Art Lande
Encyclopedia
Art Lande is a jazz
pianist, drummer, composer and educator.
Born in New York City
, he began piano at age 4, studied at Williams College
, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969. He made the first record of his own compositions in 1973 for ECM Records
, in a duo with saxophonist/flutist Jan Garbarek
. The record name, Red Lanta
, was the first of several anagram
s of his name that Lande used in his titles.
In 1976 he founded the jazz quartet Rubisa Patrol, with Mark Isham
on trumpet, Bill Douglass
on bass, and Glenn Cronkhite (later replaced by Kurt Wortmann) on drums. Rubisa Patrol played jazz standards, but also a lot of original music.
They performed in the Bay Area and toured extensively in Europe by van. This group made two records for ECM
: Rubisa Patrol
(1976), Desert Marauders
(1977) The band also released a third album titled The Story Of Ba-Ku (1978) on the 1750 Arch Street label.
In the early 1980s Lande taught at The Cornish College of the Arts
in Seattle. For three years beginning in 1983 Lande was based in Switzerland where he taught in a jazz school in St. Gallen
. In 1987 he moved to Boulder, Colorado
to teach at Naropa University
. Since then he has continued to reside in Boulder and has worked extensively with many locally-based musicians.
Lande has written many compositions, but is also known for his unusual and distinctive interpretations of popular and jazz standards. He has made several solo piano recordings devoted to such material, including The Eccentricities of Earl Dant (another anagram) in 1977, Art Lande: Hardball! (1987), Art Lande: Melissa Spins Away (1987), Friday the Thirteenth (1996), featuring 13 Thelonious Monk
compositions, and While She Sleeps (2005).
While always best known as a pianist, since the mid-1990s Lande has also played and recorded with several groups as a drummer.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist, drummer, composer and educator.
Born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he began piano at age 4, studied at Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969. He made the first record of his own compositions in 1973 for ECM Records
ECM (record label)
ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
, in a duo with saxophonist/flutist Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek is a Norwegian tenor and soprano saxophonist, active in the jazz, classical, and world music genres. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war Czesław Garbarek and a Norwegian farmer's daughter...
. The record name, Red Lanta
Red Lanta
Red Lanta is an album by American jazz pianist Art Lande featuring Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek recorded in 1973 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
, was the first of several anagram
Anagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
s of his name that Lande used in his titles.
In 1976 he founded the jazz quartet Rubisa Patrol, with Mark Isham
Mark Isham
Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
on trumpet, Bill Douglass
Bill Douglass
William "Bill" Douglass was an American jazz drummer born in Sherman, Texas. Douglass relocated to Los Angeles when he was six months old, becoming in his adulthood a popular LA musician who worked shows and sessions with some of swing's top performers...
on bass, and Glenn Cronkhite (later replaced by Kurt Wortmann) on drums. Rubisa Patrol played jazz standards, but also a lot of original music.
They performed in the Bay Area and toured extensively in Europe by van. This group made two records for ECM
ECM (record label)
ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
: Rubisa Patrol
Rubisa Patrol
Rubisa Patrol is an album by American jazz pianist Art Lande recorded in 1976 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 4½ stars stating "This recording, with the short lived ensemble Rubisa Patrol, may someday be considered as one of the...
(1976), Desert Marauders
Desert Marauders
Desert Marauders is an album by American jazz pianist Art Lande and the band Rubisa Patrol recorded in 1977 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(1977) The band also released a third album titled The Story Of Ba-Ku (1978) on the 1750 Arch Street label.
In the early 1980s Lande taught at The Cornish College of the Arts
Cornish College of the Arts
-Library:The library at Cornish College specializes in art, dance, design, music, performance production, and theatre. As of 2011 it holds 4700 CDs, 40,000 books, has 2,200 videos, and subscribes to 154 periodicals...
in Seattle. For three years beginning in 1983 Lande was based in Switzerland where he taught in a jazz school in St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
. In 1987 he moved to Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
to teach at Naropa University
Naropa University
Naropa University is a private American liberal arts university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher and Oxford University scholar Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the eleventh-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda.Naropa describes itself as...
