Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Grant Stewart Trio: Roll On

Grant Stewart Trio: Roll On

By Jack Bowers
July 25, 2017
View read count

Add

Grant Stewart

saxophone, tenor
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Grant Stewart's name to the growing list of tenor saxophonists who are gaining broad approval by reanimating exemplary yet by and large overlooked songs from the Great American Songbook and elsewhere and lending them a fresh coat of paint that not only accentuates their timeless charm but does so while swinging in the grandest jazz tradition. Others who have championed that cause in recent years include (but are not limited to)

Harry Allen

saxophone
b.1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Harry Allen,

Ken Peplowski

woodwinds
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Peplowski,

Scott Hamilton

saxophone, tenor
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Scott Hamilton and fellow Canadian

Cory Weeds

saxophone, alto
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Cory Weeds, for whose Cellar Live label the engaging trio session Roll On was recorded.

Among the traits these tenors have in common is a clarity of purpose coupled with a deep and abiding respect for the harmonic and rhythmic supremacy that separated these songs from the ordinary when first they were written. To paraphrase Irving Berlin, the songs may be ended but the melodies linger on. Stewart and his companions (bassist

Paul Sikivie

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Sikivie, drummer and younger brother

Phil Stewart

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Phil Stewart) use melody as their launching pad, sailing through familiar tunes before taking them into the more abstract realms of improvisation, areas in which each of them excels.

Astute readers may have noticed by now that there is no piano in the group, hence the task of rhythmic support falls squarely on the shoulders of Sikivie and Phil Stewart, neither of whom seems the least unnerved by the extra burden. In fact, one scarcely notices the keyboard's absence as bass and drums lend unflagging support to Stewart's warm and expressive tenor. Sikivie and Stewart (the drummer) rise to the occasion on Bert Kalmar / Harry Ruby's buoyant "Thinking of You," which opens the session, and solo with assurance whenever called upon, as they are on several numbers. Meanwhile, Stewart (the tenor), cruises easily through four more standards, the ballad "Just as Though You Were Here,"

Bud Powell

piano
1924 - 1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Bud Powell's "Un Poco Loco,"

Fats Navarro

trumpet
1923 - 1950

" data-original-title="" title="">Fats Navarro's "Fats Flats" and

Elmo Hope

piano
1923 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Elmo Hope's sunlit closer, "Roll On." Any misgivings about his chops are laid to rest on the trio's scorching version of the standard "After You've Gone" (to which brother Phil appends an emphatic exclamation mark).

The message to those who prefer their jazz straight with no unwelcome chaser is to fasten your seat belts and prepare to Roll On with a trio whose swing quotient is high and whose devotion to the music at hand is unequivocal.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Thinking of You; Here I��ll Stay; After You��ve Gone; Just as Though You Were Here; Un Poco Loco; End of a Love Affair; Fats Flats; Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans; Roll On.

Personnel

Grant Stewart

saxophone, tenor

Grant Stewart: tenor saxophone; Paul Sikivie: bass; Phil Stewart: drums.

Album information

Title: Roll On | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Cellar Live

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Jay Phelps at the Harrow Arts Centre
< Previous

BACHanalia
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.