A Zoom Hang with Neal Wilkinson featuring Bill Stewart

Bill Stewart grew up in Des Moines, Iowa listening to his parents' jazz and rhythm and blues records without much exposure to live jazz in the then relatively isolated state of Iowa. His father was a trombonist, and his first and middle names are a tribute to jazz trombonist Bill Harris. Mostly self-taught, Bill began playing at the age of seven (he was born on October 18, 1966). While in high school, he played in a Top 40 cover band and the school orchestra, and went to a summer music camp at Stanford Jazz Workshop, where he met jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie. After high school graduation, Bill attended the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, playing in the jazz and marching bands as well as the orchestra. He then transferred to William Paterson University (known then as William Paterson College), where he played in ensembles directed by Rufus…