Dave Hanson is an arranger, composer and pianist who has written for a diverse range of artists and ensembles including the Boston Pops (Paul Winter “Evening at Pops” PBS National Broadcast), Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, Denver Brass, Boulder Brass, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, USAF Falconaires, Al Hood and Claude Sim.
He is the co-leader, with Al Hood, of the H2 Big Band whose 2011 release “You’re It” climbed to #10 on the JazzWeek national radio chart and was #1 on Bob Parlocha’s syndicated jazz radio show playlist. That release was followed in 2015 by “It Could Happen,” recorded in Los Angeles with an A-list studio ensemble and vocalist Rene Marie. That release went to #13 on the JazzWeek chart. All arrangements on both CDs are by Hanson. The most recent H2 collaboration, Al Hood’s “Jazz Muses,” climbed to #14 on the JazzWeek chart and landed the #48 position in the 2019 JazzWeek Year End Top 100 chart for radio airplay of all CDs released in that year. The “Jazz Violin Concerto” Hanson composed for Claude Sim was recently performed by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
In spring 2022, Hanson retired from 36 years of teaching jazz arranging and composition at the Lamont School of Music University of Denver and is now an adjunct faculty member at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Thompson Jazz Studies Program teaching jazz arranging. His music is published by Excelsia Music (formerly Kendor), Denver Brass Publications and Boulder Brass Publications; and he has performed as pianist for all Kendor/Excelsia’s promotional jazz demo recordings since 1984. Hanson has also been active as an educator in the Denver community, teaching Saturday adult education classes for The Gift of Jazz organization.