A Tribute to Paul Desmond and Jim Hall

Between 1959 and 1965, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond and guitarist Jim Hall (both above) recorded six quartet albums together that are still among jazz's most elegant small-group recordings. These albums are First Place Again (recorded in 1959), Easy Living (1963-'65), Take Ten (1963), Glad to Be Unhappy (1964), Bossa Antigua (1964) and Desmond Blue (1962), which featured Desmond and Hall framed by a larger group. Their first album was on Warner Bros., produced by Bob Prince, and the rest were on RCA, produced by George Avakian.

When I interviewed Jim Hall in 2010, I asked him how he and Desmond managed to be so in sync, creatively. Jim said, “The closeness comes through on recordings because we liked and admired each other so much." It really is an inhale-exhale kind of marriage, with one feeling and feeding off the other's musical ideas. Desmond's melodic alto saxophone wanders purposefully on songs with Jim's jagged counterpoint creating tension and release.

Now, the Conversation Trio, with Bruce Abbott as a special guest on alto saxophone, has recorded For Paul & Jim, an album that pays tribute to the Desmond-Hall Quartet. The group—Abbott, Mitch Seidman on guitar, Jerry Wilfong on bass and Paul Mason on drums recorded eight tracks that contain the original spirit and sound of the group.

• Alone Together, Embarcadero and Take Ten are from Take Ten
• Wendy is from Desmond's famed Live album in Toronto in 1975, with Ed Bickert on guitar
• The Way You Look Tonight is from Desmond's Two of a Mind (1962), with Gerry Mulligan and no guitar
• Samba Cantina is from Bossa Antigua
• Tricotism wasn't covered by Desmond or Jim, together or apart
• Rude Old Man is from Easy Living

Bruce plays with Desmond's dry, high-register sound that's so infectious while Mitch plays with Hall's chord voicings and ringing tones. Jerry's bass pulsates beautifully and Paul's makes fine use of the snare on drums. My only quibble is that the group chose not to cover songs on all six of the Desmond-Hall albums and included three outliers. I wish they had at least covered Any Other Time or Stranger in Town from Glad to Be Unhappy and the title track from Bossa Antigua. These three are, in my opinion, the finest expressions by this group, and those two albums are absolutely perfect. 

But this is a gripe of love, since the Conversation featuring Bruce Abbott is so in the groove and marvelous throughout. These seasoned Massachusetts musicians are superb. I only wish Jim was around to hear them. If so, I know he would have loved to have appeared on a song or two with Mitch.

Paul Desmond died in 1977; Jim Hall died in 2013.

JazWax tracks: You'll find the Conversation's download-only album For Paul & Jim: Celebrating the Paul Desmond/Jim Hall Quartet here.

JazzWax tracks: Here's Alone Together...



And here's Embarcadero...