Grant Stewart
TJI Artistic Director & Program Coordinator
Grant Stewart is from Toronto, Canada, but moved to New York City at the age of nineteen studying with masters such as Donald Byrd and Barry Harris. He has performed internationally with Barry Harris, Jimmy Cobb, Harold Mabern, and more!
In New York, Stewart can be found playing at such clubs as Smalls, Lincoln Center, Birdland, SMOKE, The Kitano, The Jazz Standard and many more. Stewart has performed all over North America and Europe as well as in Japan, Brazil, and Taiwan. He was also one of the first jazz artists to be invited to play at the historical Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg, Russia. In addition Grant was a featured artist at the Guggenheim Museums’ Jazz series with his trio including drum legend Jimmy Cobb.
Stewart has released seventeen recordings as a leader, the highlights of which are his most recent release Roll On (Cellar Live Records) and his award winning Live At Smalls (2012) released on Smalls Live Records,In the Still of the Night (2007) , Young at Heart (2008) Grant Stewart Plays the Music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn (2009) and Around The Corner (2010). He also has co-led two sessions with fellow tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander on the Criss Cross label and has appeared on many other recordings as a sideman.. His complete discography is available at www.grantstewartjazz.com
From 2008 until 2015, Stewart was voted a “rising star on the tenor” in the Downbeat Critic’s Poll and was the subject of a feature in the July/August 2009 issue of JazzTimes magazine. Downbeat magazine has also featured Grant in it’s the December 2008 issue in a piece written by noted jazz writer Ted Panken. On the international front Stewart was named one of the top 3 tenor saxophonists and as number 7 jazz artist of the year by the noted jazz magazine Swing Journal in its 2009 poll.
Stewart has also branched out into the world of classical music composition. After studying privately for 5 years with famed composer and educator Dr. Kendall Briggs (Julliard School of Music faculty) Grant has written works for piano, string quartet, wind quintet and has recently completed his first large 8 movement work for unaccompanied choir.