Anna Webber (b. 1984) is a flutist, saxophonist, and composer whose interests and work live in the aesthetic overlap between avant-garde jazz and new classical music. Her new album, simpletrio2000, is an exploration of polyrhythm and a celebration of a decade of working with her band Simple Trio. Featuring Matt Mitchell on piano and John Hollenbeck on drums, simpletrio2000 is the group’s fourth album, and a follow-up to the critically-acclaimed release Idiom, which earned Webber the accolade of being named the top composer of the year by JazzTimes in 2021. Her music has been called "visionary and captivating," (Wall Street Journal), and “heady music [that] appeals to the rest of the body” (NPR). In 2024 alone, she received the Herb Albert Award in the Arts, a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commission, and was voted top of both the tenor saxophone and flute “Rising Star” categories in the Downbeat Critic’s Poll.

A prolific bandleader, Webber is also known for the Webber Morris Big Band, a group she co-leads with saxophonist and composer Angela Morris, and her quintet Shimmer Wince (featuring Adam O’Farrill on trumpet, Mariel Roberts on cello, Elias Stemeseder on synthesizer, and Lesley Mok on drums) which explores Just Intonation in a jazz context. She has additionally performed and/or recorded with projects led by artists such as Dan Weiss, Miles Okazaki, Roscoe Mitchell, Ranja Swaminathan, Jen Shyu, Dave Douglas, Matt Mitchell, Ches Smith, John Hollenbeck, and Trevor Dunn, among others.

Webber is a 2021 Berlin Prize Fellow, and a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow. She has additionally been honored with the Margaret Whitton Award (administered by the Jazz Gallery); grants from the Copland Fund (2021 & 2019), the Shifting Foundation (2015 & 2022), the New York Foundation for the Arts (2017), the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts; and residencies from Exploring the Metropolis (2019), the MacDowell Colony (2017 & 2020), the Millay Colony for the Arts (2015), and the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts (2014).

Originally from British Columbia, Webber studied music at McGill University in Montreal before moving to New York City in 2008. She holds master’s degrees from both Manhattan School of Music and the Jazz Institute Berlin. She is currently serving as the Co-Chair of Jazz Studies at New England Conservatory.

BandCamp
SoundCloud
YouTube

Anna on BandCamp
Anna on SoundCloud
Webber/Morris Big Band

Intakt Records
Tzadik Records Pi Recordings
Out Of Your Head Records
Greenleaf Music
Astral Spirits Records
Skirl Records
Pirouet Records
Canada Council for the Arts

Site design by Jonas Beuchert
Site programming by Alex Kern
Photos by Alice Plati unless otherwise noted.
Other images taken from album artwork from Clockwise, The Four Americas (Hero of Warchester), Binary, SIMPLE, Refraction, Percussive Mechanics, and Third Floor People, © Simon Grendene/Pi Recordings, Brian Henkel, KarlssonWilker, Konstantin Kern/Pirouet Records, and Alix Maubrey.

Click for downloadable press photos and bios

Videos:
Simple Trio plays Forgotten Best
Simple Trio + Idiom VI Large Ensemble at Roulette
Webber/Hopkins/Rainey
Webber/Morris Big Band
Rectangles 2/Cats/etc
The Hero of Warchester
with PERCUSSIVE MECHANICS
with Adam Hopkins' Crickets
with the Erik Hove Chamber Ensemble

for press inquiries, please contact Adam at Far Cry Publicity
farcrypublicity@gmail.com
517-775-2815

for booking in Europe or North America, or questions about music and/scores, etc, you can contact me directly
akwebber@gmail.com

As a leader:

As a co-leader:

As a sideperson:
Geof Bradfield - Colossal Abundance
Miles Okazaki - Miniature America
Josh Modney - Ascending Primes
Ches Smith - Laugh Ash
Rajna Saminathan RAJAS - Apertures
John Hollenbeck/GEORGE - Letters to George
Trevor Dunn - sèances
Max Johnson Trio - Orbit of Sound
Weston Olencki - Old Time Music
Remy Le Boeuf - Architecture of Storms
Gabriel Zucker - Leftover Beats from the Edges of Time
David Sanford Big Band - A Prayer for Lester Bowie
Jacob Garchik - Clear Line
Raf Vertessen - LOI
Brian Krock - Big Heart Machine Live at the Jazz gallery
Dave Douglas - Engage
Colin Hinton - Simulacra
Remy Le Boeuf - Assembly of Shadows
Adam Hopkins - Crickets
Ken Thomson - Sextet
Enrique Haneine - The Mind's Mural
Geof Bradfield - Yes and...
Marike van Dijk - The Stereography Project feat. Jeff Taylor and Katell Keineg
John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble- All Can Work
Jen Shyu - Song of Silver Geese
Matt Mitchell - A Pouting Grimace
Erik Hove - Polygon
Harris Eisenstadt - Recent Developments
Fabian Almazan & Realm of Possibilities - SWR Newjazz Meeting 2015
Dan Weiss - 16: Drummers Suite
Guilhem Flouzat - Portraits
Erik Hove - Saturated Colour
Marike van Dijk - The Stereography Project
Noah Garabedian - Big Butter and the Egg Men
Simon Kanzler - Talking Hands
Martin Kruemmling - The Vision Behind
Ben Bryden - Flying Scot
Daniel Jamieson - Sudden Appearance
Stefon Harris and Blackout - Urbanus
André Bourgeois - Eau de Mai

