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Louis Stewart: I Thought About You
by Ian Patterson
For jazz guitar fans, and for aficionados of Irish guitarist Louis Stewart in particular, the 2022 relaunch of '70s label Livia Records has been manna from heaven. This is the born-again label's fifth reissue of the great Dublin six-stringer's out-of-print recordings since the series launched with Stewart's other 1977 album Out on His Own (Livia Records, 2023). That album is widely viewed by guitarists past and present as a solo jazz guitar album for the ages. I Thought About You ...
Continue ReadingJim Doherty: Jim Doherty's Spondance
by Ian Patterson
Jim Doherty never lacked ambition, but a suite for jazz ballet or even jazz dance was always going to be a difficult sell in '80s Ireland. All was not lost for the pianist and composer, however. A few strings pulled here and there saw Doherty and his long- term collaborator, Louis Stewart decamp to Los Angeles, where they spent two days with top session musicians. One day of rehearsals and another in the recording studio resulted in Spondance, a jazz ...
Continue ReadingLouis Stewart & Martin Taylor: Acoustic Guitar Duets
by Ian Patterson
Jazz is littered with examples of starry duos aligning in one-off recording projects that do not quite match expectations. Often the lack of real spark comes down to too much deference being shown. When such duos do come off, however, say as with the collaborations between Bill Evans and Jim Hall, to cite one outstanding example, the results can be little short of spectacular. This 1986 studio outing between guitarists Louis Stewart and Martin Taylor falls into the latter category--two ...
Continue ReadingLouis Stewart & Jim Hall: The Dublin Concert
by Ian Patterson
When Jim Hall decided to spend the 1982 Christmas holidays in Ireland, did he really think that one of the most influential jazz guitarists in history could pass through incognito? The master of modern jazz guitar who had played with Chico Hamilton, Jimmy Giuffre, Ben Webster, Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins and Art Farmer, who was celebrated for a quartet of famous albums with Bill Evans, and who had crafted a masterly interpretation of Joaquin Rodrigo's “Concierto de Aranjuez" on Concierto ...
Continue ReadingThe Louis Stewart Trio: Louis The First
by Ian Patterson
Long before Irish guitarist Louis Stewart released his debut album, the punningly titled Louis The First, none other than Joe Pass was singing his praises. Pass was not the only one; Ronnie Scott, who hosted many of the great jazz guitarists in his famous London venue, considered Stewart to be one of the best. Stewart was 31 years old when Hawk Records released this album. By then, the Dubliner could draw on a decade of touring--and occasionally recording--with the likes ...
Continue ReadingLouis Stewart's Out On His Own: A Landmark Solo Guitar Recording
by Ian Patterson
Dublin's finest export? Not Guinness, but Irish jazz guitarist Louis Stewart (January 5, 1944--August 20, 2016). A guitarist of tremendous skill, invention and personality, Stewart was certainly the first world-class jazz musician to emerge from Ireland and make a name on the international stage. During a fifty-plus-year career, Stewart played with Benny Goodman, Lee Konitz, Clark Terry, Tubby Hayes, Joe Williams, J.J. Johnson, George Shearing, James Moody and fellow six-string maestro Martin Taylor. Not bad for a ...
Continue ReadingLouis Stewart & Noel Kelehan: Some Other Blues
by Ian Patterson
Hot on the heels of the reissue of Louis Stewart's seminal 1977 album Out On His Own (Liva Records, 2023)--one of the great solo jazz guitar albums--the revitalized label inspired by the Dublin guitarist launches another gem from its treasure trove of archival recordings. Previously unreleased, Some Other Blues captures Stewart in a duo setting with pianist Noel Kelehan, an important figure on the Irish jazz scene who mostly flew under the radar. It is something of a ...
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