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T.J. ANDERSON
"His own style of composition is audaciously modern, while preserving a deeply felt lyricism in melodic patterns, his harmonies are taut and intense without abandoning the basic tonal frame; his contrapuntal usages suggest folklike ensembles; but he freely varies his techniques according to the character of each particular piece."
—Nicholas Sloninsky
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
"T.J. Anderson, one of the distinguished black musicians of the century"
—Elma Lewis
The Cultural Post
"His music reflects the influence of both jazz and post-Webern styles. His predilection for rhythmic complexities and his imaginative use of instrumental colour are particularly noteworthy."
—Eileen Southern
The New Grove's Dictionary...
"Anderson is an individual and compelling compositional voice; he need not fear the charge of "eclecticism" because his own personality is so strong that it can unify diverse elements"
—Richard Dyer
Boston Globe
In commenting on the composer's musical ideas (Feb. 1997), Michael Dyson, Public Intellectual and Rap authority, says:
"That's like a T.J. Anderson composition in itself. Every distinct part has its organizing principle. The simultaneity of which doesn't divert them from pursuing that goal and yet, the harmony is found in their articulation of an ideal."
"T.J. Anderson is a virtuoso composer, if such a term exists."
—Henderson, William McCranor. I, Elvis; Confessions of a Counterfeit King. N.Y., Boulevard Books, 1997., p. 92
"My paintings have been influenced by many individual artists and non artists....A few of them are Hale Woodruff.. T.J. Anderson (composer/art patron)"
— Charles A. Young
"Since 1983, T.J. Anderson has been experimenting with a new approach to composition-what he refers to as an "orbiting" procedure in which each performer in an ensemble plays his or her part independantly of the others."
—Floyd, Samuel A. The Power of Black Music. N.Y., Oxford U. Pr., 1995
Dedication: Vignettte #2 - "with respect to Mozart, Haydn, and T.J. Anderson"
(Williams, James. "We've Got What You Need" (Recording: Evidence 22207-2, 1998)
Acknowledgements, p.xviii: "The teachers and mentors who started me on my academic career were, first and foremost, T.J. Anderson..." (Porter, Lewis. John Coltrane, His Life and Music
Univ.of Michigan Press, 1998)
"To say that T.J. Anderson is one of the best contemporary black American musicians would not be altogether fair: he has proven himself one of the best and brightest American musicians of any kind." Blair Johnston. Answers.com. 2006 Blair Johnston. All Music Guide
BAHIA, BAHIA
"Anderson ... is one of our country's most significant composers"
John W. Lambert
Spectator
b Bop in 2
"The solo instrument in this work undergoes such a transformation and multiplication, that its natural sound is woven into an entire "spider web" of sound"
Dziennik Polski
Cracow Polish Daily
SOLDIER BOY, SOLDIER
Opera, ACA
"its eminence as an important recent work may be due to the lack of comparable pieces, but the eminence is there nonetheless"
—Boston Globe
TRANSITIONS
Chamber ensemble, ACA
"terse and sharp with instrumental contrasts added up to give a first impression of being a series of rhapsodic fragments, conveyed in brilliant splayed sound, and, not just incidently, strikingly performed"
—Louis Snyder
The Christian Science Monitor
WATERMELON
Piano, Bote & Bock
"The highlight of the concert was T.J. Anderson's superb Watermelon, a composition I would describe as Afro-Webern"
—Ran Blake
Bay State Banner
MINSTREL MAN
Trombone and percussion; 1 player, Bote & Bock
"A colorful and touching piece about outward joy and inner anguish of minstrels"
—Richard Dyer
Boston Globe
STREET SONG
Piano, Bote & Bock
"... Sophisticated handling of materials drawn from black children's game songs. The large audience received it with great enthusiasm"
—Raoul Abdul
Amsterdam News
BEYOND SILENCE
Chamber ensemble and tenor, ACA
"Anderson's instrumental music had a life and unity of its own"
—David Noble
Boston Herald American
IN MEMORIAM ZACH WALKER
Band, ACA
"Anderson was quite successful in achieving his purpose, reflecting the world and society today"
—Coatesville Record
BLOCK SONGS
Soprano and children's toys, ACA
"...far beyond the mere demonstration of composing technique, and that alone made it stand out at this World Music Days festival"
—Donal Henahan
New York Times
TREEMONISHA
Opera by Scott Joplin, Premiere performance
"orchestrated the opera in a style that follows the one example of Joplin's orchestration that has come down to us"
—Harold C. Schonberg
New York Times
CLASSIC RAGS AND RAGTIME SONGS
Conductor
The Smithsonian Collection,
Record #P12974
Excerpt from the opera, Treemonisha.
"of the new ragtime recordings, this one is definitely the best"
—Stereo Review
CHAMBER SYMPHONY
Orchestra, ACA
CRI Record #SD258
"with small disjointed motives, involving both counterpoint and massed dissonant chords, is his own, and his sound also has individuality"
—Chappell White
The Atlanta Journal
VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY M.B. TOLSON
Chamber ensemble, ACA
Nonesuch Record #H-71303
"The work is lyrical, frequently agonized outcry, apparently induced by the situation of the black man in the world today"
—Bob Rohrer
The Atlanta Constitution
SQUARES
Orchestra, ACA
Columbia Records #M33434
"was a dazzling exhibition of dodecaphonic techniques"
—Newsweek
On Don’t Panic! 60 seconds for Piano: Various Composers
& Works, Guy Livingston, piano.
“What are my favorite pieces? I can’t tell you because they change from day to day, minute by minute. For starters, there’s the jazzy jaggedness of T.J. Anderson’s Watermelon Revisited…”
—Classics Today Online www.classicstoday.com, September 2001
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