Luke Stewart (musician)

Luke Stewart is a composer-improviser, bassist, multi-instrumentalist, and organizer[1] known for his work as a soloist;[8] leader of his Exposure Quintet, with Edward Wilkerson, Jr., Ken Vandermark, Jim Baker, and Avreeayl Ra;[4] and member of groups including Blacks' Myths,[3] Heart of the Ghost,[5] Six Six,[6] Irreversible Entanglements,[2] and Heroes Are Gang Leaders,[7] a literary free jazz ensemble that was awarded the 2018 American Book Award for Oral Literature.[9]

Luke Stewart
Background information
BornOcean Springs, Mississippi[1]
Genresexperimental, free jazz, avant-garde jazz, free improvisation, post-rock, noise, art punk
Occupation(s)composer, improviser, bassist, multi-instrumentalist
Instrument(s)Double bass, bass guitar, alto saxophone
LabelsAstral Spirits, International Anthem, Atlantic Rhythms
Member of
Websitethelukestewart.com

Stewart has co-run DC jazz advocacy nonprofit CapitalBop since 2010, curating the organization's longstanding "Loft Jazz" concert series and writing music criticism for its website.[10] In 2020, he was included among DownBeat's "25 for the Future"[11] as an artist who "shapes the artistic landscape".[12]

He has performed or recorded with artists including Camae Ayewa,[13] Keir Neuringer, Aquiles Navarro, Tcheser Holmes, Archie Shepp,[14] Warren "Trae" Crudup, III,[3] Miriam Parker,[15] Daniel Carter, Fay Victor,[16] Hamiet Bluiett,[17] Wadada Leo Smith,[18] Jarrett Gilgore,[5] Ian McColm, Anthony Pirog, Jaimie Branch, Thurston Moore,[19] Leila Bordreuil, and Priests.[20]

Early life and career

Stewart grew up in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where he studied saxophone, violin, and guitar before he began playing electric bass in high school.[1][21] Stewart began his undergraduate degree as an international studies major at the University of Mississippi.[1] In 2005, as he prepared to begin an internship at the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty in Washington, D.C., Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast.[1] Stewart decided to stay in D.C. and transferred to American University, where his studies expanded to include audio engineering.[10] In addition to his bachelor's from American, Stewart completed a master's in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship at The New School in 2019.[22]

After moving to D.C., Stewart began frequently attending and performing at avant-garde jazz and rock gigs. He also interned at "Jazz and Justice" radio station WPFW, eventually hosting his own weekly jazz radio show and working as a production coordinator.[10]

In 2010, Stewart met Giovanni Russonello, who had recently founded jazz advocacy organization and website CapitalBop.[23] Stewart began writing for and then co-running the organization,[10] which was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation in 2019.[24]

Stewart met Camae Ayewa (also known as Moor Mother) while playing with Laughing Man, an art-punk band that shared bills with Ayewa's group the Mighty Paradocs.[2] One year after the 2014 "People Issue" of the Washington City Paper called Stewart a "jazz revolutionary",[25] he joined Ayewa, Keir Neuringer, Aquiles Navarro, and Tcheser Holmes in forming the "liberation-oriented free-jazz collective" Irreversible Entanglements.[26] The group performed in the inaugural season of the Kennedy Center's "Direct Current" contemporary culture showcase,[27] and their releases have been included in best-of lists in Magnet,[28] NPR Music,[29] The Quietus,[30] and Stereogum's "20 Best Jazz Albums Of The 2010s".[31]

Stewart has said he wants his collaborative work to "highlight the non-hierarchical nature of free improvisational music" and to challenge "the concept of the capital-C composer and how it affects our perceptions of music".[21]

He is a 2021 Resident Composer at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn.[32]

