Peter & Will Anderson: The Best of Berlin

Brothers Peter and Will Anderson's latest album, The Best of Berlin, has nothing to do with geography and everything to do with memorable music. The Berlin referenced here has a forename, Irving, a Berlin who happens to be one of the foremost writers of popular songs in the 20th century. Using skillfulness and style, the Anderson brothers breathe new life into a baker's dozen of Berlin's radiant and indelible songs, renovating one superlative theme after another.

Not ony are Will and Peter Anderson brothers, they are identical twins. And not only twins, but twins who play the same array of instruments—woodwinds. On Berlin, Peter (who also arranged every number) focuses on tenor sax, Will on alto, and both double impeccably on clarinet. They are staunchly supported by a grade A rhythm section—pianist Rossano Sportiello, bassist Neal Miner, drummer Chuck Redd—and, on seven tracks, flanked on the front line by acclaimed trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, who also sings Louis Armstrong-style on a pair of Berlin favorites, "Cheek to Cheek" and the closing "Puttin' on the Ritz."

Berlin's first hit song (circa 1911) was "Alexander's Ragtime Band," and the brothers show they mean business not only by opening with that touchstone in the Great American Songbook but by playing it in ragtime. And it works—to perfection! That's about as delightful a curtain-raiser as anyone could wish for. And, to affirm it was no fluke, the ensemble spins the classic waltz "Always" into a straight-on 4/4 swinger that encompasses trim solos by Gordon, Will (on flute), Peter (on tenor) and Sportiello. From there, the pleasures simply keep coming, starting with a buoyant reading of "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (inspiring solos courtesy of Will's alto, Peter's tenor, Gordon and Sportiello, complementing strong percussion by Redd), a seductive take on "How Deep Is the Ocean" (Peter, tenor; Will, flute; Sportiello, piano) and the first of Gordon's vocals, on the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers paragon, "Cheek to Cheek," to which Will (alto) and Peter (clarinet) append their nimble solo voices.

On the breezy "Isn't This a Lovely Day," Peter's incisive clarinet is bolstered by Gordon's muted wah-wah trombone, while Berlin's sunlit "Blue Skies" have seldom shone brighter, thanks to Will's agile clarinet, Peter's plainspoken tenor, Sportiello's eloquent piano and snappy exchanges between Miner and Redd, who excels on brushes or sticks. "They Say It's Wonderful," introduced by the incomparable Ethel Merman in the Broadway hit Annie Get Your Gun (1946), showcases Will's fluent alto with the rhythm section, while another serenade, "All By Myself," sports a stylish new wardrobe to enhance the melodic blueprint of Will on clarinet, Peter on tenor and heavy- duty volleys by Sportiello, Miner and Redd. The clarinet-tenor tandem is out front again on one of Berlin's most ardent ballads, "All Alone," once more with robust support from the rhythm section.

Not quite as well-known (although it surely should be), "The Best Thing for You," from a second Merman-centered musical, Call Me Madam (1950), is yet another in the session's parade of highlights, its handsome melody enwrapping conclusive solos by Will on alto, Peter on tenor, Gordon and Sportiello. Peter's lissome clarinet enlivens the ballad "What'll I Do" (following a glossy intro by Sportiello), which leads to the splashy finale, "Puttin' on the Ritz" (which was marvelously performed, believe it or not, by well-known singer and dancer Clark Gable in the 1939 film Idiot's Delight), wherein everyone amplifies his proficiency with good clean fun.

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, it is safe to say that albums of this caliber do not often cross one's desk. The remarkable Anderson twins, Wycliffe Gordon, a stellar rhythm section, awesome charts by Peter Anderson and, to ice the cake, music by unrivaled tunesmith Irving Berlin: that is a pastiche that is hard to approach let alone beat. Five stars? An unqualified yes, and without missing a beat.

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