Clifton Anderson

Last updated
Clifton Anderson
Born (1957-10-05) October 5, 1957 (age 66)
New York City
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Trombone
Years active1970s–present
LabelsMilestone
Website cliftonanderson.biz

Clifton Elliot Anderson (born October 5, 1957) is an American jazz trombonist.

Contents

Early life

Anderson was born in New York City on October 5, 1957. [1] "His mother was a singer and his father was an organist." [1] When he was seven, Anderson's uncle, saxophonist Sonny Rollins, bought him his first trombone. [2] Anderson attended the High School of Music and Art in New York, [2] and graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in 1978. [3]

Later life and career

Anderson joined Rollins's band in 1983. [2] Other bands he has played in include Frank Foster's Loud Minority, Carlos Garnett's Cosmos Nucleus, Slide Hampton's World of Trombones, and McCoy Tyner's big band. [1] Anderson's debut album as a leader was Landmarks, which was recorded in 1995 for Milestone Records. [4] [5] A further album, Decade, was released by Doxy around 2008. [6] Anderson explained the difficulties he had between recordings: "Landmarks was played fairly regularly on the radio and the critics thought it was good, so I assumed I'd be able to get a gig. But [...] I was offered jobs for such bad money that I couldn't accept, if only because I wanted to be able to pay my sidemen something." [3]

Anderson's third album as leader was And So We Carry On, from around 2013. [7]

The trombone player's most recent album is Been Down This Road Before from 2020, featuring vocalist Andy Bey and musicians Renee McLean, Antoine Roney, Eric Wyatt, Peter Bernstein, John F. Adams, Monty Alexander, Stephen Scott, Tadataka Unno, Buster Williams, Tom Barney, Ronnie Burrage, Al Foster, Steve Jordan, Sammy Figueroa, and Victor See Yuen.

Playing style

"Anderson plays with an assured, full tone, and draws from the style of Curtis Fuller, although he also employs pre-bop devices, such as slides and smears." [1]

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Muhal Richard Abrams

With Geri Allen

With Lester Bowie

With Robin Eubanks

With Sonny Rollins

With Paul Simon

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kennedy, Gary W. (2003), Anderson, Clifton (Elliot), Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J503100
  2. 1 2 3 Yanow, Scott. "Clifton Anderson". AllMusic . Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Panken, Ted (February 2009). "Clifton Anderson: Second Step Forward". DownBeat. Vol. 76, no. 2. p. 22.
  4. Yanow, Scott. "Clifton Anderson: Landmarks". AllMusic . Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 35. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  6. Robinson, Chris (December 2008). "Clifton Anderson: Decade". DownBeat . Vol. 75, no. 12. p. 92.
  7. Farberman, Brad (March 2013). "Clifton Anderson: And So We Carry On". DownBeat. Vol. 80, no. 3. p. 72.