Louis Stewart & Noel Kelehan: Some Other Blues

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 head scratcher that this recording is only seeing the light of day forty-six years after the fact, as these nine standards find two exceptional musicians in extraordinary form. Back in the 1960s, Stewart joined Kelehan's trio, and although their paths would soon diverge, the deep empathy, intuition and harmony forged in their formative years together is evident in their playing across these tracks.

The duo tears through bop and swing classics with freewheeling élan. Stewart has long enjoyed renown as the guitarists' guitarist, his lightning-fast runs on "Yesterdays" and "I'll Remember April"—to cite but a couple of highlights—executed with precision and bell-like clarity. Kelehan's virtuosity is no less impressive. His dancing, cascading solos on "Some Time Ago" and "You Stepped Out Of a Dream" are Art Tatum-esque in their breathless exhilaration. It is the rhythmic buoyancy and ingenuity of the comping, however, that fires both musicians' engines.

As thrilling as all the lickety-split interplay certainly is, it is arguably in the refinement of their balladry that the duo shines brightest. One would travel a long way to hear a more sensitively rendered version of Tadd Dameron's "If You Could See Me Now," while Kelehan's achingly tender "I Only Have Time To Say I Love You" could yet earn standard status.

The inclusion of "Singin' In the Rain" might seem twee, but it is entirely in keeping with the duo's playful, optimistic exchanges elsewhere. Nacio Herb Brown's jaunty head apart, Stewart and Kelehan make it their own with swinging joie de vivre.

An essay in the accompanying booklet by bassist/composer Ronan Guilfoyle provides useful historical background and sheds light on the duo's technical brilliance. Guilfoyle, who played with both Stewart and Kelehan, describes Some Other Blues as "Irish jazz at is best." Strike that. This is straight-ahead jazz at its best, regardless of provenance.