Louis Stewart (1944-2016)

[BillF]

So sorry to read of the death yesterday of Irish guitar genius, Louis Stewart.

Nice tribute in today's JazzWax:

http://www.jazzwax.com/

Never saw him play, so was particularly looking forward to a gig in Wigan last year. It was, however, cancelled. Failing health?

Here's a clip I particularly like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNo-lX4K9EQ

[sidewinder]

Sad news - saw mention of his passing too in JazzWax.

Remember seeing him several times with Ronnie Scott's Quintet at the Scott club, also with his own trio at the club. The Scott quintet was the lineup which immediately preceded the one with Dick Pearce in the front line I think. Always thought that, like Scott, he was hugely under-rated.

Tubby Hayes certainly knew his worth - will dig out the 'Rumpus' CD on Savage Solveig in recognition. RIP.

Here's 'Inner Splurge' with the Hayes Orchestra - Stewart solos superbly at around 4.5 minutes in.

Inner Splurge

Edited August 21, 2016 by sidewinder

[A Lark Ascending]

Sad indeed. First came across him on Ronnie Scott's 'Serious Gold' LP and was utterly smitten. Followed it up over the years with many of his records.

Saw him once at Appleby about 15 years back. Tried to see him again in Dublin around 2007 but he got caught in Cork due to floods.

RIP 

[Jim R]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHtv9vkhNXQ

 

Edited August 26, 2016 by Jim R

[Jim R]

 

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/jazz-guitarist-louis-stewart-brought-joy-to-many-funeral-told-1.2765925

He (Stewart's son, Tony) said his “wonderful father” was renowned for his sense of humour and had never lost that during his illness. “I asked him about his preference for burial or cremation,” he recalled. “He said, ‘Surprise me’.”

[Justin V]

On 8/27/2016 at 5:17 PM, Jim R said:

 

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/jazz-guitarist-louis-stewart-brought-joy-to-many-funeral-told-1.2765925

He (Stewart's son, Tony) said his “wonderful father” was renowned for his sense of humour and had never lost that during his illness. “I asked him about his preference for burial or cremation,” he recalled. “He said, ‘Surprise me’.”

That is a truly great line.  I enjoyed Stewart's playing on George Shearing's That Shearing Sound, but I never got around to checking out his other work.  Thank you for the music, Mr. Stewart, and rest in peace.

[Hardbopjazz]

R.I.P.

[Jim R]

4 hours ago, Justin V said:

I enjoyed Stewart's playing on George Shearing's That Shearing Sound, but I never got around to checking out his other work.

I think you'll find it very rewarding to explore further.  His playing on "That Shearing Sound" is of course a somewhat conservative and limited view of his abilities (although I enjoy the whole Shearing ensemble thing too- in fact I saw the quintet with Louis perform in 1995).  Since you like Shearing, you might want to look for the late-1970's MPS trio recordings with Shearing, Stewart, and N.H.O.P., which are in some ways more lively and exciting than the Shearing quintets.

An example of Louis at full throttle was a CD called "Overdrive", which I would highly recommend if you can still find it.  

There are dozens of nice examples of his live performance work to be found on Youtube also, if one wanted to sample him a bit that way first.