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.
Early life
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.[2] 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.[3]
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.[5] After the summer of 1986, Stewart began to frequent jam sessions with Oakland Bay Area pianist Ed Kelly.[5] There he met saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, who became his first mentor, giving him technical advice and encouraging him to continue and advance his playing.[4]
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]
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]
Recording career
Stewart's first album as leader was Judgement,[24] for World Stage Records.[25] The recording featured Higgins, pianist Eric Reed, and bassist Mark Shelby.[24] 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."[24] 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.[17] 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.[2]
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.[33] This was essentially a smooth jazz record, and several of the thirteen songs were Stewart originals.[33] 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]
Post-performance career
Stewart retired from recording and performing at the end of 2016 in order to write religious books, teach, and travel.[34]
