Jonathan Powell will share trumpet duty and also play together on some pieces. Dave says they were hugely lucky to get Jonathan Powell, who played for the Air Force Falconaires and is a successful NYC trumpet player since he moved there in 2001. Denver favorites Greg Gisbert, (who has performed with the likes of Buddy Rich, Maria Schneider, Woody Herman, Norman Simmons, and Clark Terry) and Pete Olstad, (who has toured and performed with the bands of Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Blood Sweat and Tears, Mel Torme, Brian Setzer, Tom Jones and Luis Miguel) will also be featured.

Wednesday, Feb. 21 – 6:30 p.m — Dave Hanson Trio, Live Recording! Dave Hanson, Mark Simon and Paul Romaine are excited to do a live recording of their Trio at Dazzle. Dave says, “these great players always make me bring my A-game.” Dave and Mark Simon established an easy rapport after playing a duo gig every Saturday night for two years. Paul was a mainstay in Dave and Al Hood’s H2 Big Band, and played on Al’s “Jazz Muses” CD. Dave likes the challenge of always preparing something new for each show. Look for a unique chemistry between the players, and new compositions being recorded for the first time-live and in the moment!  —Dazzle

For more details, visit dazzledenver.com

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Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy of Dazzle