# Bill Stewart (musician)

William Harris Stewart (born October 18, 1966, in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American jazz drummer.

## Biography

Bill Stewart's father was a trombonist, and his first and middle names are a tribute to jazz trombonist Bill Harris.
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 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 is openly gay.

## Technique

Stewart, unlike the majority of jazz drummers, plays using matched grip.

## Gear

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."
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.
Zildjian has also designed the Bill Stewart Artist Series Drumsticks.

## Discography
### As leader

* Think Before You Think (Jazz City, 1990)
* Snide Remarks (Blue Note, 1995)
* Telepathy (Blue Note, 1997)
* Catability (Enja, 1998)
* Drum Crazy (Funky Kitchen, 2005)
* Keynote Speakers (2005)
* Incandescence (Pirouet, 2008)
* Live at Smalls (Smallslive, 2011)
* Ramshackle Serenade (Pirouet, 2014)
* Space Squid (Pirouet, 2015)
* Band Menu (Stewed Music, 2018)

### As sideman or co-leader

With Franck Amsallem
* 1990 Out a Day
* 1993 Regards
* 1998 Another Time
With Peter Bernstein
* 1998 Earth Tones
* 2003 Heart's Content
* 2004 Stranger in Paradise
* 2016 Let Loose
With Seamus Blake
* 1993 The Call
* 2007 Way Out Willy
* 2009 Bellwether
* 2010 Live at Smalls
With Bill Carrothers
* 1993 Ye Who Enter Here (with saxophonist Anton Denner, as A Band in All Hope)
* 2002 Duets with Bill Stewart
* 2003 Ghost Ships
* 2008 Home Row
* 2010 Joy Spring
With Scott Colley
* Subliminal... (Criss Cross Jazz, 1998)
* 2000 The Magic Line
* 2002 Initial Wisdom
With Marc Copland
* 1997 Softly
* 2006 New York Trio Recordings Vol. 1: Modinha
* 2009 New York Trio Recordings Vol. 3: Night Whispers
With Larry Goldings
* 1991 The Intimacy of the Blues
* 1992 Light Blue
* 1994 Caminhos Cruzados
* 1995 Whatever It Takes
* 1996 Big Stuff
* 2002 Sweet Science
* 2001 As One
* 2018 Toy Tunes
With Jon Gordon
* 1992 The Jon Gordon Quartet
* 1998 Currents
* 2000 Possibilities
With Lage Lund
* 2010 Unlikely Stories
* 2013 Foolhardy
* 2015 Idlewild
With Pat Martino
* 1996 Nightwings
* 1999 Mission Accomplished
With Pat Metheny
* 2000 Trio 99 → 00
* 2000 Trio → Live
With Maceo Parker
* 1990 Roots Revisited
* 1991 Mo' Roots
* 1993 Southern Exposure
* 1995 The Bremen Concert
With Chris Potter
* 1993 Concentric Circles
* 2002 Traveling Mercies (Verve)
* 2004 Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard (Sunnyside)
With Jim Rotondi
* 2004 New Vistas
* 2006 Iron Man
* 2010 1000 Rainbows
With John Scofield
* 1990 Meant to Be
* 1991 The John Scofield Quartet Plays Live
* 1992 What We Do
* 1993 Hand Jive
* 1993 I Can See Your House from Here
* 1994 You Speak My Language
* 1994 Summertime
* 1996 Quiet
* 2000 Steady Groovin'
* 2004 EnRoute
* 2007 This Meets That
* 2015 Past Present
* 2016 Country for Old Men
* 2018 Combo 66
* 2020 Swallow Tales
With Jesse van Ruller
* 2002 Circles
* 2005 Views
With others
* 1988 Secrets Armen Donelian
* 1990 The Wayfarer Armen Donelian
* 1990 Never Forget Ron McClure
* 1990 Zounds Lee Konitz
* 1990 New Friends Fred Wesley
* 1991 Comme Ci Comme Ca Fred Wesley
* 1991 Landmarks Joe Lovano
* 1992 Nighttown Don Grolnick
* 1993 No Words Tim Hagans
* 1993 World Away Walt Weiskopf
* 1996 Forgotten Dreams Dave Pietro
* 1996 Four's and Two's George Garzone
* 1996 Groovin It! Hank Marr
* 1996 New York Child Marty Ehrlich
* 1996 Shades of Blue Bob Belden
* 1997 Distant Star Bill Charlap
* 1997 Here on Earth Ingrid Jensen
* 1998 El Matador Kevin Hays
* 1998 Now John Patitucci
* 1998 Wind Dance Dave Pietro
* 1999 Hard Luck Guy Eddie Hinton
* 1999 Time Is of the Essence Michael Brecker
* 2001 Baby Plays Around Curtis Stigers
* 2002 Tour de Force Nick Brignola
* 2002 United Soul Experience Wycliffe Gordon
* 2003 Dig This!! Wycliffe Gordon
* 2003 Love Walked In Steve Kuhn
* 2003 Evolution Tommy Smith
* 2003 NY1 Martial Solal
* 2004 Nine Stories Wide Jonathan Kreisberg
* 2004 The Jigsaw Stan Sulzmann
* 2005 Past-Present-Future George Colligan
* 2007 Time and the Infinite Adam Rogers
* 2008 Live at Smalls Kevin Hays
* 2009 Man Behind the Curtain Mark Soskin
* 2013 I'll Take My Chances Dayna Stephens