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Press
Quotes
"'Clarity' to the unhip. Mission accomplished." - Jazz Times
"Anderson was cool and direct, but carrying a wide-range of emotions through each piece." - The Jet City Redhead (blog)
"[The Dave Anderson Quartet] is definitely pushing the boundaries of Seattle...they will be pulling happy audiences into a new perspective of Seattle Jazz." - J&J Music Newsletter
"Smokin'!" - Clark Terry
"It's great to hear someone really care for the soprano saxophone." - Rufus Reid
"I really enjoyed hearing [Dave] play!" - Ray Brown
Articles
Profile by Jessica Davis for the May 2008 issue of Northwest Jazz Profile magazine:
Saxophonist Dave Anderson has always enjoyed playing jazz "because of the energy and expression of it."
Originally from Minnesota, he has performed around North America with notable jazz musicians including Ryan Kisor, Clarence Penn, Gene Bertoncini, Michael Moore, Jim McNeely, Julian Priester, Jay Thomas, Matt Wilson, Craig Taborn, Clark Terry and Mel Torme. He has also played in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia.
Anderson started learning the saxophone in junior high school. He continued to play through college in top 40 bands. His passion for the saxophone, however, cane to a halt for 15 years after experiening lower abdominal pain from his playing. But during that time he continued to play the piano (which he learned to playat age [17]) and compose music.
"[The piano] is a great instrument," he said. "It's so expressive."
After a couple of surgeries and an extensive search for a method that worked best for him, Anderson eventually picked up the horn again when he moved to Seattle from New York City in 2005.
"Enough was enough. It was time to really go after it," said Anderson. "It's a welcoming scene and I kept meeting more and more people to play with."
Anderson has also lived in Salt Lake City, as well as Toronto, where he earned accolades from jazz legend Ray Brown. But, currently, he is proud to call Seattle his home.
"It's a beautiful part of the country," said Anderson of Seattle. "The pace of life is quite a bit different."
He now leads the Dave Anderson Quartet and performs regularly in Seattle with Jay Thomas, the Emerald City Jazz Orchestra and the Gilbert/Garcia Group. He also co-leads the James Baumgart and Dave Anderson Duo. Baumgart plays the guitar and Anderson plays the saxophone.
"It's a unique format," said Anderson, of the JB/DA Duo, adding that they play original music.
Baumgart and Anderson have been performing together regularly since a fateful night in late 2006. Through a musican connection, Anderson sat in with Baumgart's trio at Seattle's Triple Door. Baumgart graduated in the spring of 2006 with a performance degree from the University of Maryland in Baltimore County, located just outside Baltimore City. After graduation he moved with his wife and three children to Seattle to begin the next phases of his musical adventure. The two found a musical and personal rapport instantly, eventually forming the JB/DA duo in Spring 2007 to bring creative, spontaneous music to listening audiences across the Northwest. They hope to play up and down the West Coast, possibly starting this summer.
"Everywhere we play, we always find people we connect with," said Anderson.
Reviews
Jazz Bombs at Tula’s by Josh Rawlings for J&J Music Newsletter:
Dave Anderson Quartet at Tula’s, April 3rd, 2008
I went to our ‘Earshot Hall of Fame’ jazz venue, Tula’s, on a brisk Thursday night to see the Dave Anderson Quartet play. This was Dave’s debut performance at the club and surprisingly his 2nd performance with the personnel in his group. As Dave warmed up the first set with his band, the music seemed to transport me out of Tula’s into a club that felt more New York’ish. The music propelled me into a swirl of modern jazz luminaries such as Wayne Shorter, Kenny Garrett, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Many of the tunes were originals and arrangements composed by the bandleader himself. I list the other jazz luminaries because the music certainly felt on par stylistically and dynamically.
The group itself had a light sensitive touch interspersed with some cold Seattle “Bombs” dropped by drummer Adam Kessler. There was nice interplay and a kind of improvisation that goes along well with other groups like Wayne Shorter’s Footprints band. The music was open, angular, yet sweet and not so modern that it would go over an average Joe that could stumble in to take a listen. The group is definitely pushing the boundaries of Seattle with other groups like the Thomas Marriott Quartet, Jason Parker Quartet and the Victor Noriega Trio to name just a few.
That evening, Dave played exquisite lines that felt like stairways to M. C. Escher’s ‘Relativity.’ Out of his saxophone came melodic and swooping lines, executed with care and a relaxed precision. I was equally impressed with pianist John Hansen’s well-crafted chordal bombs and Chuck Kistler’s straight-up bass lines. The rhythm section backed up Dave as he whisked the audience around with his colorful and rich Soprano & Tenor Sax tone. The trio had such sensitivity to Dave’s playing I would have guessed had been developed from playing together for several years. To my surprise Adam told me they had literally come together for the last few gigs about a month ago - Jazz at its finest! It takes skilled players to play such modern sounding tunes, but it takes real maturity, listening and trust to come together as a group with such caliber.
I’ll look forward to hearing these guys in the future and think they will be pulling happy audiences into a new perspective of Seattle Jazz. Watch out – Cold bombs may be dropped!
Josh Rawlings
Jet City Redhead (blog) Review
Dave Anderson Quartet at Egan's, January 10th, 2008
On January 10, 2008, the Dave Anderson Quartet played Egan’s Ballard Jam House for a wonderful two-set performance. The Dave Anderson Quartet is Dave Anderson, saxophone, Adam Kessler on drums/percussion, John Hansen on piano and Chuck Kistler on upright bass.
Set 1
Juror #2 (original)
Our Spanish Love Song (Charlie Haden)
JuJu (Wayne Shorter)
Fee Fee Fo Fum (Wayne Shorter)
Time Remembered (Bill Evans)
Free (original)
Set 2
Recado Bossa Nova (Djalma Ferreira)
One for Vienna (original)
Blues for Chas (original)
Dave Anderson told me that he wrote, “Juror #2,” about his stint pulling jury duty in New York City. This apparently means encountering some very distinct personalities. Anderson said, “After my first day of jury duty in 2004, I rushed home and sketched musical portraits of three jurors, including Juror #2. Juror #2 was a kind, older lady who described her sadness about seeing the Twin Towers fall in a really touching way. This tune has two series of descending chords, one for each of the two falling Twin Towers, so this is my “911 tune.” But thankfully the tune has a happy feeling.”
Describing “Free,” Anderson said it was “a free-blowing tune, with open sounding chords that feel to me like, well freedom!”
Asked for an explanation of “One for Vienna,” Anderson said, “it is a double dedication to the city of Vienna, which I was just leaving when I wrote this, and to my grandmother, Vienna. The compositional technique for the melody is “12-tone” from the “2nd Viennese School.” Since “Vi” always sang helplessly off-key I think she’d appreciate the irony that this quirky melody bears her name.” January 10th was the first public performance of this tune, which was appropriately followed by the tune, “Blues for Chas,” which Anderson described as “also a double dedication of sorts. I set out to write a song for my grandfather, Charlie, using a famous chord progression from Charlie Parker. The beginning of the melody is from one my grandfather’s favorite melodies, Sibelius’ Finlandia.”
Anderson was cool and direct, but carrying a wide-range of emotions through each piece. The foursome worked well together and each had a chance to shine a number of times. Egan’s is a great place to catch a jazz set or two and if you see that Dave Anderson is on the marquee, by all means, check it out.
JanKeira Knox
Listen to and/or download music from Dave's MySpace page.