Discography

As leader / co-leader
Release yearArtistTitleLabelPersonnel
2013 Trio OOO Live for Trayvon Aaron Martin, Sam Lohman, Stewart
2015 Trio OOO Days To Be Told[33] New Atlantis Martin, Lohman, Stewart
2017 Irreversible Entanglements Irreversible Entanglements[2] International Anthem / Don Giovanni Camae Ayewa, Keir Neuringer, Aquiles Navarro, Stewart, Tcheser Holmes
2018 Blacks' Myths Blacks' Myths[34] Atlantic Rhythms Stewart, Warren "Trae" Crudup, III
2018 Heart Of The Ghost Heart Of The Ghost[35][5] Pidgeon Jarrett Gilgore, Stewart, Ian McColm
2018 Luke Stewart Works for Upright Bass and Amplifier[8] Astral Spirits Stewart
2019 Blacks' Myths Blacks' Myths II[36] Atlantic Rhythms Stewart, Crudup, Dr. Thomas "Bushmeat" Stanley, Cedar and Lu
2019 Heart of the Ghost Heart of the Ghost II[37] Dagoretti Gilgore, Stewart, McColm
2019 Heart of the Ghost Live In Chicago Catalytic Sound Gilgore, Stewart, McColm
2020 Irreversible Entanglements Who Sent You?[13] International Anthem / Don Giovanni Ayewa, Neuringer, Navarro, Stewart, Holmes
2020 Luke Stewart, Brian Settles, Warren "Trae" Crudup, III No Treaspassing[38] Stewart, Settles, Crudup
2020 Six Six Six Six Atlantic Rhythms Anthony Pirog, Stewart
2020 Irreversible Entanglements Live in Italy[39] Ayewa, Neuringer, Navarro, Stewart, Holmes
2020 Heart of the Ghost Live in Detroit Dagoretti Gilgore, Stewart, McColm
2020 Irreversible Entanglements Live in Berlin[40] Ayewa, Neuringer, Navarro, Stewart, Holmes
2020 Heart of the Ghost with Dave Ballou Live at Rhizome Dagoretti / Bulb Gilgore, Stewart, McColm, Ballou
2020 Luke Stewart & Tashi Dorji Phases[41] Stewart, Tashi Dorji
2020 Luke Stewart Gaps Stewart
2020 Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet[4] Astral Spirits Stewart, Edward Wilkerson, Jr., Ken Vandermark, Jim Baker, Avreeayl Ra
2021 Luke Stewart / Patrick Shiroishi Luke Stewart / Patrick Shiroishi[42] Profane Illuminations Stewart, Shiroishi
2021 !MOFAYA! Like One Long Dream[43] Trost Records jaimie branch, John Dikeman, Stewart, Aleksandar Škorić
2021 Irreversible Entanglements Open the Gates International Anthem / Don Giovanni Ayewa, Neuringer, Navarro, Stewart, Holmes
2022 Luke Stewart's Silt Trio The Bottom Cuneiform Records L Stewart, B Settles, C Taylor

As sideperson
Release yearArtistTitleLabel
2010 Laughing Man The Lovings Sockets Records
2014 Laughing Man Be Black Baby[44] Bad Friend / BLIGHT
2015 Ross Hammond Mean Crow[45] Prescott Records
2016 James Brandon Lewis Trio No Filter[46] BNS Sessions
2017 Priests Nothing Feels Natural[47] Sister Polygon Records
2017 Heroes Are Gang Leaders The Avant-Age Garde I Ams Of The Gal Luxury Fast Speaking Music
2018 William Hooker Pillars... At the Portal[48] Mulatta Records
2019 James Brandon Lewis An UnRuly Manifesto[49] Relative Pitch
2019 Brahja Brahja RR Gems
2019 J. R. Bohannon Dusk[50] Figureight
2020 Elliott Levin Trio with Chad Taylor and Luke Stewart Tin - Tabu - Latin' - Rhyth - Hymn
2020 Archie Shepp, Raw Poetic, & Damu the Fudgemunk Ocean Bridges[14] Redefinition Records
2020 Heroes Are Gang Leaders Artificial Happiness Button[51] Ropeadope Records
2020 Moor Mother Circuit City[52] Don Giovanni Records
2020 Anthony Pirog Terry Riley's In C[53] Sonic Mass
2021 Bob Bellerue Radioactive Desire[54] Elevator Bath

