Peter & Will Anderson: Press

"You all have made my soul smile....and you made a 78yr. old ex-be-bopper....smile like a fox eatin' sauerkraut"

"Soft-spoken 23-year-old identical twins from Bethesda, Md., Pete and Will Anderson are virtuosos on both clarinet and saxophone... swing executed with great respect"

Yet the youngest guys in the room were probably the Anderson brothers, two 24-year-old Juilliard grads who subbed in the reed section, offering some clarinet-on-clarinet violence on "Crazy Rhythm." As the Nighthawks play the music of the 1920s, it doesn't sound like something that died out before the Andersons' grandfather was born, but rather like a music in a constant state of creation and reinvention.

The highly touted Anderson brothers were also exhilarating—and the audience response reflected that energy. Peter and Will Anderson ... exchanged delightful solos on “Over The Rainbow.” The spirit of Dizzy was invoked again in their rendition of “Tin Tin Deo.”

"The music from Will and Pete Anderson emerged pure and natural..."

"I've also been making all the gigs I can by two reed players, Peter and Will Anderson. Identical twins, they’re still in their early twenties and I can't say enough about them.

"They’re Julliard graduates and still doing postgraduate work at Julliard, but there’s nothing studied about the way that, as instrumentalists, arrangers and composers, they make music. They’re naturals and while essentially into bebop—which they play with a passion, unpredictability and sense of discovery that can make you feel like you’re back at the beginning of it at Minton’s or Monroe’s Uptown House—they can claim an astonishing affinity for the full range of jazz forms and styles, at least up to the “new thing.” I’ve listened to them play all kinds of jazz now and have yet to hear an inauthentic note. They easily hold their own with the best of the Dixieland players. They interpret Monk compositions in a way that I’m sure Monk would have appreciated. They have a solid grip not only on what Miles and Gil Evans were after in the “Birth of the Cool” period but on the work of a John Kirby as well. Along with the depth of knowledge they demonstrate about saxophone players as diverse as Johnny Hodges, Stan Getz, Hank Mobley and Gigi Gryce, to name just a few, they understand Ellington and—they play ballads with an emotional sophistication that’s way beyond their years—they know what to do with a Billy Strayhorn song. Have I mentioned that they also command their principle instruments, the clarinet and alto and tenor saxophones, with a stunning authority? I could go on and on about the Andersons. Right now the distinctions between them as musicians are as subtle as the differences in their appearances. It will be fascinating to see how they progress, how they diverge from one another and what they make of their prodigious talents, once they’ve become centered in their individual identities. But what they’re presenting at this point in their development is already substantial and compelling enough to be worthy of preservation. I’m surprised that there’s no big-label album yet. I should think that their marketing potential—the twin thing, their age—would be considerable."

"How thrilling to find a pair of identical 23 year old twins from Washington, D.C. reviving this era with a first rate sextet and hear signature Shaw-Goodman tunes like “Nightmare,” “Begin the Beguine,” “Stardust,” “Frenesi” and the nearly ten minute “Concerto for Clarinet."

"I was thoroughly, thoroughly swept away by the Anderson Twins and their band... [they] each play clarinet and saxophone with a devotion that is apparent in every note."

"With a self-effacing Jimmy Stewart charm, [the twins] talked to the audience from time to time, making us feel connected. When Peter announced that they would be performing their last song, the audience groaned and several called out “NO!”... You will not hear anything better musically on a New York stage this month."

"Everything you play you REALLY mean. That's rare these days" (about Will Anderson)

“Wonderful lines and a musical personality which is both grounded and exploratory. What an astounding maturity in playing a ballad… Great player!” (about Will Anderson)

Peter and Will are featured in the Ravinia Music Festival article!

"People applaud and laugh and smile, creatures of the night. Glitter, music and the sweetness and down-to-earth attitude of Will and Pete, the Anderson Twins, mix together to create an incredibly enjoyable evening."

"Paying tribute to jazzer Connee Boswell, Kohler sang "River Stay Away from My Door" accompanied by Will and Peter Anderson, 20-year-old identical twins whom she found in Juilliard's jazz department. Kohler did sexy, tuneful justice to La Boswell while those adorable kids made like a pair of seasoned Artie Shaws. Any savvy manager would be mad not to sign 'em up pronto."