Alto saxophonist/Composer Lars Haake is a familiar face on the NYC jazz scene frequently performing  with his quartet featuring pianist Benito Gonzalez, bassist James Genus and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr.. He regularly appears at NYC’s Zinc Bar and has appeared as a leader at Chris’ Jazz Café, Philadelphia, Duc des Lombards, Paris, France, Jazzkeller Frankfurt, Germany and as sideman at New York late night hot spots such as Smalls, B.B. King’s, The Bitter End and countless other clubs and cultural art centers around the globe. His talents and tunes have been paired with top jazz musicians the likes of John Benitez, Mike Boone, Hiram Bullock, George Burton, Luques Curtis, Kenwood Dennard, Essiet Essiet, Josh Evans, Sullivan Fortner, James Genus, Danny Grissett, Kevin Hays, Hiromi, Corcoran Holt, McClenty Hunter, Pauline Jean, Frank Lacy, Silvano Monasterios, Clarence Penn, Luis Perdomo, Victor Prieto, Rudy Royston, Peter Slavov, Davis Whitfield, Tal Wilkenfield and Anthony Wonsey. Lars has also been actively working in education, teaching private master classes as well as publicly sharing his knowledge at the UN International School UNIS in Manhattan and several musical outreach programs the likes of leading a team of teachers at a German/Norwegian Jazz Workshops sponsored by the German Embassy in Oslo, Norway, curating the concert series “World of Jazz” at the Chelsea Art Museum in Manhattan, in addition to a special German jazz showcases at the German General Consulate in NYC. Born in Paderborn, Germany, Lars started playing the piano at age four and the alto sax at age ten. Fortunately he was to get his start on the saxophone with mentors Tony Lakatos and Mel Philips and soon after joined the local big band under the leadership of Reiner Franzke. During that time he also began exploring the soprano sax and flute and during his studies in Munich joined the university big band under the leadership of Joe Viera. He attended clinics with Wayne Darling, Vincent Herring and Michael Brecker and programs organized by his alma mater, Berklee College of Music (where he received a scholarship and graduated magna cum laude with a double degree of Performance and Film Scoring) with Gary Burton, Bill Pierce, Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell and Paul Motian. He has continued his pursuit for higher ground studying with Richie Beirach, Kenny Garrett and saxophonist Bill Evans. His first album as a leader, “In the Picture”, was released to critical acclaim in 2011 featuring George Burton, James Genus and Wayne Smith Jr. Lars' second album  “Next” was recorded in 2018, featuring Benito Gonzalez on piano, Josh Evans on trumpet, James Genus on bass and Mark Whitfield Jr. on drums. A promotional EP was released in 2020 on the Kunduru label.