| Bill Stewart | |
| Birth Name: | William Harris Stewart |
| Birth Date: | 18 October 1966 |
| Birth Place: | Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Occupation: | Musician, composer |
| Instrument: | Drums |
| Label: | Blue Note |
| Associated Acts: | Maceo Parker, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, Peter Bernstein, Larry Goldings |
William Harris Stewart (born October 18, 1966, in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American jazz drummer.
Bill Stewart's father was a trombonist, and his first and middle names are a tribute to jazz trombonist Bill Harris.[1]
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, and went to a summer music camp at Stanford Jazz Workshop, where he met Dizzy Gillespie. 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 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. Stewart met future employer Joe Lovano while still in college (the two played duets in lieu of a drum lesson when Zigmund was away). Stewart also made his first recordings, with saxophonist Scott Kreitzer, and pianist Armen Donelian, while still in school, and with pianist Franck Amsallem (and Gary Peacock on bass) shortly thereafter, in 1990.
After college, Stewart moved to New York, gaining wider recognition in John Scofield's quartet with pianist Michael Eckroth and bassist Ben Street[2] 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, performing infrequently. Stewart's musical horizons expanded when funk saxophonist Maceo Parker noticed Stewart 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 gig with James Brown, who told Stewart that there "Ain't no funk in Iowa!" upon learning the drummer's roots. Another close associate is pianist Kevin Hays, with whom he performs, along with fellow WPC graduate, bassist Doug Weiss. The Kevin Hays trio has recorded five CDs and toured internationally. Musical associations with Lee Konitz, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny and many other jazz musicians have followed.
Stewart, for the most part, plays holding his sticks in a matched grip.
Stewart plays various Zildjian K cymbals and is endorsed by the Avedis Zildjian Company. A collaboration with Paul Francis from Zildjian yielded the 22" K Custom Special Dry Complex Rides (in Thin and Medium Thin weights), which are meant to replicate the sound of an old K Zildjian cymbal Stewart has had for a long time. They were introduced in 2004. According to Stewart, "The K Custom Special Dry Complex Ride has some trashy quality, but can also be articulate. The nice crash sound gets out of the way quickly while a clean stick sound or click is evident when riding. These cymbals are very pretty, yet can be very nasty."[5]
The cymbals were redesigned and sold as the K Custom Dry Complex II Rides since 2008 in sizes of 20, 22 and 24-inch. These custom ride cymbals feature a wider bell with a much lower profile to promote more control while offering a smooth array of rich overtones. Weight specifications are slightly heavier (medium-thin) than the first generation of Complex Rides, to make the cymbals more versatile, providing ride patterns that can be heard clearly from within an airy wash of overtones.[6]
Zildjian has also designed the Bill Stewart Artist Series Drumsticks.[7]
With Franck Amsallem
With Peter Bernstein
With Seamus Blake
With Bill Carrothers
With Scott Colley
With Marc Copland
With Larry Goldings
With Jon Gordon
With Lage Lund
With Pat Martino
With Pat Metheny
With Maceo Parker
With Chris Potter
With Jim Rotondi
With John Scofield
With Jesse van Ruller
With others