Blues Sky Dave Hanson

• 1 Two Masters 05:10
• 2 Across That Bridge 07:17
• 3 June 16th 05:22
• 4 Ambrosian 06:44
• 5 Arnhem 05:59
• 6 As It Was and Is 03:11
• 7 Blues Sky 05:36
• 8 Cross Steps 08:01
• 9 Dylan Dream 06:54
• 10 Muse Walk 04:42
• Total Runtime 58:56

Info for Blues Sky

After decades as an in-demand composer/arranger, and a co-leader of Denver's acclaimed H2 Big Band, pianist Dave Hanson took his 2024 week-long Artist in Residence at Denver's Dazzle Jazz club to put focus on his piano playing and his small group arranging, resulting in this debut quartet recording. With saxophonist Wil Swindler, bassist Mark Simon, and drummer Paul Romaine, Hanson pays tribute to a melting pot of towering American music innovators through this set of ten wide-ranging originals. Through the brightly swinging "Two Masters" for Bill Evans & Chick Corea, to the shuffle of "Blues Sky" for Jimi Hendrix, and the boogaloo refrain of "Dylan Dream" for Bob Dylan, Hanson's band is dynamic and inspired.

"...a supremely swinging, gloriously arranged and performed feast." (AllAboutJazz)

"If you are drawn to albums that immediately immerse you in a refined, poetic atmosphere, this one is for you. It stems from a particularly captivating artistic approach, during his week-long residency at the Dazzle Jazz Club in Denver in 2024, Dave Hanson took the opportunity to highlight both his piano playing and his arrangements for a small ense ..." (Thierry De Clemensat, Paris-Move)

Wil Swindler, alto & tenor saxophones
Dave Hanson, piano & Fender Rhodes
Mark Simon, acoustic & electric bass Paul Romaine, drums

Dave Hanson
is an arranger, composer, and pianist who has written for a diverse range of artists and ensembles, including Paul Winter with the Boston Pops, Pops Orchestra concerts with the Pittsburg, Houston, Milwaukee, Colorado, and New Jersey Symphony Orchestras, Denver Brass, and Boulder Brass, and is the Pianist/Co-leader and Arranger/Composer of the H2 Big Band, doing all the arrangements for the You're It and It Could Happen recordings, as well as Al Hood's Chamber Orchestra Just a Little Taste, and Jazz Muses recordings.

"Pulls out all the stops and is surely one of the most exhilarating big bands in recent history": from an International Trumpet Guild review. The H2 Big Band has soared in the Jazz Radio charts with a series of recordings, and has been featured in supportive and collaborative roles with Darius Rucker, Veronica Swift, Rene Marie, Take 6, Jon Faddis, Kevin Mahogany, Curtis Stigers, Clint Holmes, and Allan Harris.

Dave is recently retired from thirty-six years of teaching in the Jazz and Commercial Music Department at the Lamont School of Music, University of Denver. His music is published by Kakeda Music Publishing/ASCAP, Denver Brass Publications, Boulder Brass Publications, and Kendor Music.

This album contains no booklet.