Todd Stewart - Drums with Brad Turner

Todd played jazz drums as a sub with the Brad Turner Quartet on December 15, 2021 at Numbers Cabaret. He talks about it.

Photo of Todd Stewart, cropped and edited for the Rhythm Changes Podcast (Drums with Brad Turner)
Todd Stewart contributed the original photo for this episode.

On the Rhythm Changes Podcast, Todd Stewart talks about playing drums as a sub for Jazz at Numbers gigs, including with the Brad Turner Quartet.

We talked about:

  • How Todd came to Capilano University, with an assist from an event, Dave Robbins, and Kristian Braathen
  • The Pat’s Pub jam and his recent time sitting in with David Sikula there
  • The 2nd Floor Gastown’s key role in the jazz scene through the pandemic
  • How Todd got his gigs at Numbers with Chris Davis and Brad Turner, subbing on drums for their groups
  • The things that can make a gig tricky for a sub
  • Tim Reinert’s positive impact on the scene, and the videos he posts on social media
  • Making voice memo recordings of your own gigs to help your studies
  • What John Lee taught Todd about playing jazz drums at a high level
  • Why Todd thinks Brad hired him for the gig
  • Todd’s style as a bandleader and composer
  • How bandleaders can plan solos to make the audience happier
  • Playing at Tyrant Studios with Dan Howard, Feven Kidane, and Noah Franche-Nolan
  • Being grateful for the time to work on yourself
  • Our shared love of cats
  • A bit of pandemic talk and the psychology of getting together in-person these days
  • Venue struggles, but also our gratitude for how exciting this fall has been for live Vancouver jazz
  • The winning attitude of Atley King
  • The social importance of student gigs
  • Bringing more gigs to the suburbs
  • Todd’s quick take on Jazz at Presentation House
  • What he submitted to the 2022 Vancouver International Jazz Festival
  • Whether or not Todd will drop an album in 2022
  • Ardeshir Pourkeramati’s new skill and how he’s applying it to the community