Stephen Ewart

STATS Rank: 8,431 Views: 2,944

Born: December 10, 1957 Primary Instrument: Trombone

Stephen has played music professionally for the past 30 years, sharing the stage with the likes of Australian music legends Paul Kelly, Jo Jo Zep and Kids in the Kitchen.

Stephen has recorded, produced and released two solo albums with David Williams - What It Is and Tell Me.

Last Updated: May 1, 2009

Yet again I'm entirely surprised by the talent that's gone to waste by various labels over the years, with one here by the name of Stephen Ewart, who has a quite surprising recording history behind him including none other than Paul Kelly & The Dots & Jo Jo Zep to his credit. Now, Stephen has put his considerable talents to releasing a 5 track e.p. titled What It Is, a very cruisy CD packed with a cool bunch of jazz sounds & funky instrumental backings to go along with the rather relaxed atmosphere of the vocals. Although all the tracks here will impress anyone who hears them, my favourite turned out to be the closing track “Today's Blues”, which runs out to nearly 7 minutes & is a killer track that's sort of described as 'semi-acid jazz', though as the title indicates, it has quite a large slice of blues to it. The opening track “Tell Me” is another very interesting song that sets the scene for the rest of the e.p., running along similar lines as the closing number while having a little more vibe to the sound. The other particularly interesting track here is “Sky Clearing”, which may well be a favourite for many, but I'll still stick with the closer. All in all, a very interesting sound & one that'll interest a lot of people.

A fantastically laid back release from Stephen Ewart, the second he's sent to hEARd if my memory serves me well, a Melbourne based musician, whose influences run through a number of styles, but the majority of this album leans heavily on the lighter side of jazz, with some immensely satisfying trumpet performance & some equally outstanding vocals as well. This album is the equal of that fabulous last release too. Stephen's credits include time with Paul Kelly & The Dots, Jo Jo Zep & others & the time spent with those bands has obviously shaped his musical abilities as evidenced by this album, accompanied by David Williams & Ray Pereira. The opening track is the title number “Tell Me” & tells the tale of what's to come later on the album, with some great tracks like “What It Is”, “Rosie's Blues” & Sky Clearing”, though the most stunning moment here is the quite startling instrumental called “Stumped”, a song that makes you just close your eyes & listen. With talent like this, it';s a wonder no label has snapped him up, but even if there's no further releases by him, Stephen Ewart has certainly given us a memorable effort.

As a Leader

Tell Me
MWER
1998
Tracks: Tell Me;Modern Living;Today's Blues; Sky Clearing;Rays Groove;What It Is;19th street;Illusion; Rosies Blues;How Can I help You; Stumped; Nanoland.
Personnel: Stephen Ewart: Vocals, trombone,trumpet,guitar,bass,keys. Ray Pereira:Percussion

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