Rectangles

Released on July 31, 2020 on Out Of Your Head Records' Untamed Series

Marc Hannaford - piano;
Adam Hopkins - bass;
Mark Ferber - drums;
Anna Webber - tenor sax/compositions

Buy it here:
BandCamp

Tracks:
Rectangles 3

Binary - SKIRL 033

Released on October 25, 2016 on Skirl Records

Matt Mitchell - piano;
John Hollenbeck - drums;
Anna Webber - flute//tenor sax/compositions

Buy it here:
BandCamp
Skirl Records

Tracks:
Rectangles 2
Impulse Purchase
Rectangles 3a
Rectangles 1b
Underhelmed
Tug o' War
Rectangles 3b
Binary
Meme
Disintegratiate
Rectangles 3c
Rectangles 1a

SIMPLE - SKIRL 027

Released on Sept 16, 2014 on Skirl Records

Matt Mitchell - piano;
John Hollenbeck - drums;
Anna Webber - flute/alto flute/tenor sax/compositions

It's packaged in a DVD-sized digipack with artwork from Karlssonwilker!
Buy it here:
BandCamp
Skirl Records

Tracks:
Carnophobia
Emoticon
1994
Simplify Simplify
Washington
I Don't Want To Be Happy
Zigzag

Refraction - PIT3079

Released January 6, 2015 on Pirouet Records

Anna Webber - flute/alto flute/tenor sax/compositions;
James Wylie - alto sax/clarinet;
Elias Stemeseder - piano;
Julius Heise - vibraphone/marimba;
Igor Spallati - bass;
Martin Kruemmling - drums;
Max Andrzejewski - drums/marimba

Buy it here:
BandCamp
Pirouet Records
iTunes

Tracks:
Five (Action)
Tacos Wyoming
Climbing on Mirrors
Theodore
Relentless!
The All Pro 3 speed
Friction/Vif (Reflection)

Percussive Mechanics - Pirouet Records PIT3069

Anna Webber - flute/tenor sax/compositions;
James Wylie - alto sax/clarinet;
Elias Stemeseder - piano;
Julius Heise - vibraphone/marimba;
Igor Spallati - bass;
Martin Kruemmling - drums;
Max Andrzejewski - drums

Buy it here:
BandCamp
Pirouet Records iTunes

Tracks:
Dan:ce
Certain Transcendence
Terrarosa
Percussive Mechanics
Vigilance
Sleeping Is Giving In
Histrionics
Let It Cut More Deep
EINS!

Third Floor People - Nowt Records NOWT 005

Montreal People: Anna Webber - flute/tenor sax; Erik Hove - alto sax; Jean-Sebastien Williams - guitar; Phil Melanson - drums

New York People: Anna Webber - flute/tenor sax; Matt Holman - trumpet; Owen Stewart-Robertson - guitar; Fred Kennedy - drums

Buy it here:
BandCamp
iTunes

Tracks:
Third Floor People I
Awkward
Parallelissimo I
Glimpses
Hymn
Stop Rocking
Une Myriade
Boo Boo Boo Daa
Le Pont
Parallelissimo II
Third Floor People II

Jagged Spheres II

Elias Stemeseder - piano;
Devin Gray - drums;
Anna Webber - flute, tenor sax

Only available digitally! You can stream and buy this here at Bandcamp

Tracks:
Dragnet (Stemeseder/Gray/Webber)
Surely Shortly I (Gray)
Suitcase Champion (Webber)
Erdapfeldoag mit Spinat (Stemeseder)
Snatched (Stemeseder/Gray/Webber)
Surely Shortly II (Gray)

Jagged Spheres

Elias Stemeseder - piano;
Devin Gray - drums;
Anna Webber - flute, tenor sax

You can stream and buy this from our BandCamp page
jaggedspheres.bandcamp.com

Tracks:
Jaggedsphere (Stemeseder/Gray/Webber)
For Erik (Webber)
Health Bars (Stemeseder)
Two And A Half (Stemeseder/Gray/Webber)
Getting Hit Off My Bike, By a Nice Cab Driver At 3:33am In Williamsburg (Gray)
Two (Stemeseder/Gray/Webber)
Nineeight (Stemeseder)

TAC Trio: CIX

Released October 2, 2020

Chris Tordini - bass;
Theo Bleckmann - voice;
Anna Webber - tenor saxophone, flute

This was a 2020 Quarantine Project, made remotely and collaboratively. Each of us recorded two solo improvisations, which were then passed around, round robin-style, to the other two members of the band. Chris Tordini mixed the album. Artwork by Theo Bleckmann
Digital download only, available on Bandcamp

Tracks:
Recitative
Combustible
Of
Coronda
Gatehouse
Noa

The Hero of Warchester

Nathaniel Morgan - alto saxophone;
Liz Kosack - synthesizer;
Anna Webber - tenor saxophone

Cassette + digital download available at Prom Night Records

Tracks:
buzzard
everyone needs a hero
distair
wringling
bile

The Four Americas - Hero of Warchester

Released January 27, 2018.

