Leroy Eliot "Slam" Stewart (September 21, 1914 – December 10, 1987) was an American jazz double bass player whose trademark style was his ability to bow the bass and simultaneously hum or sing an octave higher.
Born Leroy Eliot Stewart in Englewood, New Jersey, Slam began on violin as a child and began playing string bass while attending Dwight Morrow High School. He played with local bands before commencing formal studies at Boston Conservatory where he heard Ray Perry singing along with his violin. This gave him the idea of singing (or humming) an octave higher, in unison with his bass fiddle (bowed bass).
He perfected this technique with the orchestra of Peanuts Holland (1936-37). A chance encounter with Slim Gaillard led to the formation of Slim and Slam, and the duo became one of the most popular acts playing the string of clubs and bars along West 52d Street, New York's famous ''Swing Street.'' The duo's ''Flat Foot Floogie'' became so popular that Benny Goodman began performing it on his radio show, ''The Camel Caravan.''
Slim and Slam's record of the song was buried in a time capsule at the 1939 World's Fair along with a record of John Philip Sousa's ''Washington Post March.''
Incidentally, Stewart acquired his nickname 'Slam' with input from Gaillard and disc jockey Martin Block (also their manager). ''At times, I slapped the bass when I played,'' he later told John S. Wilson of The New York Times. ''It had the same sound as a slam. They gave me the name Slam, and I've been stuck with it ever since. But I'm very used to it and prefer it to Leroy.''
When Mr. Gaillard was drafted in 1941, Mr. Stewart joined the Art Tatum Trio and then he played with Benny Goodman's sextet and big band, and went on to record and perform with a veritable Who's Who in jazz including Fats Waller, Coleman Hawkins. Tiny Grimes, Johnny Guarnieri, Red Norvo, Don Byas and Lester Young (one of the seminal tracks with this quartet was a December 1943 recording of 'Sometimes I'm Happy'). During some of these sessions, he would employ a slap bass technique to compensate for an absence of drums.
The Dizzy Gillespie Sextet (February 1945 session) featured his improvisational solos on several excellent tracks, notably “Groovin’ High” and “Dizzy Atmosphere”. Near the end of the decade, Slam Stewart also fronted his own trio which featured the pianist Erroll Garner whom he subsequently joined on tour in France. On screen, Slam was featured in the cast of the musical Stormy Weather (1943).
For much of the 50's, Slam provided rhythmic support to swing pianiste Beryl Booker (1922-78) and pianiste/singer Rose Murphy.
He later worked with other groups headed by pianist Billy Taylor, Trumpeter Roy Eldridge, and guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, and many others. He also appeared with The Newport All-Stars and even recorded two albums with bassist Major Holley (who also "bowed and hummed" but in unison).
Stewart was actively performing and recording until a few weeks before he died of congestive heart failure on December 10, 1987 at his home in Binghamton, N.Y. He was 73 years old.
(Edited from Wikipedia, IMDB & The New York Times)