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 ��lan. 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