Bio
Saxophonist and composer Nathan Hanson makes music that invites listeners to stand outside themselves and the flow of time. His improvisations are “lithe and soaring, engaging in judicious honk 'n' splatter” (New York City Jazz Record).
In Europe, Hanson has performed at the Atlantique Jazz Festival, Splendor in Amsterdam and the Sons d’Hiver Festival in Paris. In the US he’s played at New York’s Knitting Factory, the Outpost in Albuquerque, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and Chicago’s Elastic.
With grants from New Music America and the Minnesota State Arts Board Hanson has launched solo projects that explore how space interacts with sound. Whether it’s a cathedral, a tree farm, or a sculpture garden, Hanson investigates how to channel the sound of each performance space. The energy of the audience circulates with the music, silence and breath. The effect leads listeners to become more present to the unfolding of each moment.
Hanson’s tours of the US and Europe opened the door to collaborations with Jacques Thollot, Catherine Delaunay, Dennis Gonzalez and Anne La Berge. He has recorded more than a dozen albums on labels including Innova, nato, and Skirl.
Recent projects include COVID-inspired front yard concerts and further sound and space exploration.
Quotes
“Lithe and soaring...engaging in judicious honk 'n' splatter”
New York City Jazz Record
“Music that’s unpredictable and full of emotion”
Milwaukee Shepherd-Express
"Seductively pithy, refreshingly cinematic”
Signal to Noise
“Beautiful and stubborn, somehow both open-ended and complete”
Said the Gramophone (Canada)
“Immediately accessible without sacrificing musical smarts”
Destination: OUT
“Unexpectedly tasteful and dignified”
Impro magazine (France)
“Spiritual, reminiscent of Charles Lloyd”
Jazz Police
“Beautiful phrasing like Stan Getz”
Le Nouvel Observateur (France)
"tinges of Jan Garbarek and Albert Ayler"
Exclaim! (Canada)
Venues
ABC No-Rio, NYC
Academy of Music and Theater, Tallinn, Estonia
AJMI, Avignon, France
American Swedish Museum, Chicago, IL
Artists’ Quarter, St. Paul, MN
Arts Center of Saint Peter, MN
Atelier Tampon, Paris, France
Atlantique Jazz Festival, Brest, France
Bab-ilo, Paris, France
Cafe l’Angora, Paris, France
CBGB, NYC
Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN
Club Mink, Tolmin, Slovenia
Concrete and Grass Festival, St. Paul, MN
Cutting Room, NYC
Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis, MN
Elastic, Chicago, IL
Electric Eyes Festival, Minneapolis, MN
Ermitage, Paris, France
Espace Cuturel, Angers, France
Espace en Cours, Paris, France
Festival Kind of Belou, Treignac, France
First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
Garfield Artworks, Pittsburgh, PA
Gheroarte, Milano, Italy
Hotcakes Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Hungry Brain, Chicago, IL
Icehouse, Minneapolis, MN
Il Macello, San Marino
Judson Gym, NYC
Kato Ballroom, Mankato, MN
Kavehaz, NYC
Kiju, Lodz, Poland
Knitting Factory, NYC
L’Arrorsoir, Chalons Sur Saone, France
La Palma Club, Rome, Italy
La Passerelle, St. Brieuc, France
Le Petit Balcon, Paris, France
Lizières, Épaux-Bézu, France
MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids, MN
Magasin Général, Tarnac, France
Mexicains Sans Frontieres, Grand Rapids, MI
Minneapolis Fringe Festival
Minnesota Sur Seine Festival
Outpost, Albuquerque, NM
Physical Art Center, Brooklyn, NY
Pine Center for the Arts, Pine City, MN
Ratchet Series, Cafe Moustache, Chicago, IL
Record Bar, Kansas City, MO
Rudyard Kipling, Louisville, KY
Singo MusicFest, Singo, Sweden
Sons d’Hiver Festival, Paris, France
Southern Theater, Minneapolis, MN
Spark Festival of Electronic Music, Minneapolis, MN
Splendor, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Spoleto Festival, Charleston, SC
St. Mark's Church in the Bowery, NYC
Studio Z, St. Paul, MN
Sunset/Sunside, Paris, France
Teatro Materno, Ascona, Switzerland
The Washington, Bloomington, IA
Theatre Paul Éluard, Choissy-le-roi, France
Twin Cities Jazz Festival
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
Zaal 100, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Zeitgeist Gallery, Cambridge, MA
Zeitgeist Theater, Duluth, MN
Collaborators
Ada Rave
Anne LaBerge
Aymeric Avice
Benjamin Duboc
Brice Soniano
Catherine Delaunay
Chris Bates
Claire Elizabeth Barratt
Claude Tchamitchian
Daniel Levin
Daniel Thatcher
Davu Seru
Dennis Gonzalez
deVon Russell Gray
Didier Petit
Doan Brian Roessler
Douglas Ewart
Elliot Humberto Kavee
Elsa Birgé
Emilie Lesbros
Erik Fratzke
Etienne Gaillochet
Federico Ughi
Gamin Kang
George Cartwright
Guilem Verger
Helene LaBarriere
Jacky Molard
Jacques Thollot
Jean-Brice Godet
Jeff Harshbarger
Jim Larson
Joel Bremer
John Dikeman
Jorrit Djikstra
Kaleena Miller
Kip Jones
Lara Hanson
Makoto Sato
Marc Anderson
Matia Levréro
Matt Otto
Michael Zerang
Michelle Kinney
Mirtha Pozzi
Morgane Carnet
Noah Ophoven-Baldwin
Pablo Cueco
Phillip Greenlief
Richard Broderick
Sam Rahberg
Simon Goubert
Stéphane Cattaneo
Suengmin Cha
Sylvain Kassap
Tallissa Mehringer
Tatsuya Nakatani
Tim Kaiser
Timothée LeNet
Tiziana Arnaboldi
Toma Gouband
Tony Hymas
Yedo Gibson