Bill Anschell

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 mridangum master T Ranganathan, kindling a passion for rhythmic experimentation that has driven Anschell’s music ever since.

After leading the life of a jazz vagabond for several years, Anschell settled in Atlanta in 1989. He was initially drawn there by the opportunity to serve as Jazz Coordinator for the Southern Arts Federation (SAF), the regional arts agency of the South. Firing up SAF’s jazz department virtually from scratch, Anschell launched a host of high-profile programs, published a book on grantswriting, and created JazzSouth, an internationally syndicated radio show. At night he dove headlong into the city’s thriving jazz scene, working as a sideman with various groups and leading his own trio.

By 1992, Anschell’s performing itinerary had grown to the point where it demanded his full attention. He left the SAF post, continuing to produce JazzSouth out of his home while focusing on playing and composing. Over the next ten years, Anschell ascended the jazz ranks in Atlanta, leading his trio at major festivals and becoming a first-call accompanist for visiting jazz greats. His trio’s highlights included the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, the Montreux Atlanta Festival and four extensive tours of South America.

During the same period, Anschell enjoyed a lengthy association with vocalist Nnenna Freelon, serving as her pianist, arranger and musical director. Among their many performing highlights were the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and six European tours. Their concerts were broadcast on Radio France, French national television, and NPR’s JazzSet. Anschell’s piano work and arrangements were featured throughout Freelon’s 1996 Concord release Shaking Free, which was nominated for a Grammy as the year’s best jazz vocal recording.

Anschell’s own CDs have earned critical acclaim and widespread exposure, with several making Jazzweek’s national “Top 50” chart for radio airplay. Anschell’s 1998 release, a different note all together, was selected by United Press International (UPI) as one of the “10 Best” jazz releases of the year. His 2006 CD, More to the Ear than Meets the Eye, was chosen by numerous critics and radio stations across the country for their “10 Best of 2006” lists. His 2009 duo CD of spontaneous improvisations with saxophonist Brent Jensen was described by Cadence as “startlingly beautiful, surprising, and powerful…a transforming experience.” And his 2011 solo piano release, Figments was called “magical” in Thomas Conrad’s JazzTimes review.

In 2001, Anschell was selected by the American Composers Forum for its Composer-in-the-Schools program; his residency included a commissioned piece for chamber orchestra. Since 2003, his original compositions have received widespread cable and network exposure, appearing on programs including NBC’s The West Wing, NCIS: LA, HBO’s acclaimed series The Wire, and HBO’s Bessie Smith biopic, Bessie.

In 2008, Anschell's Atlanta trio reunited for a fifth South American tour, visiting the Colombian cities of Medellin, Pereira and Manizales; in 2012 the trio made its fourth visit to Peru, and in 2014 its third trip to Paraguay.

As a Seattleite, Anschell had the honor of playing a weekly gig with Northwest jazz legend Floyd Standifer for the two years before his passing. In 2005, Anschell received a Golden Ear Award as the “Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year,” and in 2006 his trio was named the “Best Northwest Acoustic Jazz Ensemble.” In 2010 and 2011 Anschell was again was named “Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year,” and in 2011 his CD Figments was named “Northwest Jazz Recording of the Year.” In 2013, he played several concerts with the Seattle Symphony. His 2013 CD, Impulses, took him into new territory, featuring twelve tracks of original electronica.

Anschell is also well known as a jazz humorist, writing jazz vignettes and a monthly jazz etiquette column. His satirical essay, “Careers in Jazz,” is the all-time most-read piece on leading jazz website allaboutjazz.com with more than 250,000 hits, and was prominently featured in a Wall Street Journal story on jazz audiences. In 2014 he was a winner of the inaugural Paul Desmond Award, allaboutjazz.com’s celebration of the funniest jazz artists.

Awards

Golden Ear Awards: 2005 Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year 2006 Northwest Acoustic Jazz Ensemble of the Year (Bill Anschell Trio) 2010 Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year 2011 Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year 2011 Northwest Jazz Recording of the Year ("Figments") 2016 Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame

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Bill Anschell: Unearthing Jazz's Improbable Solutions

by Lawrence Peryer
July 6, 2024

Today, the Spotlight shines On jny: 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 celebration of the funniest jazz artists. We get to that and his satirical essay, “Careers in Jazz," which is one of the most-read ...

Liner Notes

Bill Anschell / Brent Jensen: We Couldn't Agree More

by Thomas Conrad
April 6, 2024

Wynton Marsalis recently said, “The hallmark of a first-class jazz musician is the ability to adapt." It is a paradoxical statement. But Marsalis is not using the term “adapt" in the Darwinian context of adaptation and natural selection. He does not mean adapting to, say, bad food on the road. He is referring to listening skills and lightning reflexes. Jazz improvisation is a moment-to-moment creative process of real-time interaction and discovery. It would be hard to find a ...

Liner Notes

Hadley Caliman / Pete Christlieb: Reunion

by Thomas Conrad
March 28, 2024

At the end of the first decade of the new millennium, one of the most gratifying developments in jazz is the late blossoming of Hadley Caliman. In 2008, at 76, he released Gratitude, his first recording as a leader in 31 years. It was followed in 2010 by Straight Ahead. They created a buzz on the jazz street. It is not just that he has lasted long enough to finally get the attention he deserves. Hadley Caliman is currently playing ...