. Since then he has continued to reside in Boulder and has worked extensively with many locally-based musicians.
Lande has written many compositions, but is also known for his unusual and distinctive interpretations of popular and jazz standards. He has made several solo piano recordings devoted to such material, including The Eccentricities of Earl Dant (another anagram) in 1977, Art Lande: Hardball! (1987), Art Lande: Melissa Spins Away (1987), Friday the Thirteenth (1996), featuring 13 Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
compositions, and While She Sleeps (2005).
While always best known as a pianist, since the mid-1990s Lande has also played and recorded with several groups as a drummer.
As leader
- Red LantaRed LantaRed Lanta is an album by American jazz pianist Art Lande featuring Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek recorded in 1973 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(ECM, 1973) - Rubisa PatrolRubisa PatrolRubisa Patrol is an album by American jazz pianist Art Lande recorded in 1976 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 4½ stars stating "This recording, with the short lived ensemble Rubisa Patrol, may someday be considered as one of the...
(ECM, 1976) - The Eccentricities of Earl Dant (Arch, 1977)
- Desert MaraudersDesert MaraudersDesert Marauders is an album by American jazz pianist Art Lande and the band Rubisa Patrol recorded in 1977 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(ECM, 1977) - The Story of Ba-Ku (Arch, 1978)
- SkylightSkylight (album)Skylight is an album by American jazz pianist Art Lande, vibraphonist David Samuels and saxophonist Paul McCandless recorded in 1981 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars....
with David Samuels and Paul McCandlessPaul McCandlessPaul McCandless, Jr. is an American jazz woodwind player and composer. He is one of few expert jazz oboists, and also plays English horn, soprano saxophone, sopranino saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet, and pennywhistle, among other instruments.He has performed with the Paul Winter Consort and is...
(ECM, 1981) - We BeginWe BeginWe Begin is a collaborative album by the American jazz musicians Mark Isham and Art Lande. It is a highly experimental album featuring a wide range of compositional styles....
with Mark IshamMark IshamMark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
(ECM, 1987) - Hardball! (Great American Music Hall, 1987)
- Melissa Spins Away (Great American Music Hall, 1987)
- The 3 Billy Goats Gruff & The 3 Little Pigs with Holly HunterHolly HunterHolly Hunter is an American actress. Hunter starred in The Piano for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has also been nominated for Oscars for her roles in Broadcast News, The Firm, and Thirteen...
(Rabbit Ears/Windham Hill, 1989) - Red Riding Hood & Goldilocks with Meg RyanMeg RyanMargaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra , professionally known as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. Raised in Bethel, Connecticut, Ryan began her acting career in 1981 in minor roles, before joining the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982...
(Rabbit Ears/Windham Hill, 1990) - World Without Cars with Mark Miller (Synergy Music, 1996)
- Friday the Thirteenth (Vartan Jazz, 1996)
Positions
- Private Instructor, SF & Berkeley CA (1970–1977)
- Lone Mountain CollegeLone Mountain CollegeLone Mountain College was a college acquired by the University of San Francisco in 1978. It was founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart as Sacred Heart Academy in Menlo Park, California in 1898 and became College of the Sacred Heart in 1921...
, San Francisco (1978–1979) - Cornish College of the ArtsCornish College of the Arts-Library:The library at Cornish College specializes in art, dance, design, music, performance production, and theatre. As of 2011 it holds 4700 CDs, 40,000 books, has 2,200 videos, and subscribes to 154 periodicals...
, Seattle (1979–1983) - San Jose State College, San Jose, California (1983–1984)
- Jazz School of Migros Klubschule, St. GallenSt. GallenSt. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
, Switzerland (1984–1987) - Jazz School Lausanne, Switzerland (1986–1987)
- Naropa Institute, Boulder, Colorado (1987–1999)
- University of Colorado, BoulderUniversity of Colorado at BoulderThe University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, Colorado (2006–Present)