Slam Stewart.html

Slam Stewart
Slam Stewart, ca. 1946
Background information
Birth name	Leroy Elliott Stewart
Born	September 21, 1914(1914-09-21)
Origin	Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	December 10, 1987 (aged 73)
Genre(s)	Jazz
Instrument(s)	double bass violin

Leroy Eliot 'Slam' Stewart (born 21 September 1914 - died 10 December 1987) was an African American jazz bass player whose trademark style was his ability to bow the bass (arco) and simultaneously hum or sing an octave higher. He was originally a violin player before switching to bass at the age of 20.

1 Biography
2 Audio samples
3 Discography
- 3.1 Studio albums
- 3.2 Compilations
4 Sources
5 External links

Biography

Stewart was born in Englewood, New Jersey in 1914. While attending the Boston Conservatory, he heard Ray Perry singing along with his violin. This gave him the inspiration to follow suit with his bass. In 1937 Stewart teamed with Slim Gaillard to form the novelty jazz act Slim and Slam. The duo's biggest hit was "Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy)" in 1938 (see 1938 in music).

Stewart found regular session work throughout the 1940s with Art Tatum, Johnny Guarnieri, the Benny Goodman Sextet, and other jazz greats. One of the most famous sessions he played on took place in 1945, when Stewart played with Dizzy Gillespie's group (which featured Charlie Parker). Out of those sessions came some of the classics of bebop such as "Groovin' High" and "Dizzy Atmosphere."

Throughout the rest of his career, Stewart worked regularly and employed his unique and enjoyable bass-playing style. He died in 1987 in Binghamton, New York.

Audio samples

"Groovin' High", written by Dizzy Gillespie and Frank Paparelli

This sample highlights Slam Stewart's style of bowing and simultaneously singing/humming one octave higher. Stewart's solo picks up at the end of a Charlie Parker saxophone solo, and leads into a trumpet solo by Dizzy Gillespie.