Luke Stewart’s Silt Trio

Called “one of the 25 most influential jazz artists of his generation” by DownBeat Magazine and a member of several earth-shaking ensembles, including Irreversible Entanglements and Heroes Are Gang Leaders, polymathic bassist Luke Stewart, a creative catalyst on the Washington D.C. (and beyond) music scene for almost two decades, introduces his protean Silt Trio with Chicago drum legend Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground Duo, etc.) and powerhouse DC saxophonist Brian Settles.

Luke Stewart

Luke Stewart is a DC/NYC-based musician and organizer of significant musical presentations who now has a strong presence in the national and international Improvised Music community.

Stewart was noted in Downbeat Magazine in 2020 as one of “25 most influential jazz artists” of his generation and was profiled in the Washington Post in early 2017 as “holding down the jazz scene,” selected as “Best Musical Omnivore” in the Washington City Paper’s 2017 “Best of DC,” chosen as “Jazz Artist of the Year” for 2017 in District Now, and in the 2014 People Issue of the Washington City Paper as a “Jazz Revolutionary,” citing his multi-faceted cultural activities throughout DC.

In New York City, Luke collaborated with Arts for Art in hosting the first ever Free Jazz Convention to share resources and strategies among the community. He has also performed in a myriad of collaborations and performances in venues such as the Kitchen, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pioneer Works, Roulette, and Issue Project Room.

Chad Taylor

It is difficult to overstate Chad Taylor’s contributions to improvised music over the past three decades. A composer now living in Philadelphia, a scholar and an educator, as well as a capaciously inventive percussionist, Taylor is probably best known as co-founder of the Chicago Underground Duo with trumpeter Rob Mazurek (and the numerous Underground iterations that have spun off from that original partnership).

A professional on the Chicago scene from the age of 16, Taylor became a rhythmic muse for many of the most celebrated artists in improvised music, including Fred Anderson, Pharoah Sanders, Nicole Mitchell, Matana Roberts, Ken Vandermark, Darius Jones, James Brandon Lewis, Jaimie Branch, Derek Bailey, Marc Ribot, and Peter Brötzmann. He has also led numerous acclaimed ensembles of his own.

Brian Settles

Saxophonist and composer Brian Settles has established himself as a rising force with a long-term artistic vision. Settles blends the outwardly engaging with the deeply personal, reconciling his intimate command of the jazz language with a commitment to his own experimental voice. He performs regularly with some of modern jazz’s leading groups, including Tomas Fujiwara and The Hook Up, Michael Formanek’s Cheating Heart, Big Band Kolossus, and bands led by Jonathan Finlayson. Settles has also accompanied the likes of Gil Scott-Heron, Jason Moran, and Marc Cary.

Bandcamp