2025 Jazz Heroes Clare Church and Pete Lewis

Jazz Rooms come and – all too frequently – go. There’s always room for one more good one. Extraordinary musical artists, educators and Denver Metro jazz community activists Clare Church and Pete Lewis decided to address the need, founding The Muse Performance Space, a 501 (c)3 non~profit institution in Lafayette (10 miles east of Boulder, about 25 north of Denver) in 2018 as a way to engage people of all ages in uplifting experiences of authentic music and visual arts in a welcoming and beautiful environment. The Muse connects artists with audiences and mentors with students. Meet Clare Church and Pete Lewis, Jazz Heroes.

Clare has had a 30-plus years as a professional multi-reedist, performing all different styles and genres, mostly on baritone and alto saxophones. Her very first gigs were backing Tony Bennett, the Temptations and the Four Tops; she was a regular in the Joe Henderson Big Band, and has been in the pit orchestras of the Buell, Arvada Center, and Boulder Dinner Theater as well as the Colorado Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Oakland Symphony and Boulder Philharmonic. Clare also plays drums, freelancing throughout the area and at the Muse, appearing with all our local luminaries. She’s been described as a sensitive, “music-first” drummer, perhaps due to her experience as a horn player, and has shown exceptional resilience and commitment in sustaining her musicianship while suffering dystonia. Clare recently returned to her childhood love of singing, releasing a debut vocal album, You’re More.

Her husband Pete Lewis is an Illinois native who came to the Front Range via Chicago, Portland and Oakland. He has arranged and composed music for jazz ensembles, concert bands and sax quartets, playing tenor sax with innumerable touring performers and teaching for over 30 years as a middle school band director. At the Muse he’s setup the Student Spotlight series and organized student jam sessions.

The Muse is intimate, listener-friendly and community supported, booked nightly with performances focusing on original music and spanning genres including jazz, Latin, Middle Eastern and a variety of global rhythms; bluegrass, Americana, country and roots; modern rock, indie, and pop. Rotating exhibitions by visual artists complement the music performances for an immersive experience. The space is well-equipped with instruments and backline, as well as multicam live-streaming capabilities. Musicians are paid a minimum or 70% of the performance proceeds, whichever is greater.

The venue actively promotes its events, with attendance mostly boosted by targeted outreach to interested audiences. It claims to have presented more than 800 concerts, recitals and workshops since its inception, serving some 20,000 people in the process. It has been my pleasure and delight to have been a regular audience at The Muse, my honor and privilege to have nominated Pete Lewis and Clare Church for their 2025 JJA Jazz Heroes Award.

— Peter L. Poses