Art Lande is an American musician who was born in New York City, United States, on 5 February 1947.
Born in New York, Lande began piano at age 4. He attended Williams College and moved to San Francisco in 1969. In 1973 he recorded Red Lanta, an album of duets with Norwegian musician Jan Garbarek. With Mark Isham on trumpet, he started the Rubisa Patrol group in 1976. 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), and one for 1750 Arch Records, The Story of Ba-Ku (1978).
In the early 1980s Lande taught at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. He moved to Switzerland, where he taught at a jazz school in St. Gallen. In 1987 he moved to Boulder, Colorado to teach at Naropa University.
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 in 1977, Hardball! (1987), Melissa Spins Away (1987), Friday the Thirteenth (1996, featuring thirteen Thelonious Monk compositions) and While She Sleeps (2005).
Although he is known as a pianist, Lande has performed and recorded on drums. He appeared in the 2021 film JazzTown, directed by Ben Makinen. (wikipedia)
Rubisa Patrol is an album by American jazz pianist Art Lande recorded in 1976 and released on the ECM label. It was his first album for ECM Recortds.
This recording, with the short-lived ensemble Rubisa Patrol, may someday be considered as one of the classic ECM recordings of all time. Some stunning compositions are present within a restrained, melodic concept, but please don’t term it new age. While there is a spiritual quality present, it is not overbearing. Four of the pieces are written by acoustic pianist Art Lande, with the standout track “Corinthian Melodies” a thing of sheer opulent beauty.
Trumpeter Mark Isham and Lande are the principal voices in this quartet, and the textures they conjure would set a precedent for what Isham would do for the bulk of his career in scoring for films. Bassist Bill Douglass and drummer Glenn Cronkhite are as sensitive a lower dynamic rhythmic team as can be. This is contemporary improvised music nonpareil, a relaxed, well-paced program that is here to soothe and reassure you. (by Michael G. Nastos)
Yes … what an album, yes, what a wonderful album … an album for the eternity !
Recorded at the Talent Studio in Oslo, Norway in May 1976
Personnel:
Glenn Cronkhite (drums, percussion)
Bill Douglass (bass, flute)
Mark Isham (trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophone)
Art Lande (piano)
Tracklist:
01. Celestial Guests/Many Chinas (Isham/Traditional) 9.52
02. Jaimi’s Birthday Song (Lande) 3.38
03. Romany (Cronkhite) 8.39
04. Bulgarian Folk Tune (Traditional) 0.57
05. Corinthian Melodies (Lande) 8.35
06. For Nancy (Isham) 6.03
07. Jaimi’s Birthday Song (Lande) 2.45
08. A Monk in His Simple Room (Lande) 5.11
The official website:
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