Anderson, Wessell (“Warmdaddy”)

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Anderson, Wessell (“Warmdaddy”)

Anderson, Wessell (“Warmdaddy”), jazz alto saxophonist associated with Wynton Mar salis; b. Brooklyn, N.Y., Nov. 27, 1964. Anderson, whose father was a drummer who toured with bebop saxophonist Cecil Payne, took lessons from Frank Foster through the N.Y.C. Jazzmobile project. Through Jazzmobile, he met Branford Marsalis, who recommended that he study with Alvin Batiste in New Orleans. In 1988, Anderson was hired by vocalist Betty Carter to accompany her, but left after a few months to join Wynton Marsalis’s septet. He has played and recorded with Marsalis since, both in small-group settings and as part of the Lincoln Center jazz band. Marsalis bestowed the nickname “Warmdaddy” on Anderson.

Discography

Warmdaddy in the Garden of Swing (1994); The Ways of Warmdaddy (1996).

—Lewis Porter

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Anderson, Wessell (“Warmdaddy”)

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