I Thought About You is a major remixed, remastered, and extended release of Irish jazz guitar master Louis Stewart’s 1977 quartet album with the English pianist John Taylor and the American rhythm team of bassist Sam Jones and drummer Billy Higgins.
Recorded when Louis was working with Ronnie Scott’s house band (as was John Taylor), the session coincided with pianist Cedar Walton’s quartet’s stint at Scott’s London club. Walton’s sidemen Sam Jones and Billy Higgins so impressed Louis, that he invited them to record with him and John Taylor.
Originally released in 1980 with some edits and overdubs, this enhanced re-issue uses the original London masters and adds two extra tracks. The tunes are mainly by then contemporary artists (Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Thelonious Monk, Sam Jones, Jimmy Heath etc.) plus one standard. With superb trio accompaniment, the result is possibly Louis Stewart’s best studio recording.
Sunday Times critic Derek Jewell: “… a musician to be spoken of in the same league as Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, or, among contemporary virtuosos, Joe Pass.”
Ronnie Scott: “In my book he’s one of the world’s great jazz guitarists”
DownBeat Magazine: “must be considered one of the instrument’s world class players”.
Remixing and Mastering I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU:
I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU was recorded on 18th March 1977 in London’s Olympic Studios on 2” tape, which captured tracks for each of the instruments. In 1978, Louis Stewart brought a 1⁄4” copy of the tapes back to Dublin and decided to record some alternate solos on some tracks, which were used with the first release of the album in 1980, though the reason for doing this remains unclear. This hybrid’s combination of two tape sources didn’t work well.
Restoring the album, nearly 50 years after it was recorded, required digitisation of the original two-inch studio tapes, which had been in a lock-up for 20 years. Digitization by FX Labs in London revealed an alternate version of November Girl and Miles Davis’s All Blues. The 1⁄4” overdub tapes were also digitised but not used due to their poorer quality sound and the impossible task of making them work well with the original 2” masters.
Seán Mac Erlaine remixed and remastered to create the best version of the album for re-release.
Tracklist:
1. I Thought About You (Van Heusen/Mercer) [05:35]
2. Litha (Chick Corea) [07:17]
3. Smiling Billy (Jimmy Heath) [09:55]
4. Unit 7 (Sam Jones) [05:42]
5. November Girl (Boland/Woode) [08:44]
6. Straight No Chaser (Thelonious Monk) [06:01]
7. All Blues (Miles Davis) [08:20] *
8. November Girl – Alt (Boland/Woode [06:30] *
* = CD and download only
