Bill Anschell Rumbler One of the most valuable
players in 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
enough conventional tunes," he says. "I don't need to do that
anymore. I'm more interested in going beyond the 32-bar form. I like to set up
unusual compositional challenges for myself and try to solve them in a way that
still allows the band plenty of room for improvisation and interaction."
Rumbler is
anchored by his longstanding trio, including bassist Chris Symer and drummer
Jose Martinez. Jeff Coffin makes a memorable guest appearance on one tune on
soprano saxophone, while Rich Cole shines on tenor saxophone on another. In
addition to the fine guitarist Brian Monroney, to whom Anschell was introduced
by Symer, the contributors include versatile flutist and saxophonist Hans
Teuber and percussionist Jeff Busch.
From the
opening strains of Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso," it's clear that
Rumbler is less a showcase for Anschell's piano playing than for his writing
and arranging. For "Misterioso," he heard in his head distorted
guitar and a kind of power-rock countermelody. With guitarist Monroney providing
the sonic edge, the frequently performed classic takes on intriguing new life.
Anschell's
favorite composition on the album, "Captive Light," written in 5/4,
"sounds clean and simple, but it's very challenging for the improviser as
the meter turns around against itself," he says. His distinctive take on
the Beatles' "For No One" (from Revolver) pointedly avoids the
tendency of many jazz artists to perform pop songs as written, just adding a
facile swing feel.
With a wide
range of ethnic styles at his fingertips, including the Afro-Peruvian lando (as
heard on "Dark Wind") and South Indian rhythms, Anschell has myriad
directions to go in issuing those challenges to himself -- and the listener.
Born in
Seattle in 1959, Bill Anschell was a
self-taught pianist who did not take formal music lessons until he enrolled at
Oberlin College. He transferred to Wesleyan University, where he had the good
fortune to study with esteemed saxophonist and composer Bill Barron and
mridangam master T Ranganathan, whose teachings had a powerful impact on
Anschell's approach to rhythm.
Anschell
subsequently studied arts administration at the University of Wisconsin. In
1989, armed with a master's degree, he went to Atlanta to become Jazz
Coordinator of the Southern Arts Federation.
While with
the organization, he created "JazzSouth," an internationally
syndicated radio show; published a book on grant writing; and dove headlong
into the city's jazz scene as a sideman and leader of his own trio. The trio
performed at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and Atlanta Montreux Jazz Festival
and toured South America four times.
During the
early to mid-1990s, Anschell worked with singer Nnenna Freelon as her
accompanist, arranger, and music director, contributing to several albums of
hers in one or more of those guises. He made his own album debut in 1995 with
Rhythm Changes, a mix of originals, bebop classics, and standards, and followed
it in 1998 with the eclectic a different note all together, which was selected
as one of the top 10 jazz albums of the year by UPI.
In 2002,
Anschell, his wife, and their four-year-old son moved back to Seattle to be
near their extended families. To say the Pacific Northwest has been good to him
would be a huge understatement, judging by the regional honors and awards that
have been bestowed on him and the opportunities he has had to alternate between
his own projects and a multitude of ones involving first-rate players in
collective-style settings.
Anschell and
his trio will celebrate the release of Rumbler at Tula's in Seattle on
Saturday, Feb. 11. He'll also be appearing with his quartet (Brian Monroney, g;
Chris Symer, b; Brad Boal, d) at the Mount Baker Theater in Bellingham on
Sunday, Jan. 29 (4:00pm), presented by The Jazz Project. "Each of the
tunes on Rumbler has a very distinct personality," Anschell says.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing what directions they take when we
stretch out and explore them in concert."
Web Site:
billanschell.com
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