Someone with "and" to the second power in his name might seem like he'd have alot to say, but the trumpet improvisations of Andy Edward Anderson were short and to the point. He grew up in Florida and began playing the horn at the age of ten. When he was 15 he began attending a college in Virginia, and was no doubt already comfortable studying with university professors, since his trumpet instructor from the beginning had been a college bandmaster. He was the principal trumpet in the St. Emma College orchestra. After graduating, he returned to Florida and began gigging with bandleader Luckey Roberts, luckily the fellow who had landed a regular gig at the Everglades Club in Palm Beach. Roberts also took the band on the road, including 1926 dates in New York City.

Big Apple, big contacts. This was where Anderson met Clarence Williams, the classic blues composer, pianist, and publisher who plugged him into a series of recording dates. In the late '20s, the trumpeter played with Luis Russell's band as well as behind the great pianist Jelly Roll Morton, who both encouraged and featured Anderson in vocal spots. There was some similarity to the crooning of Louis Armstrong. In fact, Anderson even substituted for Armstrong at the Connie's Inn venue during a run of the +Hot Chocolate Revue, a stage vehicle that featured Armstrong heavily. Anderson then worked with saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Benny Carter. Following a variety of freelance activity in the first half of the '30s, Anderson was mostly associated with the popular Mills Blue Rhythm Band. In 1935 he moved over to Charlie Turner's Arcadians, just in time to catch a wonderful period when Fats Waller fronted this group.

The challenging keyboardist Hazel Scott convened a big band in 1939, and Anderson was one of the brass players she chose for the group. The trumpeter's next big opportunity came along when trumpeter Murphy Steinberg vamoosed from the Joe Sullivan band and Anderson was called in as his replacement. Sullivan, also a keyboard player, had been strongly influenced by Earl Hines and was presenting a similar show, traditional yet progressive, revolving around the piano but also featuring a good deal of challenging section playing as well as the obligatory solo spots. It kept Anderson busy until 1941. He began playing with a ten-piece band under the leadership of Frankie Newton, but by the end of the year had given music up completely. He is often confused with the New Orleans trumpeter Andrew Andy Anderson, only five years his senior. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi