Anna Webber (musician)

Anna Kristin Webber is a Brooklyn-based saxophonist, flutist, and composer of avant-garde jazz.[1] A Guggenheim Award-winning composer,[2] Webber has released a number of critically-acclaimed albums as leader or co-leader, and received accolades for her work as saxophonist, flutist,[3] and arranger.[4]

Anna Webber
Born (1984-11-26) November 26, 1984
Vancouver
GenresAvant-garde jazz, free jazz, contemporary classical
Occupation(s)composer, saxophonist, flutist
LabelsPi, Astral Spirits, Greenleaf Music, Out Of Your Head Records, Skirl, Pirouet Records
Websiteannakristinwebber.com

Webber's co-led Webber/Morris Big Band debut was included in The New York Times Best Jazz Albums of 2020[5] and Bandcamp Daily's Best Jazz Albums of 2020;[6] her release Rectangles appears in the DownBeat Best Albums of 2020 list;[7] and she is a featured performer on Remy Le Boeuf's "Strata", a nominee for the 2021 Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition.[8]

Education and career

Originally from British Columbia, Webber began her studies at Montreal's McGill University. In 2008, she moved to New York City[9] and began a master's degree at Manhattan School of Music.[10]

In 2010, Webber completed her master's, was awarded the Prix François-Marcaurelle at Montreal's L'OFF Festival,[11] and released her debut album as leader, Third Floor People Don't Need to Worry About Anything. Third Floor People features a cast of seven, with Webber as the fixed constant between two quartets: tracks feature either the "Montreal People" (Erik Hove, Jean-Sebastien Williams, Phil Melanson) or the "New York People" (Matt Holman, Owen Stewart, Fred Kennedy).[12]

Webber moved to Germany in 2011, studying at the Jazz Institut Berlin with John Hollenbeck; he later became a member of Webber's Simple Trio.[13] Webber first began working on compositions for big band while in the program, and completed her second master's degree in 2012.[14]

From 2013 to 2016, Webber's releases as leader alternated between her Percussive Mechanics septet and her Simple Trio. The self-titled Percussive Mechanics, featuring James Wylie, Elias Stemeseder, Julius Heise, Igor Spallati, Martin Kruemmling, and Max Andrzejewski, was released on Pirouet Records in 2013,[15] with the group's Refraction following two years later.[16] In 2014, Webber was awarded the prestigious BMI Foundation Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize[17] and released SIMPLE, the highly-lauded debut of her trio with John Hollenbeck and pianist Matt Mitchell, on Skirl Records.[18] Two years later, Binary was also released to great acclaim.[19]

In 2017, Webber received a New York Foundation for the Arts Canadian Women Artists’ Award,[20] and in 2018 she was awarded a Guggenheim Award for her work in music composition.[2]

Webber's Clockwise (Pi, 2019) introduced a septet with Jeremy Viner, Jacob Garchik, Christopher Hoffman, Matt Mitchell, Chris Tordini, and Ches Smith. The album was included in the top ten of the 2019 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll.[21]

The Webber/Morris Big Band, co-led with Angela Morris, released its debut Both Are True on Greenleaf Music in April 2020; the album was included in The New York Times 10 Best Jazz Albums of the year.[5] Later that year she also released Rectangles (Out Of Your Head Records), featuring Marc Hannaford, Adam Hopkins, and Mark Ferber.[7] The quartet's record was included among DownBeat's Best Albums of 2020.[7]

Webber is a 2021 Berlin Prize Fellow.[22]

Co-led projects include trios Jagged Spheres (with Elias Stemeseder, Devin Gray),[23] The Hero of Warchester (with Nathaniel Morgan, Liz Kosack),[24] and the COVID-recent TAC Trio (with Chris Tordini, Theo Bleckmann), as well as the acronymic quartet EAVE with Erik Hove, Vicky Mettler, and Evan Tighe.

