Lee Stewart has been a successful pianist, vocalist, and composer performing throughout the United States and Canada for almost 50 years. He’s played many different styles and genres of music throughout his life, but in the past few years he has made more of an effort to develop his own jazz style.
Stewart, who began playing his first instrument, the piano, at age 6, has released two albums, “How Deep Is The Ocean” and “Mood Indigo.”
Stewart recently took some time to tell Big Island Entertainment Scene about his music.
Q: How do you describe your music to people?
A: “I have played so many styles and genres in my life that I hate to pigeon-hole my music. Really, I love all kinds of music — reggae, zydeco, country, blues, even classical. Chopin knocks me out as much as Ray Charles and Duke Ellington. But in the past few years, I have made a more concerted effort to develop my own jazz style. What I do is pick music to play that moves me and hope that it moves the listener.”
Q: Who would people enjoy the music of Lee Stewart, and why?
A: “I’ve had people of all ages tell me that they like what I’m doing. I believe that music transcends age, gender, race, culture — all the usual things that separate people. It’s just innately human and I’ve heard music from the Andes, Africa, Slovakia, you name it, and been blessed with joy from it.”
Q: How do you hope your music makes people feel?
A: “In a word, ‘joyful.’ Even blues songs can bring us joy because we realize that someone else has had the same feelings that we’ve had—that we’re not strange, just human. Or perhaps those two words are synonymous.”
Q: When did you start playing and what inspires you to continue playing?
A: “I started playing the piano at age 6, so now you know how old I am. I hate to tell that to people because they might regard me as a living fossil. But think of how much we have learned from fossils! What inspires me to continue playing is that I love it as much as breathing and eating. Actually it’s no longer a choice. I can no longer imagine not playing. When I’m traveling I’m always looking around for a piano to play.”
Q: What is your favorite piece to play, and why?
A: “My favorite piece changes from time to time. I guess some might say I’m musically promiscuous. However I will always love to play “In a Sentimental Mood,” “I’ve got It Bad and That Ain’t Good,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “In My Solitude” or any other Duke Ellington piece. He was just a genius. There is something haunting or unusual about each of his pieces.”
Q: What are your musical influences and why?
A: “Well, I spent the first 14 years of my piano studies playing classical music. I still sit and play Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven at home but not in public because I don’t have time to keep those pieces polished. When I was in my teens I had a serious case of flu that kept me bed-ridden for a while. I listened to the radio and discovered KAAY from Little Rock, Ark. Wolf Man Jack opened up my ears to a whole new world of music I didn’t know existed. Ray Charles, Mose Allison, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Lou Rawls — soul music, blues, jazz. It blew my mind. Suddenly, I knew I had to get away from the printed page and start using my ears and my imagination more. That was a turning point for me.”
Q: An interesting fact or something about yourself.
A: “About two years ago I started learning to paraglide. It has now become a passion with me and I love flying almost as much a playing the piano and singing, maybe it’s the freedom or the realization of a life-long dream to be able to fly, but it’s so much fun I can’t even describe it.”
Keep up with the latest from Stewart at leestewartmusic.com.