Jazz Articles about Bill Stewart

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Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

by Paul Rauch
September 6, 2018

The mingling of jazz music and poetry is not a new concept. It has always been an amiable, yet at times, uncomfortable fit. From a verse standpoint, it is in many ways liberating. While most vocalized lyrics and spoken word forms rely on rhyme to speak to cadence and rhythm, free verse poetry liberates the narrative from the confinements of structure, and much like an improvising instrumentalist, takes spoken language into a intertwining duality with the melody within harmonic dimension. ...

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Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

by Friedrich Kunzmann
August 7, 2018

In a way, the Atwood Suites have been in the works for almost two decades. When Kenny Wheeler approached Toronto native Andrew Rathbun in search for a band in 2001, the former furthermore inquired if the latter would like a composition of his own penning to be performed beside Wheeler's “Suite Time Suite." Consequently, the “Power Politics Suite," which makes for the second half of the first CD, was born, with Wheeler's and vocalist Luciana Souza's sound specifically in mind. ...

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Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble: Atwood Suites

by Dan Bilawsky
June 25, 2018

The marriage between jazz and poetry is having a true moment in the present artistic sphere. The two have long mixed and mingled, oft proving sympathetic and symbiotic in their multidirectional moves, unique cadences, and improvisational capacities. But never before has the connection been so strong and centralized. With drummer Matt Wilson's triumphant encounter with the work of Carl Sandburg, soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom's exploration of Emily Dickinson's writing, saxophonist Benjamin Boone's collaboration with Philip Levine, and a handful ...

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Bill Stewart: Space Squid

by Dan Bilawsky
January 8, 2016

The musicians that appear on Space Squid only played one gig together as a band before recording this music, but the connections were there prior to that performance and studio session. Drummer Bill Stewart's relationship with pianist Bill Carrothers and saxophonist Seamus Blake extends back some two decades. Both men appear on Stewart's Telepathy (Blue Note, 1997), and Stewart has appeared on a number of each of their albums. Bassist Ben Street hasn't been in Stewart's orbit as long as ...

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Lage Lund: Idlewild

by Andrew Luhn
March 14, 2015

Guitarist Lage Lund's previous two albums as a leader for the Criss Cross label utilized the quartet setting with Ben Street on bass, Bill Stewart on drums, and Aaron Parks on piano for 2013's Foolhardy and Edward Simon in the piano chair for 2009's Unlikely Stories. For 2015's release “Idlewild" Lund brings back his familiar rhythm section of Street and Stewart but omits the piano, opting for a guitar trio approach on twelve tunes, a mixture of originals and standards. ...

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Seamus Blake: Bellwether

by Robert Dugan
December 19, 2009

This is a great period for tenor players, with some of the best in our midst: Chris Potter, Jimmy Greene, Donny McCaslin, Marcus Strickland, and Seamus Blake, among others. Surfacing in the Mingus Big Band during the nineties, Blake's aggressive edginess was impressive in a group which took no prisoners. The tenor saxophonist more than held his own. Recently, he seems to be refining and elaborating his improvisational style while further developing his compositional skills.

With Bellwether, Blake brings a ...

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Bill Stewart: Incandescence

by Michael P. Gladstone
July 20, 2008

Funk and jazz drummer Bill Stewart brings an unusual format to this effort. The use of piano and Hammond organ completes his trio, with Stewart offering a series of challenging compositions. Incandescence is indeed an appropriate title for the album, as it exudes a glowing-with-heat ambiance.

Stewart's long stretch with guitarist John Scofield's group provides a basis for his heavy funk drumming, and his choice of associates reflects it. Larry Goldings has risen to near the top of today's jazz ...