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.

Hey, George Frazier—I��m 10 Years Old Over Here

by Brian Dunn
September 27, 2015

I went a little crazy when I discovered jazz as an 8-year-old kid. I already played trumpet in the school band, but none of that music swung. My ears begged for something with more energy and urgency. The family record collection was of little help. We owned precisely five albums, the jazziest of which was Herb ...

Yogi Berra Explains Jazz

by Steve Chalke
September 24, 2015

In memory of the man who came to the fork in the road, and took it. Interviewer: What do you expect is in store for the future of jazz trumpet? Yogi: I'm thinkin' there'll be a group of guys who've never met talkin' about it all the time... Interviewer: Can ...

The Desmond Awards: Top Five Funniest People in Jazz

by Michael Ricci
November 27, 2014

Despite that serious expression you often see on a jazz musician's face, the truth is, laughter gets them through the day. The late, great pianist Horace Silver knew it. If you didn't see it in his impish smile, you could hear it in his music. Especially in his last studio album, which knowingly proclaimed ...

Hot Rod Jazz God, Part 2: An Open Letter to Rod Stewart

by Jason West
May 28, 2013

Um, Mr. Stewart, if you're reading this, first I want to apologize. In the past I wrote some things that you may have found slightly offensive.Like those bits about harmless Uncle Rod who shows up on holidays with a bottle-shaped microphone and comparing your interpretation of standard jazz melodies to a bull in downtown ...

Motel 5: As For You

by Jason West
December 1, 2007

The phone in my office rang twice. I let the machine get it. The voice on the other end sounded desperate. “Hey, West, I need a band to play Bill Gates' house. Rough life, I mused, planning private parties for billionaires. Imagine all the stress involved in picking out the ...

Sinatra Slang

by AAJ Staff
November 10, 2005

Based on The Frank Sinatra Scrapbook by Richard Peters (1982) with additions from Sinatra fans on the internet. 18 KARAT All the way, full-out: “An 18 karat idiot." BABY Used as an exclamation as well as a term of endearment. BAG

Paul Desmond-isms

by AAJ Staff
September 19, 2005

Alto saxophonist Paul Desmond worked with pianist Dave Brubeck for 18 years. He's best known for his composition “Take Five," which helped make Brubeck's record Time Out a mega-hit. Desmond's saxophone playing was always marked by an unusual fluidity and warmth. Through a number of solo records, he expanded on a relaxed but sophisticated sound.

Rod Stewart: Hot Rod, Jazz God

by Jason West
January 29, 2005

That smirk. That roguish, self-satisfied, da-ya-think-I'm-sexy smirk. It's back and getting bigger everywhere you look. On Leno. On Letterman. In fashion magazines. Holiday TV specials. What's next--a Super Bowl halftime smirkfest?2000 should have been the end of The Smirk. His rock star career, which started in swingin' London during the late 1960s and peaked ...

BugHouse: Pages 11-13

by AAJ Staff
January 20, 2005

Pages 1-5 | Pages 6-10 | Pages 11-13 Page 11... Page 12... Page 13... Pages 1-5 | Pages 6-10 | Pages 11-13 | Purchase BugHouse About BugHouse Set in an “insect noir" Manhattan of the early fifties, BugHouse is the tumultuous story of Tenor saxophonist, ...