How Twin-Brother Sax Players Made Riverside Park Their Venue

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Upper West Siders strolling through Riverside Park in the past weeks and months might have stumbled upon a jazz quartet filling the outdoor air with tunes.

The group is led by twin brothers Peter and Will Anderson, who both play the saxophone and have lived on the Upper West Side for the past 15 years.

The talented brothers moved to the neighborhood at 18 to attend The Juilliard School.

They haven't left since.

But when the coronavirus pandemic canceled their tours around the country and world, the musicians had to adapt to a reality without indoor concert venues.

"We just tried it out," Peter told Patch about the decision to start playing outdoors. "Hey, we'll just play in the park, and a lot of people started stopping and listening to us, and it just became a really fun and rewarding way to keep playing."

The quartet, which also has a drummer and trumpet player, has performed throughout the city since the beginning of the pandemic, but it recently found a new regular location at Riverside Drive and West 106th Street.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Peter & Will Anderson (@peterandwill)

The Upper West Side address is not a random one.

West 106th Street is Duke Ellington Boulevard, named in honor of the legendary jazz performer's time spent living at the corner of West End and 106th Street for over a decade.

The quartet performs facing the brownstone where Ellington lived.

"Usually we play concerts, and there's a cover charge to come; it can be very exclusive, and everyone there would be a jazz fan," Peter said. "But when we play in the park, we get a lot of people who are not particularly jazz fans but they like what we're doing — the type of people who wouldn't have stumbled into a jazz club but would stumble upon us in the park."

"I feel like we're getting to a different audience, which is great," he added.

The quartet will continue playing in Riverside Park on West 106th Street every Saturday and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. — unless it's raining or snowing.

However, the cold weather hasn't gotten to the twin saxophone players.

"You think it wouldn't be good to play out in the park when it's cold, but there's not a lot going on now," Peter said. "Like nobody is playing in the park, all the concerts are closed, and New Yorkers are tough. If they need to walk their dog and it's below freezing — they still go out ... It's been a really good response despite the weather."

More information about Peter and Will Anderson can be found on their Instagram page.