
Rex Stewart
Rex William Stewart (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist best remembered for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra. After stints with Elmer Snowden, Fletcher Henderson, Horace Henderson, McKinney's Cotton Pickers, and Luis Russell, Stewart joined the Ellington band in 1934, replacing Freddie Jenkins. Duke Ellington arranged many of his pieces to showcase Stewart's half-valve effects, muted sound, and forceful style. Stewart co-wrote "Boy Meets Horn" and "Morning Glory" while with Ellington, and frequently supervised outside recording sessions by members of the Ellington band. After eleven years Stewart left to lead his own groups - " little swing bands, that were a perfect setting for his solo playing." He also toured Europe and Australia with Jazz at the Philharmonic from 1947 to 1951. He made a cameo appearance in Jacques Becker's 1949 film Rendezvous in July. From the early 1950s on he worked in radio and television and published highly regarded jazz criticism. The book Jazz Masters of the Thirties is a selection of his criticism. Stewart also wrote for Playboy, Down Beat and several other publications during his life. He lived in upstate New York after purchasing a 100+ year old farmhouse. He hosted a jazz radio program in Troy, New York and owned a small restaurant for a very short time near a drag racing stadium in Vermont. While living in France, he attended the Cordon Bleu school of cooking and dedicated his life to being a fine cook. Stewart moved to Los Angeles, California to be near his three children – Rex Jr., Helena and Regina. His other son Paul Albert Hardy lived in New York City. While in Los Angeles he re-connected to many of the Ellington side-men who lived there and played a lot of "jam" sessions in clubs in the Los Angeles area. Rex was also one of the regular studio musicians seen on the Steve Allen TV show. He hosted and coproduced (with George Cole) two radio shows about jazz music from his era, Dixieland Doings and Things Aint What They Used To Be. |
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Birth and Death Data: Born February 22, 1907 (Philadelphia), Died September 7, 1967 (Los Angeles)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1925 - 1958
Roles Represented in DAHR: cornet, trumpet, leader, composer, trombone, vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 97 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-35762 | 10-in. | 7/13/1926 | Lazy drag | Thomas Morris ; Morris' Hot Babies | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-35763 | 10-in. | 7/13/1926 | Jackass blues | Thomas Morris ; Morris' Hot Babies | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-35764 | 10-in. | 7/13/1926 | Charleston stampede | Thomas Morris ; Morris' Hot Babies | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-63195 | 10-in. | 11/5/1930 | I want your love | McKinney's Cotton Pickers ; Dave Wilborn | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-63196 | 10-in. | 11/5/1930 | Hello | McKinney's Cotton Pickers ; Dave Wilborn | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-64605 | 10-in. | 11/3/1930 | Talk to me | McKinney's Cotton Pickers ; Don Redman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-64606 | 10-in. | 11/3/1930 | Rocky road | McKinney's Cotton Pickers ; Don Redman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-64607 | 10-in. | 11/4/1930 | Laughing at life | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-64608 | 10-in. | 11/4/1930 | Never swat a fly | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-64609 | 10-in. | 11/5/1930 | After all, you're all I'm after | George Bias ; McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-64610 | 10-in. | 11/5/1930 | I miss a little miss | George Bias ; McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-037632 | 10-in. | 6/13/1939 | 12th Street rag | Lionel Hampton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trombone | |
Victor | BS-044887 | 10-in. | 3/6/1940 | You, you darlin' | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Herb Jeffries | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-044888 | 10-in. | 3/6/1940 | Jack the Bear | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-044889 | 10-in. | 3/6/1940 | Ko-ko | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-044890 | 10-in. | 3/7/1940 | Morning glory | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-044891 | 10-in. | 3/7/1940 | So far, so good | Ivie Anderson ; Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-049015 | 10-in. | 3/15/1940 | Conga brava | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-049016 | 10-in. | 3/15/1940 | Concerto for Cootie | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-049017 | 10-in. | 3/15/1940 | Me and you | Ivie Anderson ; Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | PBS-049655 | 10-in. | 5/4/1940 | Cotton tail | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | PBS-049656 | 10-in. | 5/4/1940 | Don't get around much anymore | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-053020 | 10-in. | 5/28/1940 | Dusk | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-053021 | 10-in. | 5/28/1940 | Bojangles | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BS-053022 | 10-in. | 5/28/1940 | A portrait of Bert Williams | Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, cornet |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Stewart, Rex," accessed June 10, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103819.
Stewart, Rex. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 10, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103819.
"Stewart, Rex." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 10 June 2023.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Stewart, Rex, 1907-1967 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82122655
Wikidata: Rex Stewart - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q765531
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/87734065
MusicBrainz: Rex Stewart - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/1892127b-90d1-4fa6-b685-3fd68c247a9a
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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