Jazz Articles about Jim Hall

The Jim Hall Quartet: Live at Birdland

by Victor Verney
January 9, 2013

Guitarist Jim Hall, now in his eighth decade, continues to be a vigorous performer, fresh-minded arranger and creative composer. He's been around so long, and done so much, that it's humbling to try writing something fresh about him: there is little to say that hasn't already been said, and in many cases quite eloquently. A Google search turns up a lengthy list of well-chosen adjectives: subtle, fluid, daring, poetic, empathetic, graceful, economical, experimental, intuitive, inquisitive. Many reviewers ...

Jim Hall - Joey Baron: Conversations

by AAJ Italy Staff
February 14, 2011

Magnifici gli 80 anni di Jim Hall, indomito nel proporre musiche audaci, lontane dai clichè. In Conversations coinvolge l'amico e partner Joey Baron per un'esplorazione assai sofisticata della formula corde e percussioni. Chi frequenta la musica di Hall sa che il chitarrista predilige i toni sfuggenti, allusivi, rifiutando a priori l'enfasi e i toni declamatori. Anche a costo di apparire talvolta distaccato, privo di quel calore espressivo richiesto ad un performer. Ma Hall cattura progressivamente, dall'alto di una sapienza armonica ...

Jim Hall: Concierto

by John Kelman
February 3, 2011

Amongst the many CTI classics of the 1970s, few stand the test of time as well as guitarist Jim Hall's Concierto, an ambitious album that, in its original form, married one side of modern mainstream with a second taken up by a 19-minute version of Joaquin Rodrigo's 1939 piece for classical guitar and orchestra, “Concierto de Aranjuez." That Miles Davis and Gil Evans had already delivered what was considered the definitive jazz adaptation on the trumpeter's 1960 classic, Sketches of ...

Jim Hall & Joey Baron: Conversations

by Dan Bilawsky
November 25, 2010

The art of the duo is nothing new to guitar legend Jim Hall. His one-on-one encounters with bassist Ron Carter have been wowing jazz fans for decades. More recent mano a mano musical encounters with equally sublime artists, like pianist Geoffrey Keezer, and guitarist Bill Frisell, have produced works that challenge but, ultimately, remain largely listenable. Conversations--Hall's studio encounter with drummer Joey Baron--ultimately, falls into the same general category. The fifteen tracks here are an odd, yet endearing, mishmash of ...

Jim Hall - Bill Frisell: Hemispheres

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 30, 2009

Per Jim Hall quello del duo è stato un formato musicale praticato assiduamente negli anni, anche se quasi mai con altri chitarristi, ma preferendo generalmente pianisti e contrabbassisti (memorabili gli incontri con Bill Evans e Ron Carter). Solo in anni recenti ha cominciato a frequentare altri specialisti della sei corde, dapprima timidamente (nell'album Dialogues con Bill Frisell e Mike Stern, con la presenza di una sezione ritmica), poi sempre più decisamente, realizzando un intero CD in duo con Pat Metheny, ...

All About Jazz Reader Q&A: Jim Hall

by AAJ Staff
March 16, 2009

This article first appeared in November 1998. Questions were gathered from All About Jazz Bulletin Board members. From: Ken Brown Did you or do you now have a daily structure to your guitar practice? If so, how do you structure the different possible topics?

JH: My practice --since time is limited--is usually very specific (e.g. the pieces I'm currently performing), and includes “speed improvement" and “ear-stretching" stuff--whatever that means to you.

From: Ken ...

Jim Hall: The Elegant Guitarist

by R.J. DeLuke
March 16, 2009

There's good news and better news for the many fans of guitar great Jim Hall--counted among them a number of established guitarists who are, themselves, eminent. It would be hard to find a guitarist who doesn't look up to Hall and whose playing has not been influenced by him in some way. Players relish Hall's rich sound--the interesting melodic and harmonic ideas, the way he lets music breathe, the phrasing. The good news is that his most recent recording, the ...