| Robert Stewart | |
| Birth Name: | Robert Darrin Stewart |
| Birth Place: | Oakland, California, United States |
| Genre: | Jazz, soul, blues, Middle Eastern, R&B, avant-garde |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Years Active: | 1986–present |
| Label: | Qwest, Warner Bros., Red, Nagel-Heyer, Exodus, World Stage, Armageddon |
| Associated Acts: | Wynton Marsalis, Billy Higgins, Pharoah Sanders, Winard Harper, Black Note |
Robert Darrin Stewart is an American saxophonist. He recorded several albums under his own name during the period 1994–2006. He has also recorded as a sideman, including on trumpeter Wynton Marsalis' Blood on the Fields. Stewart went on multiple national and world tours during his 30-year career as a performer, both under his own name and with the Marsalis band.
Stewart was born in Oakland, California.[1] His mother was from Louisiana, and his biological father, Bob Stewart, was a San Francisco Conservatory trained flutist and trumpeter. Stewart says that his mother began teaching him to read from the Qur'an when he was three years old; the Bible was his next reading task, and he went on to study other major religions.[2]
Stewart first played the flute as a hobby; his primary passion was basketball during his grade school years.[3] He stated that he "played flute in high school because it was easy to hide from my friends who were all into sports".[4] His high school music teacher encouraged him to play jazz.
The summer after his graduation from Fremont High School, he was listening to the radio and heard tenor saxophonist John Coltrane playing "Russian Lullaby"; the next song was "All Too Soon" played by tenor saxophonist Ben Webster.[5] The contrast in sound between these two men, playing the same instrument, fascinated Stewart; he then remembered his high school teacher's words and focused on jazz. After the summer of 1986, Stewart began to frequent jam sessions with Oakland Bay Area pianist Ed Kelly. There he met saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, who became his first mentor, giving him technical advice and encouraging him to continue and advance his playing.
In New York, Stewart played with trumpeter Roy Hargrove.[6] In 1991, he performed with drummer Max Roach's ensemble.[7] In 1992, Stewart performed with McCoy Tyner (piano), Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Milt Jackson (vibes), Billy Higgins (drums), and organist Jimmy Smith.[8] Stewart also joined the Los Angeles-based group Black-Note for an eight-month stint, and performed with trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and drummer Brian Blade that same year.[9] Others he had played with by 1995 include Buddy Montgomery, Chico Freeman, and Donald Byrd.[10] Jazz critic Jason Ankeny said that Stewart was "One of the most impressive hard bop tenor saxophonists to emerge during the 1990s".[11]
In 1993, Stewart was asked to tour with the New York-based group The Harper Brothers led by drummer Winard Harper. This was his first national band tour.[12] By the end of 1994, he began touring nationally under his own name.[13]
Stewart's highest profile engagement that year came after joining trumpeter Wynton Marsalis' big band, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, to perform Blood on the Fields, including on the recording that won the Pulitzer Prize for Music.[14] [15] He also performed on the album They Came to Swing. He was part of the Blood on the Fields tour of the United States and Europe in 1997.[16]
In 1997, Stewart played weekly at San Francisco venues such as Club Deluxe and Bruno's,[17] and had a gig with vocalist Jon Hendricks doing a Bread and Roses benefit inside the former Alcatraz Island Federal Penitentiary.[18] In June 1997, Stewart's quartet included drummer Billy Higgins for a concert at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.[19] The previous year, Higgins was reported as saying that Stewart was "perhaps the most important young artist to come along in decades."[20]
Stewart performed with guitarist Patrick Greene for President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton at a Democratic fundraiser in Woodside, California in 1998.[21] He backed up Dizzy Gillespie in one of Gillespie's final concerts.[22] In his 30-year performance career he toured the world multiple times.[23]
Stewart's first album as leader was Judgement, for World Stage Records.[24] The recording featured Higgins, pianist Eric Reed, and bassist Mark Shelby. Jazz writer Scott Yanow wrote: "Even on the up-tempo tunes, Stewart is often content to emphasize his warm tone and to hold long notes, taking his time to get his message across. [...] this is a pleasing modern mainstream effort."[25] In 1994, Stewart recorded Beautiful Love Ballads for Red Records of Italy;[26] it was released in 1998.[27]
Stewart's first album for Quincy Jones's Qwest Records was In the Gutta, in 1996. Saxophonist Dave Liebman, on hearing it, reported enthusiastically that Stewart sounded like a player from an older generation.[28] Stewart's next album with Qwest was The Force, with drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, bassist Reginald Veal, and pianist Ed Kelly (his first teacher).[29] According to Stewart, Qwest delayed its release for almost two years and then did not promote it, because of its Islamic influences.
In 2000, Stewart recorded Nat the Cat, a tribute to Nat "King" Cole that featured Kelly (piano), Mark Williams (bass), Sly Randolph (drums), and family members Kevin Stewart (piano) and Robert Stewart III (flute).[30] [31] Stewart's 2003 album The Movement was a concert recording that was also Higgins's final recording.[32] In 2003, Stewart recorded Heaven and Earth for Nagel-Heyer Records. This was essentially a smooth jazz record, and several of the thirteen songs were Stewart originals. The AllMusic reviewer stated that there is "a positive social message that runs through the songs [...] Perhaps Stewart has found a way to combine new age politics with new age music, creating a hybrid that seems almost natural."[33]
Stewart retired from recording and performing at the end of 2016 in order to write religious books, teach, and travel.[34]
As leader
As sideman
Compilations
Video
Books