JAY STEWART - ENJOY THE RIDE

Jay Stewart started playing guitar at age six, listened to his dad’s George Jones and Merle Haggard records, played in church and along the way amassed a wide array of rock, blues and jazz influences, including B.B. King, Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, George Benson and Larry Carlton. Yet he credits a lesser known guitarist, local fingerstyle legend Buddy Owens, for opening up a world of even deeper possibilities. Stewart’s subsequent study of fingerstyle greats Pete Huttlinger, Doyle Dykes and Chet Atkins led to this becoming as much a part of his stylistic repertoire as electric rock/blues.

Perhaps it’s no surprise now that Superior Court Judge Jay Stewart is finally stepping out, breaking all sorts of molds and taking center stage with his array of electric and acoustic guitars. Growing up in rural Southern Georgia, the Savannah area native was always the hippest kid in town, “the only white kid in Claxton copping licks from the Ohio Players.” After years of dreaming about it, he’s inviting fans of the pop, rock, blues and jazz he grew up with to enter the courtroom after hours, sit back and Enjoy The Ride—the name of his highly anticipated full length debut

Stewart, who was elected Judge of Superior Court of the Atlantic Judicial Circuit in 2006, has no trouble drawing parallels between his two worlds: “In both arenas, I go about my work in a professional manner and avoid bad notes—and bad decisions!” Upon receiving his Juris Doctor from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, he launched a private general practice in Claxton; his areas of concentration included criminal defense, personal injury and divorce/family law. From January 2000 through May of 2001, Judge Stewart was an assistant district attorney in the Atlantic Judicial Circuit where he prosecuted felony crimes. For the next five years, he was a partner in the law firm of Brown, Rountree & Stewart, P.C. in Statesboro.

“Other lawyers and judges I know play golf and hunt when they’re off the clock, but for me, the guitar was my escape, and I have played over the years any chance I got,” says Stewart. “People who know both sides of me ask why I didn’t pursue a career as a musician. Actually, I did! My dream in high school was to jump on a tour bus. I even thought about attending the Guitar Institute in Los Angeles before accepting a baseball scholarship. After my freshman year at South Georgia College, I joined a band that was based in Raleigh, North Carolina. I returned to college after a few months on the road, but later when I was at Mercer University attending law school, I made more playing guitar on weekends than I would have clerking at a law firm.

“Being in the studio making Enjoy The Ride brought back a lot of those fond memories,” he adds. “I appreciate how personable all these great musicians were to me and the way they treated me like one of the guys. The songs are geared towards bringing all of my influences together and letting my bluesy, jazzy voice be heard through my guitar. I’m also told I play with a little bit of a drawl, just the way I talk. So the Southern rock influence definitely shines through.”

For most of the ride, though, Stewart jams with a batch of the coolest session cats around, led by Grammy winning producer and Emmy nominated composer Jason Miles—whose deep history includes recordings with Luther Vandross, Miles Davis, Sting and his own world jazz fusion band Global Noize. Miles is also responsible for bringing to life musical retrospectives to musical icons Marvin Gaye (What’s Going On: Songs of Marvin Gaye); Grover Washington, Jr. ( To Grover With Love); and Miles Davis (Miles To Miles).

The basic tracks of Enjoy The Ride were recorded live in a single day—with one or two takes for each tune at Bennett Studios in Englewood, New Jersey with Stewart being joined by Miles, bassist Neil Jason (Cyndi Lauper, Paul McCartney, John Lennon) and drummer Brian Dunne (Hall & Oates, Chuck Loeb). Lead and acoustic guitar tracks were recorded at Frank Farr Productions in Statesboro, Georgia.

Also in the mix are famed saxophonist and recording artist David Mann; popular contemporary jazz trumpeter Cindy Bradley, who adds harmony lines behind Stewart’s lead electric melody on the old school funk rocker “Living The Life” and infuses a soaring solo on the revved up jazz blues jam “Blowing Smoke”; conguero Jimmy Bralower; and Barry Danielan, who played trumpet and did horn arrangements on “Blues For The Road,” a high energy spin on Mother Earth’s 1971 hit featuring Josh Dion’s soulful lead vocals and one of Stewart’s trademark blistering solos. Mike Mattison, frontman for the Grammy winning Derek Trucks Band, sings lead on the easy grooving blues rocker “Can’t Fight Love”—which features Miles on the Hammond B-3.

Stewart’s strengths as a multi-faceted composer are showcased on the five tracks that he wrote or co-wrote. In addition to “Just For You,” he co-penned “Living The Life” with Miles and wrote the easy rolling, R&B and rock influenced title track with his longtime friend Shane Baldwin. The diversity of his artistry comes across on two songs he wrote himself--the hypnotic and whimsical acoustic ballad “Soothe My Soul” (which may remind listeners of jazz duo Acoustic Alchemy) and the explosive “Blowing Smoke.” Other highlights include the Miles compositions “The Light At The End of the Tunnel” (an easy swaying, horn spiced track that recalls the cool of Steely Dan) and “4 Tee and Dupree,” a jazz/funk tribute to the chemistry of the late masterful musicians Richard Tee and Cornell Dupree, with Stewart weaving his crisp lines between Miles’ piano and B-3 magic. Enjoy The Ride also includes an intense rock/soul free for all cover of “I’m A Man,” an early track by the band Chicago which was co-written by Steve Winwood.

Jay Stewart – Enjoy The Ride Tracks:

1. Living The Life [4:10]

2. The Light At The End Of The Tunnel [3:57]

3. Can't Fight Love [4:04]

4. I'm A Man [4:03]

5. Enjoy The Ride [4:06]

6. 4 Tee And Dupree [4:21]

7. Soothe My Soul [3:11]

8. Blowing Smoke [3:44]

9. Blues For The Road [4:33]

10. Just For You [3:12]


Musicians:
Jay Stewart, Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Jason Miles, Electric Piano & Hammond B3, Percussion Programming
Neil Jason, Bass
Brian Dunne, Drums
Barry Danielain, Trumpet & Horn Arrangement (Track 9)
David Mann, Saxophone
Cindy Bradley, Trumpet (Track 1, 8)
Jimmy Bralower, Congas (Track 5)
Josh Dion, Vocals (Track 9)
Mike Mattison, Vocals (Track 3)