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
• Though always in demand as a sideman, music was a side gig for Campbell.
  — Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Aug. 2022
• But the movie’s headliner was Carl Weathers — for once not a sideman, but the star.
  — Chris Klimek, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2024
• But the role as Miles Davis’ sideman would only define part of Lucas’ work.
  — Morgan Enos, Billboard, 21 May 2018
• 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
• Lee recorded alone in his modest home studio, the longtime sideman stepping into his own faint spotlight.
  — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 July 2026
• 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
• 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
• But Alvin was eager to point out Heffington’s songwriter side as well as his sideman fame.
  — Chris Willman, Variety, 19 Aug. 2024
• Longtime sideman Steve Jordan has played drums with the band on recent No Filter dates.
  — Ben Crandell, sun-sentinel.com, 14 Oct. 2021
• 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
• But the fame that many of Mayall’s endlessly rotating sidemen later enjoyed was entirely beside the point to him.
  — Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024
• What separates this year’s honor most is that the sideman recognition comes as McNelley begins rolling out new music as a lead artist.
  — Tom Roland, Billboard, 1 July 2024
• 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
• The vocalist’s wide-ranging gifts and moods benefit from the versatile skill set of the sometime-sideman for Erykah Badu and Madlib.
  — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 8 July 2026
• 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
• With Alex Chilton as his sideman, the provocative Tav Falco brought blues and rockabilly screaming into the post-punk era.
  — Stephen M. Deusner, Pitchfork, 8 Feb. 2026
• 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
• Longtime Stones sideman Darryl Jones, Matt Clifford and Steve Jordan also lend a hand.
  — Spin Staff, SPIN, 14 May 2026
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Still, a budding jazz guitarist (Torn was mentored by pioneering trumpeter Don Cherry) joining forces with a rock icon’s sidemen for his recording debut shows a strong independent streak and no small amount of ambition.
  — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 1 June 2026
• And these accomplished sidemen — with all except Lavezzoli sharing vocal duties — step up to deliver versions of Pink Floyd classics that would please even the most critical of Floyd fanatics.
  — Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 4 Dec. 2025
• Springsteen went into the Count Basie Theatre in New Jersey to do this new rendering, joined in the subtlest possible way by two sidemen whose contributions are so slight, they’re practically sidelined.
  — Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025
• The group includes three former Prince sidemen, Michael Bland, Tommy Barbarella and Sonny Thompson, although Bland wasn’t on hand Friday night.
  — Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 11 Oct. 2025
• The Hawks’ veteran guard CJ McCollum, always excellent but usually a sideman to a brighter star, dribbled and sidestepped through and around the Knicks defense, suddenly looking like one of the best offensive players in the league.
  — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 2 June 2026
• Onstage at Colbert, Stapleton offered a solo rendition of the ballad, backed only by Nelson’s longtime sideman, harmonica player Mickey Raphael, who played on the original recording.
  — Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 7 May 2026