Webber's work is often guided by conceptual constraints. Clockwise, the septet record she composed during the first of her two MacDowell residencies,[25] was informed by John Cage's works for percussion;[26] Binary was partly inspired by the now-defunct automated YouTube account Webdriver Torso,[27] and at times directed by the assignation of pitches and intervals to the numbers in Webber's IP address.[9]

Discography

As leader
Release year Artist Title Label Additional personnel
2010 Anna Webber Third Floor People[12] Nowt Erik Hove, Jean-Sebastien Williams, Phil Melanson, Matt Holman, Owen Stewart, Fred Kennedy
2013 Anna Webber Percussive Mechanics[15] Pirouet James Wylie, Elias Stemeseder, Julius Heise, Igor Spallati, Martin Kruemmling, Max Andrzejewski
2014 Anna Webber SIMPLE[18] Skirl Matt Mitchell, John Hollenbeck
2015 Anna Webber’s Percussive Mechanics Refraction[16] Pirouet James Wylie, Elias Stemeseder, Julius Heise, Igor Spallati, Martin Kruemmling, Max Andrzejewski
2016 Anna Webber’s Simple Trio Binary[19] Skirl Matt Mitchell, John Hollenbeck
2019 Anna Webber Clockwise[21] Pi Jeremy Viner, Jacob Garchik, Christopher Hoffman, Matt Mitchell, Chris Tordini, Ches Smith
2020 Anna Webber Rectangles[7] Out Of Your Head Records Marc Hannaford, Adam Hopkins, Mark Ferber
2020 Webber/Morris Big Band Both Are True[5] Greenleaf Music Angela Morris, Jay Rattman, Charlotte Greve, Adam Schneit, Lisa Parrott, John Lake, Jake Henry, Adam O'Farrill, Kenny Warren, Tim Vaughn, Nick Grinder, Jen Baker, Reginald Chapman, Patricia Brennan, Dustin Carlson, Marc Hannaford, Adam Hopkins, Jeff Davis

As co-leader
Release year Artist Title Label Notes
2014 Elias Stemeseder / Devin Gray / Anna Webber Jagged Spheres[28] Self-released
2015 The Hero of Warchester The Hero of Warchester[24] Prom Night Records Personnel: Nathaniel Morgan, Liz Kosack, Anna Webber
2016 Eave EAVE[1] Astral Spirits Personnel: Erik Hove, Anna Webber, Vicky Mettler, Evan Tighe
2017 Elias Stemeseder / Devin Gray / Anna Webber Jagged Spheres II[1] Self-released
2018 The Hero of Warchester The Four Americas Self-released Personnel: Nathaniel Morgan, Liz Kosack, Anna Webber
2020 TAC Trio CIX Self-released Personnel: Chris Tordini, Theo Bleckmann, Anna Webber

As sideperson
Release yearLeaderTitleLabel
2009 Stefon Harris Urbanus[29] Blue Note
2011 Daniel Jamieson's Danjam Orchestra Sudden Appearance[29] OA2 Records
2014 Noah Garabedian Big Butter and the Eggmen[29] Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records
2015 Guilhem Flouzat Portraits[29] Sunnyside
2016 Dan Weiss Sixteen: Drummers Suite[30] Pi Recordings
2017 Matt Mitchell A Pouting Grimace[31] Pi
2017 Jen Shyu Song of Silver Geese[32] Pi
2017 Harris Eisenstadt Recent Developments[33] Songlines
2017 Fabian Almazan / Realm of Possibilities SWR New Jazz Meeting 2015[34] Jazzhaus
2018 Adam Hopkins Crickets[35] Out of Your Head Records
2018 Ken Thomson Sextet[36] Panoramic Recordings
2018 Katell Keineg / Jeff Taylor / Marike Van Dijk The Stereography Project[37] Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records
2018 Enrique Haneine The Mind's Mural[38] Elegant Walk Records
2019 Dave Douglas Engage[39] Greenleaf
2019 Remy Le Boeuf Assembly of Shadows[40] Soundspore Records
2019 Colin Hinton Simulacra[41] Panoramic Recordings
2020 Raf Vertessen Quartet LOI[42] El Negocito Records

