Ian Stewart
Lesson Feesfrom $40.00 / 30 Minutes
Promotions Available
About
Ian Stewart is a bassist, author and educator currently based in the New York City area. Since moving to NYC in the spring of 2014 Ian has had the honor of performing with People of Earth, Gerardo Contino, Gabriela Anders, Los Hacheros, Peliroja, Keith Ward, Bobby Sanabria, Axel Laugart, Oriente Lopez, Mike Eckroth, Buyu Ambroise, Conjunto Guantanamero, Wilson “Chembo” Corniel, Salsondria Timba, Ola Fresca and other New York based artists. Ian has authored two books: “The John Benítez Bass Method Volume 1- Freedom in the Clave: A Rhythmic Approach to Bass Playing” in 2015 and “The John Benítez Bass Method Volume 2" in 2018 in collaboration with the great John Benítez.
In addition to performing and books, Ian is a contributing columnist to Timba.com and Bass Musician Magazine. He is also a faculty member at Scott’s Bass Lessons and has served as guest lecturer at Hamilton College, Lehman College and several universities under the SUNY system (Oswego, Onondaga Community and Cayuga Community).
For the past seven years, my performance career has primarily focused on Cuban Timba. I have performed with many of the top Timba performers in the New York Cuban music scene including Gerardo Contino, Ivan Llanes, Axel Laugart, Keisel Jimenez and many others. In addition to my real-world experience with the genre, I have held multiple lectures and seminars on the style at universities across New York State as well as online. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to participate in this wonderful genre in such an extensive way, something few outsiders have been able to do. For that reason I am especially passionate about sharing the knowledge I've acquired with others.
I also specialize in jazz improvisation and other styles of "world music" including Afro-Peruvian, Venezuelan and even some styles from southeastern Europe.
As a teacher I emphasize technique, reading, rhythm and creating an organized practice routine. I'm also a strong advocate of transcription, especially of repertoire, which is key when studying any style of music.
I also hope to inspire my students to become independent in following there own musical curiosity, regardless of what kind of music they choose to focus on.