Grant Stewart (musician)



Grant Stewart (born June 4, 1971) is a Canadian jazz saxophonist.

Life and career
Stewart was born in Toronto, Ontario, on June 4, 1971. His father was a part-time jazz guitarist. At age ten, Stewart played alto sax solos from saxophonists Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, and Wardell Gray that had been transcribed by his father. "By his early teens, Stewart had already found performance experience with such artists as Pat LaBarbera and Bob Mover." By 18 he "was leading a quartet in Toronto, including for a regular gig at C'est What café and pub"; and he moved to New York City when he was 19.

In New York, Stewart first played with guitarist Peter Bernstein and saxophonist Jesse Davis. He then began playing at Smalls Jazz Club when it opened in 1993.

His younger brother, Philip, has been a drummer in Stewart's bands since 2005.

Stewart is the first to have been interviewed for the long-running jazz-interview podcast The Jazz Session when it was created by Jason Crane in 2007.

For his 2007 recording Young at Heart, Stewart chose compositions that included music by Elmo Hope and Neal Hefti, as well as originals.

On Around the Corner in 2010, Stewart also played soprano sax. In 2011, this album was the focus of his second interview by Crane for the 4th-anniversary episode of The Jazz Session.

Stewart married Armenian American jazz singer Lucy Yeghiazaryan in the fall of 2020.

Playing style
Stewart plays "steady swinging, muscular hard bop". His sound is "lean and sinewy, yet flush with lyricism, humor and rhythmic possibilities, much like tenor icons Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins, to whom Stewart is frequently compared".

Discography
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.