Biography

Lance has been a part of the local Denver jazz scene since the early 1980s.  He currently does solo performances and leads the Acker Jazztet; as well as playing reeds with local swing bands (“Tight Like That”), New Orleans jazz (Steve Traylor’s “Fat City Mardi Gras Band”) and Gypsy Swing bands.  Throughout the past 30 years, he has been a member of the Hot Tomatoes Dance Orchestra, the Sterling Ensemble, the Queen City Jazz Band, and the Alan Frederickson Jazz Ensemble.  Lance maintains a private teaching studio (clarinet, saxophone, flute, theory, jazz improv) and is a clinician for local youth jazz bands.  Lance’s recordings include not only standard single reed instruments and flute, but also bass saxophone and contra-bass sarrusophone! He has participated in numerous jazz festivals, workshops, and concerts across the USA, Canada, Mexico and Europe.  Lance has worked with Andy Stein, Max Morath, Henry Cuesta, Dick Hyman, George Segal, Debbie Reynolds, and other national performers.  He has also been a guest soloist with the Colorado Wind Ensemble and the Jefferson County Symphony.Educational Background Lance received his Bachelor Degree in Music Education and Master Degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  During his university years, he worked with Clark Terry, Lou Soloff, Eddie Daniels, and Denis DiBlasio.  Lance’s post-graduate studies included a year with the Denver University Lamont Jazz Ensemble.Musical Endeavors Besides playing jazz, Lance was a reedman in the Denver Center Theatre pit orchestras for 12 years, the Arvada Center Theatre, the Bonfils Theatre, and the principal clarinetist for the Arvada Chamber Orchestra.  His stage orchestra performances included playing alto sax, tenor sax, and flute during an eight week run in the Denver Center Theatre Company’s Stage Theatre production of “Three Mo’ Divas”, which PBS produced a DVD of during the Denver run.  Lance also played flute with the Arvada Center Orchestra for their Debbie Reynolds performance.For several years, Lance was also a member of the Coors Light Silver Bullet Band, which performed for many of the professional sports teams in Denver.Since 1995, he has been a member of Taiko with Toni – a troupe that offers traditional and contemporary performances on Japanese instruments (taiko, flute, and hand percussion).  Taiko with Toni has performed not only in the US, but also England, central Europe, Japan, and Russia.