References
  1. Murph, John (17 July 2018). "The Reinvention of Bassist Luke Stewart". DownBeat. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  2. Camp, Zoe (2 April 2020). "The Revolutionary Free Jazz of Irreversible Entanglements". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. Richards, Chris (5 September 2019). "In the heart of an 'empire in decline,' Blacks' Myths try to spark another big bang". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  4. Meyer, Bill (10 November 2020). "Essential New Music: Luke Stewart's "Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet"". Magnet. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  5. Burris, Tom (25 June 2019). "Heart of the Ghost – s/t cassette (Pidgeon, 2018) ****". The Free Jazz Collective. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  6. Duguay, Rob (March 2021). "Luke Stewart Calls Two Places Home". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  7. West, Michael J. (16 May 2018). "Jazz meets poetry with Heroes Are Gang Leaders at Blues Alley". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  8. Elizabeth, Jordannah (February 2021). "Artist Feature: Luke Stewart" (PDF). The New York City Jazz Record. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  9. "For Immediate Release: The Before Columbus Foundation announces the Winners of the Thirty-Ninth Annual American Book Awards" (PDF). The Before Columbus Foundation. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  10. Richards, Chris (30 May 2012). "D.C.'s jazz scene gets an online boost from CapitalBop's young advocates". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  11. "These 25 Performers Could Shape Jazz For Decades". DownBeat. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  12. West, Michael J. (17 November 2020). "Luke Stewart Shapes The Artistic Landscape". DownBeat. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  13. Harry, Todd (20 March 2020). "Irreversible Entanglements Invoke the Revolution on Who Sent You?". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  14. Weiner, Natalie (22 May 2020). "How jazz legend Archie Shepp, his nephew Raw Poetic and a cast of D.C. musicians teamed up for an experimental improvised album". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  15. "NY Art Book Fair 2019". Printed Matter, Inc. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  16. "Fay Victor's Mutations For Justice". WBGO. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  17. "Jazz Listings for Oct. 28-Nov. 3". The New York Times. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  18. West, Michael J. (16 February 2017). "Wadada Leo Smith's jazz is demanding, but emotionally cathartic". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  19. "The Stone at The New School Presents Thurston Moore, Luke Stewart and Leila Bordreuil". The New School. 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  20. Gotrich, Lars (19 January 2017). "Review: Priests, 'Nothing Feels Natural'". NPR. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  21. Freeman, Philip (28 October 2020). "Bassist Luke Stewart Approaches Jazz With a "Punk Rock" Mindset". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  22. "MA in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship at the New School's College of Performing Arts graduates first cohort". The New School. 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  23. Richards, Chris (3 February 2017). "The District's jazz scene is all over the place. Is Luke Stewart holding it together?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  24. West, Michael J. (15 March 2019). "How a flagging nonprofit D.C. jazz advocacy group picked up its tempo". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  25. Cauterucci, Christina (21 November 2014). "The People Issue". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  26. Ng, Ivana (May 2020). "Irreversible Entanglements: Who Sent You?". DownBeat. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  27. "Irreversible Entanglements - DIRECT CURRENT: Millennium Stage (March 13, 2018)". The Kennedy Center. 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  28. Meyer, Bill (15 December 2020). "Best of 2020: Jazz/Improv". Magnet Magazine. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  29. "The 100 Best Songs Of 2017". NPR. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  30. Smith, Stewart (13 December 2017). "Complete Communion: The Best Jazz Of 2017". The Quietus. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  31. Freeman, Phil (9 January 2020). "The 20 Best Jazz Albums Of The 2010s". Stereogum. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  32. "Luke Stewart: Music Residency". Pioneer Works. 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  33. Russonello, Giovanni (5 January 2016). "Trio OOO's 'Days to Be Told:' The long-awaited debut of a powerhouse avant-garde trio". CapitalBop. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  34. Galil, Leor (20 March 2020). "D.C. progressive jazz duo Blacks' Myths find the light in harsh noise". The Chicago Reader. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  35. Cohen, Matt (21 March 2018). "Listen: Heart of the Ghost's Angular Free Jazz Is a Language of Its Own". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  36. Orlov, Piotr (16 September 2019). "Blacks' Myths: Blacks' Myths II". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  37. "Reckless Records 2019 Employee Best of Lists". Reckless Records. 29 December 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  38. "Best D.C. Jazz Albums of 2020". CapitalBop. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  39. "AMN Reviews: Irreversible Entanglements – Live in Berlin (2020; Bandcamp); Live in Italy (2020; Bandcamp)". Avant Music News. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  40. Scherstuhl, Alan (24 June 2020). "Jazz Is Built for Protests. Jon Batiste Is Taking It to the Streets". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  41. Rose, Brad (29 January 2021). "Luke Stewart & Tashi Dorji s/t". Foxy Digitalis. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  42. Rose, Brad (8 April 2021). "Patrick Shiroishi/Luke Stewart split". Foxy Digitalis. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  43. Hareuveni, Eyal (12 August 2021). "MO'FAYA! "Like One Long Dream"". salt peanuts*. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  44. Cohen, Matt (29 September 2014). "Listen: Laughing Man, 'Body Cop'". DCist. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  45. Acquaro, Paul (7 December 2015). "Ross Hammond - Mean Crow (Prescott Records, 2015) ****". Free Jazz Blog. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  46. Turner, Mark F. (11 January 2017). "James Brandon Lewis Trio: No Filter". All About Jazz. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  47. Mashurova, Nina (27 January 2017). "Review: Priests' Nothing Feels Natural Is Vital Post-Punk for Trump's America". SPIN. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  48. "Pillars... At the Portal". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  49. Shteamer, Hank (6 February 2019). "Song You Need to Know: James Brandon Lewis, 'Sir Real Denard'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  50. Krakow, Steve (8 November 2019). "Health & Beauty and J.R. Bohannon push their music forward while staying rooted in tradition". The Chicago Reader. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  51. Orlov, Piotr (20 March 2020). "The World According to Heroes Are Gang Leaders". AFROPUNK. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  52. Hagen, Thomas (27 June 2019). "Moor Mother's Camae Ayewa imagines the future of liberation in Circuit City". WXPN. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  53. Aguzzi, Andrea (20 January 2021). "Terry Riley's In C by Sonic Mass Records". Neuguitars. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  54. "Bob Bellerue: Radioactive Desire". Roulette. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.