Louis Stewart and Brian Dunning: 'Alone Together,' 1979

On August 15, 16 and 17 in 1979, Irish jazz guitarist Louis Stewart and flutist Brian Dunning performed three sold-out lunchtime concerts at Dublin’s Peacock Theatre. We now have Alone Together, the remastered recording in crystal clear audio from Livia Records, Ireland’s first jazz label. [Photo of Louis Stewart and Brian Dunning on stage at Dublin’s Peacock Theatre]

]Just the two of them were on stage—no piano, bass or drums. Which means Stewart would not only have to play rhythm guitar but also fill space with chords and bass lines. He pulled this off masterfully, and Dunning played beautiful melodies on top.

Born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1944, Stewart began playing the guitar at age 13. Most influenced by Barney Kessel and Les Paul, Stewart won the Montreux Jazz Festival’s most outstanding soloist in 1968. He then spent three years touring with Benny Goodman. His first LP as a leader was Louis the First, recorded in 1975. Stewart, an ardent JazzWax reader, died in 2016 at age 72.

Born in 1951, Dunning was a gifted flutist who studied with James Galway. In 1977, he studied at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. A member of the Irish band Nightnoise since 1987, Dunning performed on the movie soundtracks of Gangs of New York, Windhorse and The Outcasts. He died in February 2022 at age 70.

The tracks:

• There Will Never Be Another You

• Windows

• Definitely Doctored

• Inner Urge

• Israel

• Alone Together

• Triste

• Donna Lee

• Someday My Prince Will Come (bonus)

• West Coast Blues (bonus)

Both musicians were hard swingers and exceptional, poetic improvisers. They could make you tear up playing a ballad and they played in unison on break-neck paced tunes. As you will hear on this album, they gelled neatly, filling each song with lyrical soul and breathtaking technique.

You’ll find Alone Together (Livia Records) here.

Here’s Israel…

And here’s Triste…