Art Lande

Known for an adventurous yet understated approach to improvisation, Art Lande has ranked among Colorado’s leading jazz pianists for decades, a circumstance that explains his strong regional reputation alongside limited wider recognition despite evident skill and originality. Classical training began for him at age four; he later enrolled at Williams College and then settled in San Francisco in 1969. Although he experimented with electric piano on occasion during the 1970s, Lande has largely pursued an independent course, extending the harmonic and textural explorations first advanced by Bill Evans. A 1973 recording date paired him with Jan Garbarek and Ted Curson, and by the middle of the decade he had founded his own jazz school. The quartet Rubisa Patrol came together under his leadership in 1976, produced albums for ECM, and remained active until 1983. After spending three years teaching in Switzerland, he relocated to Boulder, CO, in 1987. His catalog as a leader comprises four ECM releases from 1973, 1976, 1977, and 1981, along with sessions for 1750 Arch in 1977–1978 and two dates for the Great American Music Hall label in 1987–1988.