References
  1. Sharpe, John (January 2019). "Artist Feature: Anna Webber" (PDF). The New York City Jazz Record. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  2. "Anna Webber". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  3. "Terri Lyne Carrington Tops 2020 DownBeat Critics Poll". DownBeat. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  4. "67th Annual DownBeat International Critics Poll" (PDF). DownBeat. August 2019. p. 67. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  5. Russonello, Giovanni (2 December 2020). "Best Jazz Albums of 2020". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  6. Sumner, Dave (11 December 2020). "The Best Jazz Albums of 2020". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  7. "Best Albums of 2020" (PDF). DownBeat. January 2021. p. 41. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  8. "2021 GRAMMYs: Complete Nominees List". Recording Academy. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  9. Margasak, Peter (10 February 2017). "Saxophonist Anna Webber turns to the Internet to inspire music for her Simple Trio". The Chicago Reader. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  10. "MSM Alumni named 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship Recipients in Music Composition". Manhattan School of Music. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  11. "Prix François-Marcaurelle: Anciens Récipiendaires". Montreal OFF JAZZ Festival. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  12. Bailey, C. Michael (11 November 2010). "Anna Webber: Third Floor People". All About Jazz. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  13. Naser, Paul (25 September 2014). "Anna Webber: Simple". All About Jazz. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  14. Oullette, Dan (26 March 2020). "Anna Webber, Angela Morris Explore Big Bands' Sonic Possibilities". DownBeat. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  15. Jarenwattananon, Patrick (11 July 2013). "Crystalline New Music For Flutes And Mallets". NPR. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  16. Margasak, Peter (2 March 2015). "Listen to the playfully meticulous clockwork jazz of reedist Anna Webber". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  17. "Anna Webber wins 2014 Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize". BMI Foundation. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  18. Ratliff, Ben (26 September 2014). "Founts of Classic and Progressive in a Straight Ahead Way". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  19. Wayne, Dave (5 January 2017). "Anna Webber's Simple Trio With Matt Mitchell & John Hollenbeck: Binary". All About Jazz. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  20. "Anna Webber Receives Inaugural Canadian Women Artists' Award". New York Foundation for the Arts. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  21. "The 2019 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll". NPR. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  22. "The 2020-21 Berlin Prize Fellows". American Academy in Berlin. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  23. Corroto, Mark (10 March 2014). "Elias Stemeseder / Devin Gray / Anna Webber: Jagged Spheres". All About Jazz. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  24. Margasak, Peter (4 November 2015). "Reedist Anna Webber's new trio Hero of Warchester confounds expectations". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  25. "MUSIC COMPOSITION: Anna Webber". MacDowell. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  26. Rodríguez, Alex W. (20 March 2019). "Anna Webber's 'Clockwise' Spans Musical Worlds". Downbeat. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  27. Ackermann, Karl (19 October 2016). "Anna Webber's Simple Trio With Matt Mitchell & John Hollenbeck: Binary". All About Jazz. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  28. Corroto, Mark (10 March 2014). "Elias Stemeseder / Devin Gray / Anna Webber: Jagged Spheres". All About Jazz. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  29. "Anna Webber: Credits". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  30. Margasak, Peter (18 March 2016). "Percussionist Dan Weiss builds sonic sculptures from snippets of jazz drums on his new album". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  31. Layman, Will (15 November 2017). "Matt Mitchell: A Pouting Grimace". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  32. McDowall, Kerilie (January 2018). "Jen Shyu: Song Of Silver Geese". DownBeat. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  33. Ackermann, Karl (26 March 2017). "Harris Eisenstadt: Recent Developments". All About Jazz. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  34. "SWR new jazz meeting 2015 / Fabian Almazan and Realm of Possibilities". Princeton University Library.
  35. "AMN Reviews: Adam Hopkins – Crickets (2018; Out of Your Head Records)". Avant Music News. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  36. "Music: Ken Thompson [sic] Sextet: BMO Harris Noon Concert". University of Wisconsin Parkside. 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  37. Roggero, Vincenzo (15 March 2019). "Marike Van Dijk: The Stereography Project Feat. Jeff Taylor And Katell Keineg". All About Jazz. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  38. Bambarger, Bradley (January 2019). "Enrique Haneine: The Mind's Mural". DownBeat. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  39. Milkowski, Bill (18 November 2019). "Dave Douglas Refines His Political Message with 'ENGAGE'". DownBeat. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  40. Willman, Chris (24 November 2020). "Grammy Awards Nominations 2021: The Complete List". Variety. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  41. Sharpe, John (13 November 2020). "Colin Hinton: Simulacra". All About Jazz. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  42. "AMN Reviews: Raf Vertessen Quartet – LOI (2020; El Negocito)". Avant Music News. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
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