Jesse Stewart is an award-winning percussionist, composer, improviser, artist, instrument builder, educator, and writer dedicated to re-imagining the spaces between artistic disciplines. A dynamic and inventive performer, Stewart has a remarkable ability to coax unexpected—even magical—sounds out of virtually any resonating object or material.

He has performed and/or recorded with many musical luminaries including George Lewis, Roswell Rudd, Hamid Drake, Evan Parker, Bill Dixon, William Parker, Pauline Oliveros, David Mott, Malcolm Goldstein, Jandek, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, and many others. In 2012, he was honored with the “Instrumental Album of the Year” Juno award (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) for his work with Stretch Orchestra, a trio consisting of Kevin Breit on guitars, Matt Brubeck on cello, and Jesse on drums. He has been widely commissioned as a composer. His music has been featured at festivals throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe and is documented on over 20 recordings. He endorses Headhunters brand drumsticks and brushes.

His playing has been described as “truly exciting” (Musicworks 76), “exceptional” (Cadence Oct. 2002) and “phenomenal” (Cadence Nov. 1999). In a 2002 review, Texas-based music critic Frank Rubolino described him as “...one of the finest young drummers and percussionists on the scene today” (One Final Note Summer/Fall 2002).

He lives in Ottawa, where he is a professor of music at Carleton University and an adjunct faculty member in the visual arts department at the University of Ottawa.