Bill Stewart

William Harris "Bill" Stewart (born October 18, 1966, Des Moines, Iowa) is an American jazz drummer. Stewart is a versatile player who has performed with a broad array of musicians, from Maceo Parker to Jim Hall. He is also an active composer, whose distinctive tunes, which might be categorized as "postmodern" jazz tunes, appear on his, and others', records. Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Billstewart. ... Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Billstewart. ... Jump to: navigation, search October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... This article is about the state capital of Iowa. ... State nickname: The Hawkeye State Other U.S. States Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Governor Thomas Vilsack (D) Senators Chuck Grassley (R) Tom Harkin (D) Official languages English Area 145,743 km² (26th)  - Land 144,701 km²  - Water 1,042 km² (0. ... Jump to: navigation, search Jazz master Louis Armstrong remains one of the most loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ... A drummer is a musician who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ... Maceo Parker (born February 14, 1943) is a noted African American funk and soul jazz saxophone player, best known for his contributions to James Browns distinct sound. ... Jim Hall is a programmer for the FreeDOS project and the original developer of the GNU Robots program. ...

Biography

Bill Stewart's father was a trombonist, and Bill's first and middle names are a tribute to jazz trombonist Bill Harris. Bill Harris(1916-1973) was a jazz trombonist. ...

Stewart grew up in Des Moines, Iowa listening to his parents' Jazz and Rhythm and Blues records without much exposure to live jazz in the then relatively isolated state of Iowa. The largely self-taught drummer began playing at the age of seven. While in High School, he played in a Top 40 Cover band and the school orchestra. After high school graduation, Stewart attended the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, playing in the jazz and marching bands as well as the orchestra. He then transferred to William Paterson University(then called William Paterson College), where he played in ensembles directed by Rufus Reid, studied drums with Eliot Zigmund and Horacee Arnold and took composition lessons from Dave Samuels. The young drummer met future employer Joe Lovano while still in college (the two played duets in lieu of a drum lesson when Zigmund was away). He also made his first recordings, with saxophonist Scott Kreitzer and pianist Armen Donelian, while still in school. Des Moines skyline Des Moines (pronounced in English, in French) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Iowa. ... Jump to: navigation, search Jazz master Louis Armstrong remains one of the most loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ... Rhythm and blues (or R&B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Jerry Wexler at Billboard magazine, used to designate upbeat popular music performed by African American artists that combined jazz and blues. ... State nickname: The Hawkeye State Other U.S. States Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Governor Thomas Vilsack (D) Senators Chuck Grassley (R) Tom Harkin (D) Official languages English Area 145,743 km² (26th)  - Land 144,701 km²  - Water 1,042 km² (0. ... The Japanese word for a high school is kōtōgakkō (高等学校; literally high school), or kōkō (高校) in short. ... Top 40 is a radio format based on frequent repetition of songs from a constantly-updated list of the forty best-selling singles. ... A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays only covers, which may be from a single band or artist (a tribute band) or from many different sources. ... Jump to: navigation, search Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Orchestra at City Hall (Edmonton). ... The University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls, Iowa, was founded in 1876, as the Iowa State Normal School. ... Cedar Falls is a city located in Black Hawk County, Iowa and is home to one of Iowas three Public Universities, the University of Northern Iowa. ... Jump to: navigation, search A marching band performs in a parade A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who generally perform outdoors, and who incorporate movement â€“ usually some type of marching â€“ with their musical performance. ... Jump to: navigation, search Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Orchestra at City Hall (Edmonton). ... William Paterson University is a public university located in Wayne, New Jersey. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born 29 December 1952) is a jazz saxophonist and clarinet player. ... Duets film poster Image:Gwyneth and Bruce Paltrow 1. ...

After college, Stewart made the obligatory move to New York where he slowly built up his network, first gaining wider recognition in John Scofield's quartet and in a trio with Larry Goldings and Peter Bernstein, which has become the longest running group Stewart has played with, having begun in 1989 and continuing to this day, however infrequently the group may be found in performance. Stewart's musical horizons expanded when legendary funk saxophonist Maceo Parker tapped the budding drummer upon seeing him with Larry Goldings at a regular gig at a club in Manhattan. Stewart worked with Parker from 1990 to 1991, touring and recording on three of Parker's albums. The association led to Stewart's memorable gig with the great James Brown, who told Stewart that there "Ain't no funk in Iowa!" upon learning the drummer's roots. Musical associations with the likes of Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, and many other notable jazz musicians have followed. Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18... John Scofield (born December 26, 1951 in Dayton, Ohio) is a jazz guitarist and composer, who played and eventually collaborated with Miles Davis. ... Jump to: navigation, search Funk is a distinct style of music originated by African-Americans, e. ... A saxophonist is a musician who plays the saxophone. ... Maceo Parker (born February 14, 1943) is a noted African American funk and soul jazz saxophone player, best known for his contributions to James Browns distinct sound. ... Jump to: navigation, search Manhattan Borough,highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... Jump to: navigation, search James Brown, known variously as: Soul Brother Number One, the Godfather of Soul, Mr. ... Jump to: navigation, search Michael Brecker Michael Brecker (b. ... Jump to: navigation, search Pat Metheny in Melbourne, Florida, USA Patrick Bruce Metheny (born 12 August 1954 in Lees Summit, Missouri USA) is an American jazz guitarist and leader of the Pat Metheny Group. ...

