Angel's Whisper Love

"Inspiration, exaltation and adventure all in one- enjoyable listening"!
- Emmett Chapman (inventor of the Chapman Stick).

Trevor Stewart is one of a growing number of Stick stylists who are using the Stick's sound and arranging capabilities to create a distinctive and deeply personal musical voice and artistic image. This third CD by the Kansas-based Stick soloist starts off with deep, lush reverberating Stick chords and a sweet uplifting melody. You might be lulled into thinking this was going to be a nice quiet "meditative" listen. But after only a few seconds the energy starts to climb, as his fingers "stretch out" on the Grand Stick fretboard and various overdubbed ensemble instruments make their entrance, including Trevor's masterful viola and hand percussion.

Most of the pieces are original compositions that expand from simple melodic themes to multi-string orchestrations. There are also some truly innovative interpretations of familiar tunes like "Amazing Grace" and Ravel's "Bolero." All of the tracks have memorable phrases that become ever more resonant upon repeated listening.

Trevor's ACTV-2™ equipped Stick sounds like two or three guitars all at once, his left hand rolling through the chord changes like a fingerpicked steel-string acoustic guitar accompanist, and his right hand melody sounding more like classical guitar soloist. He also adds some supportive synth pads and strings via his MIDI pickup. The originals, "Flight" and "Never Alone", are hauntingly beautiful and there's a subtlety about his use of energy and drive that's compelling without overpowering the delicate nature of this composition. Of particular note is his use of intensive, interwoven two-handed parts, what Emmett likes to call "fingersticking" — very gripping and dynamic. Still, amid all this energy, Stewart provides a pervading sense of space, for notes to ring out sweetly, and reverberations to carry you off into the distance.

-review by premier 'Stickist' Greg Howard (who has recorded with the Dave Matthews Band).

The Chapman Stick (R) is a unique musical instrument invented by Emmett Chapman in 1969. It consists of a long fret board with twelve strings spanning a bass and guitar range. Sound is produced when the strings are "tapped" against the frets by the fingers. An electronic pickup is used to amplify the sounds. This new technique allows the musician to use both hands in order to play multiple parts like a piano while having the direct fingers-to-strings control and feel similar to a guitar. The model of Stick that Trevor uses utilizes a MIDI pickup on the upper strings which can trigger a synthesizer while simultaneously playing the natural sound of the Stick. Mr. Chapman continues to manufacture the Stick at his home in Woodland Hills, CA. See www.stick.com for more information about the Stick.

Trevor Stewart has been playing the Chapman Stick since October of 1998. Previous study on the guitar, piano and viola led to a quick adaptation on the Stick. Trevor studied music composition and performance at Wichita State University. Frequently performing in Wichita he is one of the very few "Stickist's" residing in Kansas. Primarily performing solo, he has also contributed to various groups and projects- such as the Native-American music group Passing Through which was nominated for an Native American Music Award in 2006 and an Indian Summer Music award in 2005. He has also played viola with world music group Equinox. Music from Trevor’s album Love/Fire/Serenity (also available here) served a large part in the soundtrack of the 2007 regional public television documentary ‘Flint Hills: Meditations from a Kansas Prairie’.