Returning to Phantom Theater for another plunge into the great American songbook, jazz reed wizards, the Anderson Brothers, along with guitarist Adam Moezinia, present the life and music of Duke Ellington on Friday, August 18.
Julliard graduates and identical twins, Peter and Will Anderson have garnered accolades and awards at a profound pace. They’ve headlined The Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, and performed at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Feinstein’s 54 Below, and live on Garrison Keillors’ Prairie Home Companion, earning a Drama Desk nomination and a Bistro Award along the way.
The Anderson brothers, whom the New York Times called, “Virtuosos on clarinet and saxophone,” have performed with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D’Rivera, Lou Donaldson, Jimmy Heath, and Wycliffe Gordon, among countless others.
As identical twins who happen to be jazz musicians, the close bond between Peter and Will that began forming in the womb has apparently played a critical role decades later in their extraordinary capacity to mine the dynamic musical interplay central to jazz.
“We’ve been playing side by side for over 20 years,” says Will. “Playing jazz involves improvising and reading musical and non-verbal cues. My brother and I have gotten very good at anticipating what the other one will do next, and it makes it fun to play together.”
The Andersons have an affinity for interpreting jazz standards, and the Phantom Theater performance carries forward that tradition as they turn their attention to Duke Ellington, who many consider the greatest jazz songwriter in history. With an entertaining narrative, the trio intend to reveal the enduring magic of Ellington hits, including “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing” and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”
Showtime on Friday is at 8 p.m. and tickets are available at https://sevendaystickets.com/organizations/phantom-theater.
