Bill Stewart featuring Walter Smith III and Larry Grenadier - Live at The Village Vanguard (2025) [Hi-Res]

During his early years in New York, before he ever played the hallowed basement, Stewart, now 58, frequently arrived early to claim the behind-the-drumkit position on the red banquette that runs along the Vanguard's west wall all the way to bandstand stage right to get a bird's eye view of Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, Billy Higgins, and a host of other masters whose recordings he'd played along with as an adolescent and teenage aspirant in Des Moines, Iowa.

"When you sit close, you get the body language, the whole vibe of the drummer who you want to check out," Stewart says. "That's the place." It's a sure bet that more than a few drum aspirants took pains to assess Stewart's vibe from that privileged perch between September 18 and September 23 in 2023, when he convened bassist Larry Grenadier and tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III for their third weeklong trio engagement at the Vanguard, following residencies in April 2017 and in October 2018. The latter engagement transpired around the trio's frst album, Band Menu, a studio date that marked Stewart's frst leader endeavor without a chordal instrument.

Bill Stewart - drums
Walter Smith III - tenor saxophone
Larry Grenadier - bass