Anagrams

is Jeff Crompton (saxophones, clarinet, keyboards) and JD Walsh (guitars, keyboards, electronics). They play jazz/not jazz, ambient/not ambient, acoustic/electronic music. The duo was formed when avant-garde jazz saxophonist Jeff learned that his new neighbor, JD Walsh (aka Shy Layers), was an electronic pop musician. Intrigued, Jeff suggested that they collaborate on a 7” record. The result was “Roll Call” / “Springs,” released in 2020. (Click on the picture to hear the record.) During the dark days of the Covid pandemic, Jeff and JD continued their collaboration, trading audio files and recording enough material for a full-length album. That album was picked up by Balmat, a Barcelona label specializing in ambient music. Blue Voices was released by Balmat in early 2024. (Click on the picture below to hear Blue Voices.) The reviews were overwhelmingly positive: “With Blue Voices, experimental duo Anagrams chart an enchancing sonic journey through inventive jazz and electronica. Jeff Crompton’s virtuosic woodwinds dance around JD Walsh’s electronic soundscapes, both players crafting vivid improvisations…. For innovative instrumental music, Blue Voices delivers. Anagrams have created an of-the-moment and timeless recording.” Irfan Ayaan, Between the Cracks “Anagrams’s pithy Bandcamp page lays it all out for us, really: “jazz / not jazz.” It’s not (really) jazz, honest! But just what exact sort of “not jazz” it is, that’s the question. Blue Voices is, at a minimum that I do not wish you to argue with, very excellent. It’s just, for lack of a better word, a really neat album. There are sufficient numbers of synthy, ambient passages to make it a sellable candidate here in Ambient Land :™:, but the album also teems with declarative woodwinds and, frankly, oodles of both jazzy and classical minimalist touches, including acoustic guitar, Moog, pedal steel, and gosh, probably a whole lot else. If you want to get cheeky and call it “ambient / not ambient,” that’s fine with me, but I sure do hope you listen to it.” Dan Obstkrieg, Last Rites

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For booking or further info, contact: Jeff Crompton: jeffcrom@bellsouth.net 404-6416586 JD Walsh: jdanwalsh@gmail.com