Tommy Stewart is an American trumpeter, arranger, composer, and record producer. He has been a member of the

Magic City Jazz Orchestra The Magic City Jazz Orchestra (MCJO) is an American jazz ensemble which was founded in 1999 as a spin-off of the SuperJazz Big Band (formerly UAB SuperJazz) by Birmingham, Alabama jazz pianist and vocalist Ray Reach. The mission of the group is t ...

Cleveland Eaton Cleveland Josephus Eaton II (August 31, 1939July 5, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist, producer, arranger, composer, publisher, and head of his own record company in Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. His most famous accomplish ...

and the Alabama All-Stars, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame All-Stars, and

Ray Reach Raymond Everett Reach, Jr. (born August 3, 1948) is an American pianist, vocalist, guitarist, composer, arranger, music producer, and educator, named by AL.com as one of "30 Alabamians who changed jazz history." He serves as President and CEO o ...

and Friends. He was a 1988 inductee into the

Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (AJHF) was founded in 1978, and opened a museum on September 18, 1993, with a mission "to foster, encourage, educate, and cultivate a general appreciation of the medium of jazz music as a legitimate, original and dis ...

Early years

John T. "Fess" Whatley trained Stewart,

Erskine Hawkins Erskine Ramsay Hawkins (July 26, 1914 – November 11, 1993) was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1 ...

Dud Bascomb Wilbur Odell "Dud" Bascomb (May 16, 1916, Birmingham, Alabama – December 25, 1972, New York City) was an American jazz trumpeter, best known for his tenure with Erskine Hawkins. Yanow, Scott. Dud Bascomb biography AllMusic He was a 1979 ind ...

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, and

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(previously known as Herman Blount). Whatley taught music at Industrial High in Birmingham, which at the time was one of the largest populated high schools in America, with more than 3,500 students walking its hallways. Alvin "Stumpy" Robinson, the band director at Washington Jr High School, was also influential in Stewart's development. Tommy Stewart enrolled at

Alabama State College Alabama State University (ASU) is a public historically black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Alabama State University was founded in 1867 as the Li ...

without knowing how he was going to pay tuition. The problem solved itself when he joined the Bama State Collegians, a dance band formed in 1929 who at various times featured

Avery Parrish James Avery Parrish (January 24, 1917 – December 10, 1959) was an American jazz pianist, composer and arranger. He wrote and recorded " After Hours". Injuries from a bar fight in 1943 ended his career as a pianist. Early life Parrish was born ...

, Joe Newman, Sam Taylor,

Julian Dash Julian Dash (April 9, 1916 – February 25, 1974) was an American swing music jazz tenor saxophonist born in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, probably better known for his work with Erskine Hawkins and Buck Clayton. Dash was a member o ...

, Benny Powell, and Vernall Fournier. Other musicians who attended Alabama State are

Clarence Carter Clarence George Carter (born January 14, 1936) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful songs include " Slip Away", "Back Door Santa" (both released 1968), " Patches" (1970) and "Strokin" (1986). Ear ...

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

(James Brown), and

Walter Orange Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown i ...

(

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). The popular band made enough money to fund Stewart's way through four years of college.

Education

He attended

Alabama State University Alabama State University (ASU) is a public historically black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Alabama State University was founded in 1867 as the ...

, where he directed the Bama State Collegians (formerly directed by trumpeter

). Later, he studied jazz arranging at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

. Stewart also studied arranging under John Duncan, a classical composer and teacher at Alabama State University. Tommy pledged Omega Psi Phi at the Gamma Sigma Chapter located on the Alabama State University Campus.

Teaching years

He taught high school from 1961 to 1963 at Fayette High School in St. Clair County Alabama. In 1969 he moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, and taught in Fayetteville, Ga; he also worked for Morris Brown College doing band arrangements. He taught jazz and did band arrangements at Morehouse College from 1974 to 1985. He also taught band classes at West End High School in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

from 1991-2001. He also taught "A Survey of Popular Music" at

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

in 1979. From 2005 to 2007, Tommy served as a faculty member of the educational program at the

, under Director of Student Jazz Programs,

. In this position, he was also a member of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame All-Stars.

Music career

In 1956 he played with Roy Hamilton. In 1963 Stewart performed with Willie Hightower L.C. Cook, and Junior Parker during summer vacations. He arranged music for Eula Cooper,

The Mighty Hannibal James Timothy Shaw (August 9, 1939 – January 30, 2014), known as The Mighty Hannibal, was an American R&B, soul, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his showmanship, and outlandish costumes often incorporating a pink tu ...

