Wessell "Warmdaddy" Anderson (b. 1966, Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

) is an American jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 alto saxophonist.

Anderson grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights

Crown Heights, Brooklyn

Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....

, and played jazz early on at the urging of his father, who was a drummer. He played in local clubs from his early teenage years, and studied at the Jazzmobile

Jazzmobile

Jazzmobile, Inc. is based in New York, and was founded in 1964 by Daphne Arnstein, an arts patron and founder of the Harlem Cultural Council and Dr. William "Billy" Taylor. It is a multifaceted, outreach organization committed to bringing "America's Classical Music"—Jazz—to the largest possible...

 workshops with Frank Wess

Frank Wess

Frank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...

, Charles Davis

Charles Davis

Charles Davis or Charlie Davis may refer to:Athletes* Charlie Davis , West Indian cricketer* Charlie Davis , American basketball player* Charlie Davis...

, and Frank Foster

Frank Foster (musician)

Frank Foster was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s.-Biography:...

. He also met Branford Marsalis

Branford Marsalis

Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...

, who convinced him to study with Alvin Batiste

Alvin Batiste

Alvin Batiste was an avant garde jazz clarinetist born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He taught at his own jazz institute at Southern University in Baton Rouge...

 at Southern University

Southern University

Southern University and A&M College is a historically black college located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Baton Rouge campus is located on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section...

 in Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

.

Soon after this, Anderson began touring with the Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...

 Septet, and collaborated with Marsalis through the middle of the 1990s. He continued to play with Marsalis's Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra beyond this. In 1994, he released his debut album on Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

; Eric Reed

Eric Reed (musician)

Eric Scott Reed, , in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American jazz pianist and composer.His group Black Note released several albums in the 1990s.-Biography:...

 and Ben Wolfe

Ben Wolfe

Ben Wolfe is an American jazz double bassist and academic.-Early life:Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Wolfe was raised in Portland, Oregon.-Career:...

 were among those who played as sidemen. His 1998 release Live at the Village Vanguard featured Irvin Mayfield

Irvin Mayfield

Irvin Mayfield, Jr. is an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He has been serving as Cultural Ambassador of the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana since 2003. He co-founded and has co-led the Afro-Cuban jazz group Los Hombres Calientes since 1998. Their debut album won Billboard's 2000...

, Steve Kirby

Steve Kirby (musician)

Steve Kirby is an American jazz bassist.Kirby was born in Maumee Valley, Ohio, and his family moved to St. Louis when he was two. He picked up guitar and electric bass while stationed at Fort Bragg, and following this he attended Webster University, receiving his BA in 1985...

, Xavier Davis

Xavier Davis

Xavier Davis is a jazz pianist who leads the "Xavier Davis Trio." He currently teaches at the Juilliard School in New York City....

, and Jaz Sawyer.

Wess is married to former Desimonae Moore of Baton Rouge. They share a son Wessell Anderson IV, affectionately known as Quad. Quad, a University of New Orleans student, who shares his father's passion for music, has now embarked on a music career of his own as an upcoming jazz trombonist. The Andersons have another "baby", a restaurant in East Lansing, Michigan called "Gumbo & Jazz".

Discography

• Warmdaddy in the Garden of Swing (Atlantic Records
  Atlantic Records
  Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
  
  , 1994)
• Ways of Warmdaddy (Atlantic, 1995)
• Live at the Village Vanguard (Leaning House
  Leaning House
  Leaning House was an independent, Dallas, Texas based jazz label. It was founded by Mark Elliott and Keith Foerster and existed from 1994 until 1999...
  
  , 1998)