Musical Style

As a drummer, Bill Stewart's playing is distinguished by its melodic focus, and its polyrhythmic, or layered, character. To say his playing is "melodic" means there is a sense in which one can "hum along" to his solos, as there is a clear sense of melodic construction. His improvisations favor the development and layering of motivic ideas over the raw generation of excitement or display of technical prowess. Stewart has great touch, or dynamic precision, so that his ideas are articulated with a pleasing exactness and clarity. He has also acheived a very high degree of independence of his limbs, so that not only the ride and the snare/toms, but also the bass drum and hi-hat, are free to participate as melodic "first-class citizens." His drumming bears the influence of various melodic drummers who preceded him, including Max Roach, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette and Al Foster. Max Roach (born January 10, 1924-) is an American jazz drummer and composer. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, ( October 11, 1919 - October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ... Roy Owen Haynes (born Boston, Massachusetts, March 13, 1925) is one of the most recorded drummers in jazz. ... Jump to: navigation, search Tony Williams (December 12, 1945 - February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer. ... Jack DeJohnette (born 1942 in Chicago) is a drummer and pianist, recognized as one of the foremost jazz musicians since the 1960s. ... Al Foster (born Jan 18, 1944 in Richmond, Virginia) is a jazz drummer best known for his long stint as Miles Daviss drummer, from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, and for being Daviss closest friend and confidant during his late-70s retirement. ...

As a composer, Bill Stewart is forward-looking, and seems not to want to repeat what others have already accomplished. In other words, his tunes have a bit of an avant-garde quality. The melodies, harmonies, phrase lengths, and measure lengths are often altered so as not to conform too closely to the established jazz language. Some of his tunes (such as Mayberry) also feature a built-in "free blowing" section, surrounded by a composed "head" (in the case of Mayberry, a parody of the theme song of the Andy Griffith Show.) The concept of Mayberry may have been borrowed from Stewart's long-time collaborator John Scofield, who has written many tunes of the same general shape. Jump to: navigation, search Griffith as Andy Taylor and Howard as Opie Knotts as Barney Fife and Griffith as Andy Taylor The Andy Griffith Show was an American television series that aired from 1960 to 1968. ... John Scofield (born December 26, 1951 in Dayton, Ohio) is a jazz guitarist and composer, who played and eventually collaborated with Miles Davis. ...

Work as a Leader

Setting Stewart at a distance from the pack of everyday jazz drummers is his considerable output as a leader, beginning with 1989's Think Before You Think, with bassist Dave Holland, pianist Marc Copland, and saxophonist Lovano, on which the drummer led a session of originals and standards, including one of his own compositions. In his next outing as a leader, Stewart assembled trumpeter Eddie Henderson, saxophonist Lovano, pianist Bill Carrothers and bassist Larry Grenadier for an entire record of Stewart compositions, Snide Remarks, which was chosen as one of the top ten jazz CDs of the year by Peter Watrous of the New York Times. The last Blue Note album to be be released under Stewart's name was 1997's Telepathy, featuring Carrothers and Grenadier along with saxophonists Steve Wilson and Seamus Blake. Stewart's recordings all have a certain unique blend of playfulness and mystery propelled by his thoughtful drumming and equally melodic and rhythmic compositional style. Stewart has said that he thinks it very important to find an interesting combination of musicians whose abilities will complement each other and who will sound at home on the compositions slated for the given session. Jump to: navigation, search 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A bassist is a musician who plays a double bass or electric bass (also referred to as bass guitar). ... Dave Holland (born October 1, 1946) is a jazz bassist and composer. ... A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ... A trumpeter may be one of several things: A trumpeter is a musician who plays the trumpet. ... This article needs cleanup. ... CD may stand for: Compact Disc Canadian Forces Decoration Cash Dispenser (at least used in Japan) CD LPMud Driver Centrum-Demokraterne (Centre Democrats of Denmark) Certificate of Deposit České Dráhy (Czech Railways) Chad (NATO country code) Chalmers Datorförening (computer club of the Chalmers University of Technology) a 1960s... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2005, the Bill Stewart Trio, with Kevin Hays and Larry Goldings, released Keynote Speakers.

Other

Stewart recently completed a creative collaboration with the Avedis Zildjian Company in developing the Special Dry Complex Ride cymbal, which is meant to replicate the sound of an old K. Zildjian cymbal Stewart has had for a long time. Stewart says of the new cymbals "[They] are very pretty, yet can be very nasty." The Zildjian logo as seen from the official website The Avedis Zildjian Company is one of the worlds biggest manufacturers of cymbals and drum sticks. ... A 20 inch Sabian AAX Metal Ride A ride cymbal is a type of cymbal that is a standard part of most drum kits. ... K. Zildjian is more than just a line of cymbals in Zildjians current product range. ...

External links

• Drummerworld - Bill Stewart's Drummerworld Page
• Amazon - Bill Stewart on Amazon.com
• 2002 AllAboutJazz - 2002 Interview with Bill Stewart on AllAboutJazz.com