How to Use sideman in a Sentence
sideman
noun-
When the two died in the mid-’80s, their sidemen had nowhere to go.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 24 Aug. 2017
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The young teen was awe-struck by Rollins, the crowd, the sidemen and from that point on Mark knew he was meant to be a musician.
—Tara Klein, SPIN, 12 Apr. 2023
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But the movie’s headliner was Carl Weathers — for once not a sideman, but the star.
—Chris Klimek, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2024
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But the role as Miles Davis’ sideman would only define part of Lucas’ work.
—Morgan Enos, Billboard, 21 May 2018
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Though always in demand as a sideman, music was a side gig for Campbell.
—Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Aug. 2022
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Longtime sideman Steve Jordan has played drums with the band on recent No Filter dates.
—Ben Crandell, sun-sentinel.com, 14 Oct. 2021
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Known as one of the legendary rock and roll sidemen of his era, the musician played in Browne’s band for most of the Eighties, making a name for himself beyond the studio.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2023
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The formality suits him, a superstar who used to be a sideman and still grapples with the transition.
—Lee Jenkins, SI.com, 9 Oct. 2017
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Bark at the Moon is far from perfect, and Osbourne is still clearly reeling from the loss of his sideman, but Lee’s playing on the album is terrific.
—Brad Sanders, SPIN, 13 Mar. 2023
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Indeed, the author rarely interrupts the flow of such rock trivia as recording sessions, touring dates and sidemen.
—Santi Elijah Holley, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2023
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Until that day, Coltrane had been the overachieving sideman, playing someone else’s music in someone else’s band.
—Jeff MacGregor, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Jan. 2024
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For the next two decades, Mr. Donato recorded almost entirely as a sideman.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 21 July 2023
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The acclaimed guitarist and composer has recorded 36 albums as a leader and has served stints as sideman with the likes of Stanley Turrentine and Kevin Mahogany.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Mar. 2023
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Indeed, Mr McCreadie plays as a sideman in two other Scottish combos, each at opposite ends of the jazz spectrum.
—G.k. | Glasgow and Edinburgh, The Economist, 9 Aug. 2019
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Even when playing in support of other artists, Mr. Benjamin viewed himself less as a sideman than as a fellow musical voyager.
—Alex Williams, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
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In the early sixties, jazz was in a state of radical transformation, owing in significant measure to Davis and to Coltrane, who came to prominence as Davis’s sideman.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2022
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In the clip, the shows' sideman copied the cheeky disclaimer at the beginning of the original video where Drake and his team gave away the video's nearly $1 million budget, but with insanely smaller numbers, obviously.
—Wandera Hussein, Billboard, 23 Feb. 2018
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Each has worked as a sideman in notable jazz groups but has also demonstrated commitment to a broader musical range through ambitious projects as a leader.
—Larry Blumenfeld, WSJ, 29 Oct. 2018
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English earned a reputation for brandishing a firearm and engaging in off-stage scuffles that made him an outlaw sideman as tough as Nelson himself.
—Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2020
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He’s like a peripatetic trumpeter—always a sideman, never a bandleader—whose fingers remember their patterns long after his breath has gone short.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2022
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And his touring band includes a longtime Willie Nelson sideman, Mickey Raphael, on harmonica.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 7 May 2023
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Kelly and his band of rotating sidemen have always borrowed pretty openly from their influences.
—John Adamian, courant.com, 6 Sep. 2017
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Much of its appeal has to do with its soundtrack, which was compiled by Friedkin in collaboration with one of his longtime friends in the music industry, legendary arranger/composer/sideman Jack Nitzsche.
—Ron Hart, Billboard, 6 Sep. 2019
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Voters would still choose five acts a year from a slate offered by the Nominating Committee -- let that be supplemented, as now, with occasional non-performers and sidemen.
—Gavin Edwards, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2018
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European tours and repeat Newport bookings may seem improbable for someone his age, but Wilkins has achieved these things on the strength of two superlative albums over the past three years, alongside an array of significant sideman work.
—Bill Beuttler, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2023
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Coltrane had had enough — personally and professionally — of being Davis’s sideman.
—David Weininger, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Mar. 2018
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Last year was another banner benchmark for 63-year-old Steve Smith, whose dynamic, versatile drumming as bandleader, band member and sideman is arguably the fifth fundamental force of nature.
—Mark Halverson, sacbee, 25 Jan. 2018
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Forever a sideman in the great New Orleans tradition, Nocentelli forgot all about his unfinished solo project for almost a half-century.
—Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2021
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Among Hendrix enthusiasts, particularly fellow musicians, Pridgon acquired an almost talismanic quality as the muse who nurtured and encouraged him from ambitious sideman to pioneering artist.
—Chris Campion, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2021
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sideman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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