Bill Anschell

Born: March 12, 1959

Seattle native Bill Anschell returned to the Emerald City in 2002 after spending 25 years studying, composing, and performing across the country and around the world.

Anschell left Seattle after high school, studying for two years at Oberlin College (Ohio), then transferring to Wesleyan University (Connecticut), where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Music. At Wesleyan, Anschell worked closely with saxophone great Bill Barron. He also studied semi-privately with South Indian mridangam master T Ranganathan, kindling a passion for rhythmic experimentation that has driven Anschell’s music ever since.

Bill Anschell: Unearthing Jazz's Improbable Solutions

by Lawrence Peryer
July 6, 2024

Today, the Spotlight shines On Seattle pianist and composer Bill Anschell. We've had award winners of all types on the podcast, but as far as I can remember, Bill is the first to have won an award for humor: in 2014, Bill was the winner of the inaugural Paul Desmond Award, All About Jazz's ...

Careers in Jazz

by Bill Anschell
June 17, 2012

Every year, university programs spit out thousands of highly trained jazz musicians sporting hard-earned diplomas and high hopes. But when these graduates hit the first formal rite of jazz passage--a desperate trip to the local pawn shop--they learn that the diploma is literally not worth the paper it's printed on. Entering school, their dream was simple: ...