, Sandy Gaye, and Langston-French Duo (Langston is an ex-Pip and Gladys Knight's cousin). Most of these arranging assignments took place on Jessie Jones's label, Tragar Records. During the 1970s, he worked at the Gold Lounge accompanying

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simply ...

and

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. In 1971 he went on the road with

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. In 2022, Taylor ...

's show, which included Jackie Moore,

King Floyd King Floyd (February 13, 1945 – March 6, 2006) was a New Orleans soul singer and songwriter, best known for his top 10 hit from 1970, "Groove Me". Early career King Floyd III was born in New Orleans in 1945. His musical career started as a s ...

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, and

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, who were popular because of the song " You're a Big Girl Now." He was the chief arranger for a television show in 1972 called ''Nightlife South'' which ran for 25 weeks. In 1973 he wrote charts for ''The Burning of Atlanta'' album by The Spirit of Atlanta for

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foun ...

. Working for GRC/ Aware Records, he arranged songs for

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(who later joined The Spinners) and Loletta Holloway. Stewart toured as musical director with Johnnie Taylor on his Disco Lady Tour in 1976 and also served as Ted Taylor's musical director. In 1973 he directed Taylor's band while they performed on '' The Midnight Special'' with host

Wolfman Jack Robert Weston Smith (January 21, 1938July 1, 1995), known as Wolfman Jack, was an American disc jockey active from 1960 till his death in 1995. Famous for his gravelly voice, he credited it for his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes ...

. In the late 1970s Stewart collaborated with Marlon McNichols, a producer from Detroit, Michigan, to record disco with Final Approach, Cream De CoCo,

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, Moses Davis, and Stewart's album, which included the song "Bump & Hustle Music". Stewart arranged for

Luther Ingram Luther Thomas Ingram (November 30, 1937 – March 19, 2007) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. His most successful record, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right", reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and No. 3 ...

in 1977 and Johnny Baylor (Ingram was manager and owner of KoKo Records). He released his debut album, ''Tommy Stewart'' for Abraxas in 1976. Rick Anderson at AllMusic said about the album, "It's almost impossible to keep a straight face while listening to this album...It's a document of one of pop music's most simultaneously embarrassing and glorious periods—the High Disco Era—when all pretense of lyrical sophistication was abandoned in favor of occasional interjections of 'Hey! Get down! Get off your seats and jam!' (a direct quote from this album)". Stewart produced

Martha High Martha High (born Martha Harvin in 1945, Victoria, Virginia) is an American female vocalist. Harvin grew up in Washington, D.C., attending Roosevelt High School and singing in Trinity AME Zion Church. She began singing in The Four Jewels (whose ...

's solo album for

Salsoul Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/ post-disco 12-inch releas ...

and co-wrote most of the songs. It was around this time that he produced Ripple, a band who recorded the song "The Beat Goes On," and Southside Coalition, made up of some of Stewart's former students from Archer High School in Atlanta. He worked with

Major Lance Major Lance (April 4, 1939, 1941Soul music A-Z 1995 p. 185 or 1942The golden age of American rock 'n roll: Volume 3; 2002 p. 556 – September 3, 1994) was an American R&B singer. After a number of US hits in the 1960s, including "The Monk ...

on two albums, toured with the Tams in 1983, and did arrangements for Serena Johnson's album ''The Lack of Communication''. In 1990, he co-founded the African American Philharmonic Orchestra with founder and conductor John Peek. He moved from Atlanta to Birmingham in 1992.

Discography

* Tommy Stewart – ''Same'' (Abraxas, 1976) * Tommy Stewart and His Orchestra (

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is con ...

, 1980) * Sil Austin + Tommy Stewart and His Orchestra (Circle, 1981) * Tommy Stewart – ''Disco Love Affair'' (Cultures of Soul, 2012) * The Spirit of Atlanta – ''The Burning of Atlanta'' ( Buddah, 1973) * Whole Darn Family – ''Has Arrived'' (Soul International, 1976) * Ripple – ''Sons of the Gods'' (

