Distinguished musician replacing some art (7)
I believe the answer is:
maestro
'distinguished musician' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'replacing some art' is the wordplay.
'replacing' indicates anagramming the letters (placing again).
'some'+'art'='someart'
'someart' with letters rearranged gives 'MAESTRO'.
(Other definitions for maestro that I've seen before include "special performer" , "Accomplished musician" , "Artist of consummate skill: conductor" , "Virtuoso" , "Highly talented figure in a given field" .)