Album Review

Bill Anschell: Improbable Solutions

Read "Improbable Solutions" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
January 9, 2024

Most fans of Seattle-based pianist Bill Anschell will not see this one coming. His comfort zone on his own recordings has been as a mainstream acoustic jazz artist, on albums like Shifting Standards (2018), a piano trio affair, Rumbler (2017) and Figments (2011), a solo piano outing. All of these were released on Origin Records. Anschell, who formerly worked as vocalist Nnenna Freelon's musical director, crafts his recordings with a high polish and does not generally rock the ...

Album Review

Bill Anschell: Improbable Solutions

Read "Improbable Solutions" reviewed by Paul Rauch

by Paul Rauch
December 31, 2023

Pianist and composer Bill Anschell has made his mark in jazz as a distinctive pianist with a notable body of work. His time in Atlanta, and his extensive residency in Seattle, has produced ten recordings as a leader or co-leader, and a well-deserved following on live dates with two distinctive trios, plus his “Rumbler" band. His previous two recordings define the past decade of his career, with Shifting Standards (Origin, 2018) bearing witness to his trio prowess with partners Jeff ...

Album Review

Dmitri Matheny: Cascadia

by Jack Bowers
July 11, 2022

Cascadia encompasses an hour of amiable, even-tempered jazz from trumpeter Dmitri Matheny who, like several of his predecessors—Chet Baker, Chuck Mangione, Guido Basso and his mentor, Art Farmer, among them—focuses exclusively on flugelhorn. Matheny uses his gorgeous tone and remarkable lyricism to paint exquisite portraits in sound throughout a program whose ten engaging numbers enfold half a dozen of his original compositions. Matheny shares the front line with saxophonist Charles McNeal whose solos (on soprano or tenor ...

Album Review

Dmitri Matheny: Cascadia

Read "Cascadia" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
June 7, 2022

Flugelhornist Dmitri Matheny and his quintet play perfectly on Cascadia. There is no surprise there—with a rhythm section of pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Phil Sparks and drummer Mark Ivester backing the front line of Matheny and saxophonist Charles McNeil— perfection is the expectation. Matheny grew up in Georgia and Arizona, spent a formative and near-obligatory stint in New York City, and played for a time in the band of pianist Amina Figarova—another jazz artist who knows something about ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Bill Anschell

Source: Michael Ricci
March 12, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Bill Anschell's birthday today!

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 ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Bill Anschell

Source: Michael Ricci
March 12, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Bill Anschell's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Bill Anschell

Source: Michael Ricci
March 12, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Bill Anschell's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Bill Anschell

Source: Michael Ricci
March 12, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Bill Anschell's birthday today!

Recording

New Origin Records CD By Pianist/Composer Bill Anschell, "Rumbler," Set For January 20 Release

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
December 23, 2016

One of the most valuable players in jny: Seattle’s thriving jazz scene, pianist Bill Anschell is a prolific composer and adept arranger who’s explored those aspects of his craft since debuting on disc 20 years ago. His new Origin Records CD, Rumbler, which will be released January 20, is Anschell’s ninth album as a leader and his first full ensemble jazz recording in a decade. Throughout the recording, Anschell embraces odd meters, shifting tonalities, and other striking effects. “I’ve written ...
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Performance / Tour

Bill Anschell Will Not Be Playing Christmas Tunes This Friday

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene
December 29, 2011

From Bill Anschell: I'm happy to announce that this Friday, my trio will celebrate the close of yet another joyous holiday season by NOT PLAYING the Charlie Brown Christmas Song! How many times do you think you heard it this year? How many times do you think I played it? Well, I can tell you: 17 1/2. The half happened when I reached the middle last Friday at exactly 12:10 pm, which happens to be break time on my solo ...
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Interview

Leading Questions: Bill Anschell

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene
September 13, 2011

When I was 14 I was a miscast classical clarinetist with no real interest in classical music or clarinet. Or jazz, for that matter. My guilty pleasure was playing pop tunes by ear on my family's upright piano. The piano is a climate-sensitive instrument that, sadly, can't tune itself no matter how nice it looks. Practice makes me feel and play better. Unfortunately, the buzz usually wears off by the time I get to the gig. Some of my best ...
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Radio

The Jazz Session #73: Bill Anschell and Brent Jensen

Source: Michael Ricci
August 20, 2009

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Website

Bill Anschell's Notes from the Lobby: A New Column at All About Jazz

Source: Michael Ricci
August 19, 2009

All About Jazz has launched a new column in collaboration with musician, composer, writer and humorist, Bill Anschell. You can read Bill's latest “Notes from the Lobby" installment “Careers in Jazz“ (published yesterday) along with his archive here.

Bill Anschell's Notes from the Lobby Careers in Jazz Notes from the Lobby Jazz Jam Sessions: A First-Timer's Guide Jazz Math More About Bill

Seattle native Bill Anschell returned to the Emerald City in 2002 after spending 25 years studying, ...
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Interview

Bill Anschell: The Hardest-Working Piano Man in Seattle

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene
June 15, 2009

Simple or elaborate, this is what Anschell does best. In any given year, his arrangements or compositions might be on any one of a dozen albums, most not his own. His music even made its way to the television shows “The West Wing” and “The Wire.” But for his latest album, “We Couldn’t Agree More,” released last month on Origin Records, Anschell didn’t arrange a single note. Every song is a standard, unrehearsed, with few details discussed in advance, and ...
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"Bill Anschell would be a badass wherever he lived, even Greenwich Village. He is an impeccable, distinctive pianist with a valuable body of work on Seattle's Origin label." Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes, April 2017.