, 1977) * Luther Ingram – (KoKo,1977) * Stevo – ''Musica Negra'' (Oliva Cantu, 1978) * Opus 7 – ''Opus 7'' ( MCA, 1978) * Ojeda Penn – ''Happiness'' (IFE, 1980) * Hambone – ''Big Fat Juicy Fun'' (Salsoul, 1981) * Solar Source – ''Now's the Time'' (AVI, 1981) * Major Lance – ''I Wanna Go Home'' ( Columbia, 1981) 12": * Tommy Stewart - Bump & Hustle Music (unreleased 11 minute version bootleg) (G.B. Music 12" 2004) * Stevo - Pay The Price / Party Night (G-K Productions 12") * Stevo - Pay The Price / Party Night (T.K. Disco 12") * Gregory Jolly - I Want To Clap My Hands For The Power / What' Em Doing Is My Business (G-K Productions 12") * Masheen - Time / Get Up & Get Down (G-K Productions 12") * Papa Gotta Live – Disco Harp / Music Man (G-K Productions 12") * Sil Austin – Disco Music / Disco Lady (Jerri 7") * Moses - Love to live / Something about you (Pure Silk 12" 1978) * Mad Dog Fire Department - Cosmic Funk (T.K. Disco 12" 1979) * Sherman Hunter - Dancing Down The Avenue (T.K. Disco 12" 1979) * Sherman Hunter - Dance To Freedom (Dealers Choice 12" 1981) * Cream de Coco - Wiggle wiggle wiggle / Disco strut (Free Spirit 12" 1976) * Final Approach - We Like To Boogie / Que Passa (Goldplate 12" 1976) * Tamiko Jones - Let It Flow (T.K. Disco 12" 1976) * Martha High - He's My Ding Dong Man / Wallflower (Salsoul 12" 1979) * Martha High - Showdown / He's My Ding Dong Man (Salsoul 12" 1979) * Reanna Coleman – You're In My Pocket (Konduko 12" 1984) 45: * Terry and Deep South – Trying to Get By (Bama 7" 1976) * Clinton Harmon – I Want to Get Close to You (Note Records 7" 1976) * Clinton Harmon – Can't Help the Way I Feel About You (Barnstorm Records 7") * Stev–O – Easter Parade / Disco Bunny (G.K. Disco Series 7") * Stevo – Pay the Price / Party Night (Shield 7") * Lyn Westbrook – African Strut Part1 / African Strut Part2 (Esprit 7") * Funny Bone – Ride on Bones / Bring It Home (Camp–Bell 7") * Eula Cooper – I Can't Help If I Love You / Since I Fell for You (Tragar 7" 1969) * Sandy Gaye – Watch the Dog That Bring the Bone / Talk Is Cheap (Tragar 7" 1969) * Sandy Gaye – He's Good for Me / Talk Is Cheap (Moonshot 7" 1969) * Richard Cook – Love is So Mean / Somebody's Got to Help Me (Tragar 7" 1969) * Langston and French – Let's Get Funky / Tumbling Down (Tragar 7" 1969) * Nathan Wilkes – Now that I Am Wise / Strange Feeling (Tragar 7" 1969) * Richard Marks – Home for the Holidays / Mr. Santa Claus (Tuska 7" 1969) * Buddy Cantrell – Why Did You Leave Me? / You Ain't No Good (Tuska 7" 1969) * Richard Marks – I'm the Man for You / Cracker Jack (Tuska 7" 1969) * Barbara Hall – Broken Hearted / Big Man (Tuska 7" 1969) * Richard Marks – Did You Ever Lose Something / Never Satisfied (Tuska 7" 1969) * Loleatta Holloway – Cry to Me (Aware 7" 1974) * Loleatta Holloway – H-E-L-P Me, My Lord (Aware 7" 1974) * Loleatta Holloway – I Know Where You're Coming From / Show Must Go On (Aware 7" 1974) * Loleatta Holloway – Casanova (Aware 7" 1974) * Loleatta Holloway – Casanova / Only a Fool (Aware 7" 1975) * Calvin Arnold – Friendly Neighborhood Freak (IX Chains 7" 1975) * 3rd World Band – Disco Hop / Let's Boogie at the Disco (Abraxas 7" 1975) * Sil Austin – Disco Lady / Disco Music (Jerri 7" 1976) * South Side Coalition – Get Down Get Down / The Power–Play (Brown Dog 7" 1976) * Ojeda Penn – Brotherson (IFE 7" 1981) * Miss Louistine – Tired of Being Alone / I Don't Want to Love Nobody But You (NWE 7" 1984) * Louistine – Self Serve Woman / Don't Take Me On (Plexus 7" 1984) * Harold Daniels – Don't Snatch It Back / Instrumental (Southern Tracks / 1986)

References

This entire article was written during a personal interview with Tommy Stewart on January 5 and 6, 2008.

External links

Official website of Tommy Stewart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Tommy 1939 births Living people American male trumpeters Swing trumpeters Rhythm and blues trumpeters Musicians from Gadsden, Alabama 21st-century trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians