“One can hear many influences in Bishop’s playing, including more than a touch of Elvin, but he is clearly an original voice…” – Percussive Notes As a drummer, educator, record label owner, graphic designer, and festival presenter, John Bishop has been one of the primary voices in Northwest Jazz for 40 years. He has performed in concerts and clubs with Lee Konitz, Slide Hampton, Benny Golson, George Cables, Kenny Werner, Bobby Hutcherson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Sonny Fortune, Herb Ellis, Buddy DeFranco, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Locke, Jerry Bergonzi, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Larry Coryell, and countless others. He’s appeared on more than 100 albums, was inducted into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame in 2008, and was named a “Jazz Hero” by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2019.
“Great music without exception…a terrific organization and in my opinion, Bishop is one of the best cover designers in the world.” - Rudolf Radnai, Muszerordal, Budapest, Hungary In 1997, Bishop started the jazz label Origin Records (named Jazzweek’s 2009 “Label Of The Year”) and OriginArts, a graphic design & CD production company, to help further the exposure of creative artists and their music. With the help of his ex-drum student, Matt Jorgensen, they have released over 725 recordings by 370 artists from around the world. In 2002 they added another jazz label, OA2 Records, a classical imprint, Origin Classical in 2008, and in 2003 began Seattle’s annual 4-day Ballard Jazz Festival. Bishop has designed over 800 CD packages and numerous book covers, banners, posters, and other graphics for clients around the globe. He was on the NW chapter Board of Governors of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, and annually takes part in multiple music conferences & events, including JazzCongress (NYC), JazzWeek (San Jose), JazzAhead (Bremen), Jazz Education Network, and occasionally, NAMM, PASIC, MIDEM (Cannes), and the Grammys.
“…the high level of integration and communication Hal Galper’s trio displays is rare and quite thrilling to experience…” – DOWNBEAT Along with bassist Jeff Johnson, Bishop is a member of New York pianist Hal Galper’s Trio where over the last 15 years, they’ve released 7 acclaimed albums and toured internationally. They also perform with Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez, including an appearance at the 60th Monterey Jazz Festival, and are members of the 20-year-old collective Scenes with guitarist John Stowell & saxophonist Rick Mandyck. Bishop has also toured Belgium and recorded 3 albums over the last decade with the Chad McCullough / Bram Weijters Group, a Belgian/American project.
“Bishop’s drumming is unfailingly imaginative and fervid.” – CODA Magazine Born in Seattle and raised in Germany, Washington, DC, San Antonio and Eugene, Bishop started playing drums at 7 in Washington, DC with the Patriots drum corp. He performed regularly throughout high school and college in Oregon, studying with Mel Brown and Charles Dowd and attending the University of Oregon, later transferring to the jazz program at North Texas State University. He moved to Seattle in 1981 for an extended engagement with the band Glider and never left. An unusually creative and fertile scene at the time, Seattle offered performances with top touring artists and the opportunity to create long and substantial musical relationships with inspired Northwest musicians.
In the early ’80s, he was a member of the fusion group Blue Sky, which released two Top 10 albums and performed extensively throughout the decade. For 20 years, he was with the piano trio New Stories along with pianist Marc Seales and bassist Doug Miller. They had 4 CDs of their own, 6 with be-bop saxophonist Don Lanphere, and a Grammy-nominated RCA release with Mark Murphy. They were regulars at Bud Shank’s Pt. Townsend Jazz Festival, headlined the 1993 JVC Jazz Festival in Vladivostok, Russia, and also appeared in concerts with Tom Harrell, Julian Priester, Charles McPherson, Vincent Herring, Nick Brignola, Conte Condoli, Bobby Shew & Larry Coryell. They also performed around the country as a trio or touring with Mark Murphy, Ernie Watts or Don Lanphere. Their tune “Highway Blues,” from Speakin’ Out, was embedded as one of two music samples in Windows XP, which went on to sell 700 million units. Their 2014 recording, Hope is in the Air: the Music of Elmo Hope, was produced by Don Sickler & engineered by Rudy Van Gelder at his studio in NJ.
“The New Stories trio is likewise nothing less than extraordinary. Drummer John Bishop, particularly, is one of the finest on the scene.” – Jazz Review He’s taught drums privately for 46 years and was on faculty at the University of Washington from 2005-2009. He regularly does drum and jazz workshops throughout the country with the Hal Galper Trio, including recent events at the University of North Texas, University of Indiana, Dartmouth, Cal Arts, The New School, Purchase Conservatory-NYC, William Paterson University, University of Louisville, San Jose State University, The California Jazz Conservatory, and Kent State University. In 2018, Bishop co-founded The Real(ity) Book, a web-based, HD Video Play-Along education system for jazz musicians.
Bishop has also toured internationally with Buddy Greco, the McGuire Sisters, and the Harry James Orchestra, and has performed with Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Bob Newhart, Rich Little, The Hi-Los, Frankie Avalon, the Drifters, the Coasters, the Platters, Pete Barbutti, the Seattle Symphony, and many others.
He has an understanding wife, 2 dogs & a cat, and drives Volvos exclusively… For a more complete list of recording credits, visit the All Music Guide: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-bishop-mn0000810079/credits

Seattle native Bill Anschell returned to the Emerald City in 2002 after spending 25 years studying, composing, and performing across the country and around the world.
Anschell left Seattle after high school, studying for two years at Oberlin College (Ohio), then transferring to Wesleyan University (Connecticut), where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Music. At Wesleyan, Anschell worked closely with saxophone great Bill Barron. He also studied semi-privately with South Indian mridangum master T Ranganathan, kindling a passion for rhythmic experimentation that has driven Anschell’s music ever since.
After leading the life of a jazz vagabond for several years, Anschell settled in Atlanta in 1989. He was initially drawn there by the opportunity to serve as Jazz Coordinator for the Southern Arts Federation (SAF), the regional arts agency of the South. Firing up SAF’s jazz department virtually from scratch, Anschell launched a host of high-profile programs, published a book on grantswriting, and created JazzSouth, an internationally syndicated radio show. At night he dove headlong into the city’s thriving jazz scene, working as a sideman with various groups and leading his own trio.
By 1992, Anschell’s performing itinerary had grown to the point where it demanded his full attention. He left the SAF post, continuing to produce JazzSouth out of his home while focusing on playing and composing. Over the next ten years, Anschell ascended the jazz ranks in Atlanta, leading his trio at major festivals and becoming a first-call accompanist for visiting jazz greats. His trio’s highlights included the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, the Montreux Atlanta Festival and four extensive tours of South America.
During the same period, Anschell enjoyed a lengthy association with vocalist Nnenna Freelon, serving as her pianist, arranger and musical director. Among their many performing highlights were the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and six European tours. Their concerts were broadcast on Radio France, French national television, and NPR’s JazzSet. Anschell’s piano work and arrangements were featured throughout Freelon’s 1996 Concord release Shaking Free, which was nominated for a Grammy as the year’s best jazz vocal recording.
Anschell’s own CDs have earned critical acclaim and widespread exposure, with several making Jazzweek’s national “Top 50” chart for radio airplay. Anschell’s 1998 release, a different note all together, was selected by United Press International (UPI) as one of the “10 Best” jazz releases of the year. His 2006 CD, More to the Ear than Meets the Eye, was chosen by numerous critics and radio stations across the country for their “10 Best of 2006” lists. His 2009 duo CD of spontaneous improvisations with saxophonist Brent Jensen was described by Cadence as “startlingly beautiful, surprising, and powerful…a transforming experience.” And his 2011 solo piano release, Figments was called “magical” in Thomas Conrad’s JazzTimes review.
​ In 2001, Anschell was selected by the American Composers Forum for its Composer-in-the-Schools program; his residency included a commissioned piece for chamber orchestra. Since 2003, his original compositions have received widespread cable and network exposure, with more than 70 placements on programs including NBC’s The West Wing, NCIS: LA, HBO’s acclaimed series The Wire, and HBO’s Bessie Smith biopic, Bessie.
In 2008, Anschell's Atlanta trio reunited for a fifth South American tour, visiting the Colombian cities of Medellin, Pereira and Manizales; in 2012 the trio made its fourth visit to Peru, and in 2014 its third trip to Paraguay.
As a Seattleite, Anschell had the honor of playing a weekly gig with Northwest jazz legend Floyd Standifer for the two years before his passing. In 2005, Anschell received a Golden Ear Award as the “Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year,” and in 2006 his trio was named the “Best Northwest Acoustic Jazz Ensemble.” In 2010 and 2011 Anschell was again was named “Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year,” and in 2011 his CD Figments was named “Northwest Jazz Recording of the Year.” In 2013, he played several concerts with the Seattle Symphony. His 2013 CD, Impulses, took him into new territory, featuring twelve tracks of original electronica.
Anschell is also well known as a jazz humorist, writing jazz vignettes and a monthly jazz etiquette column. His satirical essay, Careers in Jazz, is the all-time most-read piece on leading jazz website allaboutjazz.com with more than 350,000 hits, and was prominently featured in a Wall Street Journal story on jazz audiences. In 2014 he was a winner of the inaugural Paul Desmond Award, allaboutjazz.com’s celebration of the funniest jazz artists.

Jazz trumpeter, composer and producer Thomas Marriott is a veteran of the national jazz scene who’s earned eight Golden Ear awards, produced 13 albums as a leader for Origin Records, and toured with greats like Maynard Ferguson and Roy McCurdy, as well as contemporary jazz artists like Orrin Evans and Joe Locke.
The 1999 winner of the Carmine Caruso Jazz Trumpet Competition, Marriott is a true but subtle innovator with a luxuriously round tone, a unique sense of spontaneous and poignant melody, and a penchant for melancholic compositions that evoke an introspective mood. Marriott’s undeniable talent and versatility is the culmination of years of performance with some of the most well-respected names in music. On the heels of his win of the Carmine Caruso Jazz Trumpet Competition, Marriott moved to New York City where he gained unparalleled experience and national acclaim subbing with groups like the Tito Puente Orchestra, Chico O’Farrill Orchestra, and most notably, Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau Band—whom he joined for three world tours as a jazz soloist. Since, Marriott has continued to work on the road and in the studio with a range of artists such as Mike Clark, Rosemary Clooney, Ivan Neville, Eric Reed, Stix Hooper, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Liv Warfield, Steve Wilson, Charlie Hunter, Brian Lynch, Deltron 3030, Michael Feinstein, and many more. Marriott returned to his native Seattle in 2004 and has since released 13 albums for Origin Records, three of which made the top-ten on national jazz radio airplay charts, including the 2009 release East-West Trumpet Summit, which made it all the way to number one. Marriott’s music has also been featured on NPR’s “Morning Edition” and has gained critical praise world-wide, including the 2010 release Constraints and Liberations which garnered 4 ½ stars in Downbeat Magazine. Alongside his profound experience on-stage and in the studio, Marriott also works in the local jazz community as a catalyst and advocate. Marriott has served on the Board of Governors of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences and the Board of Directors of Earshot Jazz, produced albums for artists like saxophonist Hadley Caliman and trumpeter Ray Vega, and was a featured soloist with Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra for twenty seasons. In 2021 Marriott founded Seattle Jazz Fellowship, a 501(c)3 non-profit arts organization with goals of building the local jazz community, increasing mentorship and lowering barrier to access the music as a performer and listener.