WAX ON | Louis Stewart

The revolutionary records and iconic artists that shaped jazz.

WAX ON is both a listening party, placing the needle in the groove of a collection of favourite jazz albums, as well as an intimate space for story-telling and reflections.

This WAX ON event will focus on the life and music of the singular Irish jazz guitarist, Louis Stewart.

A native of Waterford, Stewart's professional career began at the age of 16 when he joined the Chris Lamb Showband in Cork, but by the age of 20 he had committed himself exclusively to jazz, and his fluency in the complex language of be-bop became quickly apparent.

He had a remarkable international career spanning six decades, rising to prominence in 1960s, winning successive awards at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival, including the offer a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston – an offer which he never took up. He decided instead to settle in Dublin to raise his family, while his international trajectory continued. He performed with many of jazz greats, including legendary US band-leader Benny Goodman and the great English pianist, George Shearing.

Throughout the 1970s, Stewart was a regular in the Ronnie Scott quintet, playing almost nightly in the saxophonist's eponymous Soho club, where his playing attracted the attention of some of the leading jazz musicians of the day. Among the guitarists who admired Stewart's playing were US jazz giants such as Jim Hall and Joe Pass.

Stewart achieved what no other Irish jazz musician before or since has managed – to become one of the most respected players of his instrument in the world. The first Irish jazz musician of international stature, he was rightly revered by successive generations of guitarists and is undoubtedly responsible for the preponderance of that instrument in Irish jazz today.

Moderated by Irish Times music critic Cormac Larkin, with a panel of jazz aficionados, WAX ON brings the audience on an intimate journey through the life and recordings of some of the most influential and important artists of the jazz genre.

Venue: The Vintage Room upstairs in The Workman's Club, Dublin.
Doors: 6.30pm for 7pm start
Tickets: €11.20 online | €12 on the door