Nathaniel Morgan - alto saxophone;
Liz Kosack - synthesizer;
Anna Webber - tenor saxophone

The Seer of Warchester (and provider of spoken word) is Ben Willis
Artwork by Brian Henkel

Only available via digital download here: Bandcamp

Tracks:
The Four Americas
Backseat Ranger
The Three Fourmericas
Last Fashion Hero
A Pond of Time
A burden the ham is worse, too in the butch.
Agent Morrison
The Harold of Warchester
The Scholar of Warchester
Florets of Arabia

EAVE

Erik Hove - alto saxophone, flute;
Anna Webber - tenor saxophone, flute;
Vicky Mettler - guitar;
Evan Tighe - drums

Released February 16, 2018. Cassette + digital download available on Bandcamp or the Astral Spirits website

Tracks:
Meriwether
Liver-Eating
Gold Fever
Axe or Chisel
Denver Bob
The Night of the Burning River
A Well-Worn Path
Owyhee
Yakima
Memorandum

Clockwise - PI79

Released on February 22, 2019 on Pi Recordings

Anna Webber - tenor saxophone, flute, bass flute, alto flute;
Jeremy Viner - tenor saxophone, clarinet;
Jacob Garchik - trombone;
Christopher Hoffman - cello;
Matt Mitchell - piano;
Chris Tordini - bass;
Ches Smith - drums;

CD + digital download available from:
Bandcamp
Pi Recordings

Tracks:
Kore II
Idiom II
King of Denmark I / Loper
King of Denmark II
Clockwise
Array
Hologram Best
King of Denmark III
Kore I

Idiom - PI89

Released on May 28, 2021 on Pi Recordings

Simple Trio
Anna Webber - tenor saxophone, flute;
Matt Mitchell - piano;
John Hollenbeck - drums

Large Ensemble
Anna Webber - tenor saxophone, flute, bass flute;
Nathaniel Morgan - alto saxophone;
Yuma Uesaka - tenor saxophone, clarinet, contra-alto clarinet;
Adam O’Farrill - trumpet;
David Byrd-Marrow - horn;
Jacob Garchik - trombone;
Erica Dicker - violin;
Joanna Mattrey - viola;
Mariel Roberts - cello;
Liz Kosack - synthesizer;
Nick Dunston - bass;
Satoshi Takeishi - drums;
Eric Wubbels - conductor

CD + digital download available to from:
Bandcamp

Tracks:
Idiom I
Idiom IV
Forgotten Best
Idiom V
Idiom III

Idiom VI
Movement I
Interlude 1
Movement II
Interlude 2 & Movement III
Movement IV
Interlude 3 & Movement V
Interlude 4 & Movement VI

Both Are True - GRE-CD-1075

Released on April 3, 2020 on Greenleaf Music

Angela Morris - conductor, tenor sax, flute;
Anna Webber - conductor, tenor sax, flute;
Jay Rattman - alto sax, soprano sax, flute;
Charlotte Greve - alto sax, clarinet;
Adam Schneit - tenor sax, clarinet;
Lisa Parrott - bari sax, bass clarinet;
John Lake - trumpet;
Jake Henry - trumpet;
Adam O'Farrill - trumpet;
Kenny Warren - trumpet;
Tim Vaughn - trombone;
Nick Grinder - trombone;
Jen Baker - trombone;
Reginald Chapman - bass trombone;
Patricia Brennan - vibraphone;
Dustin Carlson - guitar;
Marc Hannaford - piano;
Adam Hopkins - bass;
Jeff Davis - drums

CD + digital download available from:
Bandcamp

Tracks:
Climbing On Mirrors
Duo 1
Both Are True
Rebonds
Coral
And It Rolled Right Down
Foggy Valley
Duo 2
Reverses

Shimmer Wince

Released on October 20, 2023 on Intakt Records

Anna Webber - tenor saxophone, flute, bass flute;
Adam O'Farrill - trumpet
Mariel Roberts - cello
Elias Stemeseder - synthesizer
Lesley Mok - drums

Purchase:
Digital
Physical
Hi-res Digital

Tracks:
Swell
Wince
Fizz
Periodicity 1
Squirmy
Periodicity 2
Shimmer

simpletrio2000

Released on October 18, 2024 on Intakt Records

Anna Webber - tenor saxophone, flute, bass flute;
Matt Mitchell - piano;
John Hollenbeck - drums

Purchase:
digital/physical (US + Canada)
hi res digital
physical (rest of the world)

Tracks:
Slingsh0t
Idiom VII
Fixed Do
Foray
Five Eateries (in New England)
g equals GM over r squared
miiire
8va
Ch9tter
Moveable Do

Several

Released September 22, 2023 on Astral Spirits

Anna Webber - tenor saxophone
Weston Olencki - trombone

Cassette + digital download available on Bandcamp

Tracks:
champion donut
cooks (unlimited)
St. James St.
Two Harmonies
Longie