Jazz Articles about Jim Hall

Jim Hall: Magic Meeting

by Jerry D'Souza
April 21, 2005

This is the first time that Jim Hall, Scott Colley, and Lewis Nash have played together, but their Magic Meeting has a sheer magnetism that draws them into an orbit that spins around some compelling musicianship. Time has not effaced the spell that Hall can conjure on the guitar, and he does his magic once again. Colley and Nash are as spellbinding on this live recording at the Village Vanguard.

Most of the tunes are excursions in calm. ...

Jim Hall: Magic Meeting

by John Kelman
October 12, 2004

Some artists use an onslaught of sound to envelope the listener; others use quiet to draw them in. It's interesting how even in a conventionally noisy club, when a compelling artist plays at a low level the audience seems to naturally quieten down, sitting on the edges of the seats and leaning forward to better hear what is going on. Such is the case with guitarist Jim Hall, one of the most soft-spoken artists in jazz and, arguably, one of ...

A Fireside Chat with Jim Hall

by AAJ Staff
February 21, 2004

Ignore the robust tone of Sonny Rollins tenor on “God Bless the Child" (The Bridge ) and you will hear the subtle elegance of Jim Hall. The man is class. The guitarist appears on one classic after another. The short list is as follows: Stan Getz's Cool Velvet, Ella Fitzgerald's Ella in Berlin (the one where she ad-libs “Mack the Knife"), Ornette Coleman's Science Fiction Sessions, and a virtual laundry list of Paul Desmond dates. I lament that Hall's name ...

Jim Hall: Live!

by Joshua Weiner
January 7, 2004

Jim Hall is our greatest living jazz guitarist, and probably one of our greatest jazz musicians, regardless of instrument, to boot. So why, despite being widely acclaimed by jazz aficionados, is he not exactly a household name? It probably has to do with his innately self-effacing demeanor, both on and off the bandstand. Beginning in the late 50's and continuing on through the 60's, Hall worked as a sideman, albeit one who was often essentially a “co-leader", with Jimmy Giuffre, ...

Jim Hall

by AAJ Staff
November 29, 2003

Submitted on behalf of Riel Lazarus Over the course of his near 50 years in jazz, there is little ground guitarist Jim Hall has not yet covered. From his stints as sideman for Chico Hamilton, Jimmy Giuffre, Sonny Rollins and Art Farmer, to his countless recordings and tours as leader, Hall has established himself as a veritable jazz institution. And yet despite the breadth of his past exploits, Hall remains as dynamic and productive a player, composer ...

Jimmy Giuffre 3: The Easy Way

by Joshua Weiner
October 14, 2003

Jimmy Giuffre's jazz has got to be among the sparsest ever laid down; you can see a whole lot of daylight between the notes. But the sketch-like quality of his music belies a quiet intensity that has an almost hypnotic attraction. This is not jazz that jumps out at you and grabs you by the lapels. It is, rather, jazz that trickles out in droplets, coalescing into music midway between the eardrum and the subconscious. For those who have come ...

Jim Hall: Live!

by David Rickert
July 25, 2003

Jim Hall was a sideman on countless sessions with jazz notables--Sonny Rollins and Bill Evans to name but two--yet his work as a leader remains largely unreissued. This makes the reappearance of this 1976 live recording a real treat for jazz guitar fans, for whom Hall is one of the greatest and most imitated legends.

Hall always approached performance with a strong sense of composition and melody and, with the sparse backing of bass and drums, his talents come to ...