Home About Calendar CDs Contact News Short Stories
 

News

 

New Release, Now AvaIlable:

"Blueprints," with Brent Jensen on sax and Chris Symer on bass.  Featuring nine totally spontaneous takes on jazz standards. 

Reviewing the CD for allmusic.com, Ken Dryden wrote: "These three exceptional veterans are all deserving of much recognition, and this rewarding effort merits a follow-up recording."

Available through Origin Records or directly from Bill ($15, postage included; see Contact page for address). For your listening pleasure, here are a couple of sample tunes:

All Blues

How Deep is the Ocean

________________________________________

 

Bill's "Careers In Jazz" Story in the Wall

Street Journal!

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article about the jazz audience, and its centerpiece was Bill's "Careers In Jazz" story. According to the WSJ, Bill's piece is "being passed among economist-bloggers as a comic case study in market dysfunction."

Here's a link to the online version; the story also ran in print.

________________________________________

 

Bill Wins Two Golden Ear Awards for 2011!

The 2011 Earshot Golden Ear award recipents were announced at a special awards ceremony at Tula's on April 11, 2012. Bill was given top honors in two categories:  "Best Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist" (two years in a row, and his third to date), and "Best Northwest Jazz Recording" (for his solo CD, "Figments").  Thanks to Earshot, and to any and all who voted for him.

________________________________________

 

New Wellstone Conspiracy release:

"Humble Origins"

Wellstone Conspiracy (Bill joined by saxophonist Brent Jensen, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop), has just released its third CD. The disc includes five of Bill's original compositions, as well as two by Jeff and one by Brent, plus Bill's arrangement of the Beatle's "Fixing a Hole." That cut, along with Bill's "Pause Off," were featured as bumper music on NPR's Morning Edition program. For your listening pleasure, here they are:

Pause Off

Fixing a Hole

 

"Humble Origins" reached number 16 on the national jazz radio airplay chart.

________________________________________

 

Jazztimes calls Figments "Magical"

Bill had the good fortune to have his new solo CD reviewed in JazzTimes by the always eloquent Thomas Conrad; you can read the piece here,

Meanwhile, Adam Greenberg at allmusic.com describes the project as "an excellent set." 

And "Desperado" from the disc was played in a JazzTimes blindfold test for for pianist Jason Moran (Kennedy Center artistic director and MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" recipient), who said:

This is a studied pianist—studied like... he’s not bullshitting. [laughs]... I enjoyed that. That’s bad!

________________________________________

 

now available:  Anschell Solo Piano CD!

Bill's first solo piano CD, released in early April on Origin Records, is now piled up in boxes clogging the arteries of his house. It's a self-recorded project, captured late at night after gigs, when his internal supervisor had already clocked out. Those sessions yielded twelve abstract, stream-of-consciousness vignettes. Six are standards; six are pop tunes from the 70s (Anschell's guilty pleasure), recognizable but thoroughly reworked. Six are ballads, and six are (quirky) uptempo tunes, one of which -- Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" -- is recorded on prepared piano (i.e., every loose object in Anschell's home studio thrown inside the piano).

The CD cover features original artwork by legendary illustrator Oscar Grillot.

Navigate to the "CDs" page to hear excerpts of all twelve tracks, read some really nice reviews, and -- if you're interested -- order a copy via Paypal.  Or, if you're the old-fashioned type, you can send a check for $15 to Bill at 20151 7th Ave. NE, Shoreline, WA  98155.

 

 

________________________________________

 

Anschell Story is 2009's most read piece on allaboutjazz.com

Bill's "Careers in Jazz" story was the most-read piece in 2009 on leading jazz website www.allaboutjazz.com.  It garnered more than 40,000 reads (the editor stopped keeping count) and generated unanticipated controversy, with subsequent postings on countless other jazz websites and a viral email presence.  Humorous or slanderous?  Click on the "Stories" tab to read it and decide for yourself.

July 2012 update:  "Careers in Jazz" has now topped 100,000 total reads on the aaj website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

interviews and features

 

Bill's extended interview on "Figments" and more

Jazz journalist/blogger/musician Christopher Robinson conducted an in-depth interview with Bill via email.  Bill discussed the philosophy behind his new solo CD project, the technical aspects of its recording process, and more general observations about the jazz world. Highly recommended; find it right here.

_______________________________

 

Read Bill's answers to "Leading Questions"

Drummer/photographer Steve Korn (who shot most of the photos on this site) has a great series profiling Northwest jazz artists.  Called "Leading Questions," the column asks each featured musician to complete a long list of partial sentences about jazz and jazz life. Steve worked his magic in the photo accompanying the article, once again making Bill look far better than he does in real life.

Quick, fun reading -- check it out here.

_______________________________

 

Read Bill's Seattle Times

Sunday Arts feature,

written by Hugo Kugiya

 

 

_______________________________

 

Read Bill's Interview in Earshot Jazz, written by Lloyd Peterson.

 

earshot jazz

___________________________

 

Practice This!

Want to play like me?  Side effects may includes nausea, dry mouth,

anal seepage, and unemployment. 

Read about my practice regimen, then listen to me demonstrate it.  Part of Earshot Jazz's ongoing series featuring Northwest jazz artists betraying their deepest secrets.

Click here to read it, then find the audio link on-site.