Articles | Popular | Future

CTI on BGO

By Jakob Baekgaard

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The echo of Charles Dickens' famous novel A Tale of Two Cities is suitable to describe the climate of jazz when Creed Taylor launched CTI. It was 1970 and acoustic jazz was in crisis. Following the invasion of rock, it had survived by becoming electric, but the question was if jazz didn't get lost in translation? To Taylor the mission was simple. He wanted to bring jazz into ...

Jim Hall: Live, Now and Then

By Bob Kenselaar

[ This interview was originally published on July 16, 2013. ] Widely acknowledged as one of the most influential guitarists in modern jazz, Jim Hall has had an extraordinary musical career that spans more than half a century. His style is marked not by soaring speed or virtuoso technique but by his explorative artistry in improvisation, his solos' beautiful melodic and harmonic construction and his warm and rich tone. His discography includes more than three dozen ...

The Answer is Jim

By William DeLancey Adamson

The freshening breeze slides off the shadowed slope past the warming land the sand the sapphire bay then smacks the spinnaker with its surging power and suddenly we're flying! through the spray and fiery sun down to Aruba with you Jim on your music Oh I can't get started any more it's no use when I heard your name on the radio today my ...

The Jim Hall Quartet: Live at Birdland

By Victor Verney

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: Concierto

By John Kelman

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

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 ...

All About Jazz Reader Q&A: Jim Hall

By AAJ Staff

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

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 ...

Jim Hall / Bill Frisell: Hemispheres

By John Kelman

The magic that occurs when student meets teacher on equal footing years down the road is rare enough. With Jim Hall--one of the most influential guitarists of the past half century--his spare approach, a reference point for younger guitar icons including John Abercrombie, John Scofield and Pat Metheny, has resulted in more magic than most. Hall and Metheny met successfully on Jim Hall & Pat Metheny (Telarc, 1999) and, while the elder guitarist also met briefly with Bill Frisell on ...

Jim Hall / Bill Frisell: Hemispheres

By Eyal Hareuveni

The first and lasting impression of this full-length collaboration between master and genre-bending guitarists Jim Hall and Bill Frisell is one of relaxed intimacy and indeed, this no-frills approach is one of the strengths of this project. Great affinity between great musician focused on creating music, who have the time and space to establish such rapport, and then share their creative process is the corner stone of fan-friendly label ArtistShare. The result is a much more satisfactory and successful process ...

Jim Hall / Bill Frisell: Hemispheres

By Lyn Horton

Supported by the fan-funded alternative ArtistShare label, the two-disc release Hemispheres is collaboration between guitarists Jim Hall and Bill Frisell, joined by bassist Scott Colley and drummer Joey Barron on disc two. The recording documents how projects evolve when artists pull together without a plan necessarily to create unique product: a perfect recipe for invention.

It goes without saying that Hall and Frisell are masters of their instruments. Each has a specific direction and distinguishing channel in which to thrive. ...

Jim Hall / Bill Frisell: Hemispheres

By Mark F. Turner

Hemispheres is a wonderful collaboration between two esteemed veteran guitarists, Jim Hall and Bill Frisell. Though each has travelled different yet celebrated paths, this is their first full length (double CD) release together. Hall's masterful playing, tempered by a smooth rotund tone, has been appreciated since the 1950s in performances with such names as Chico Hamilton, Ella Fitzgerald and later collaborations with Pat Metheny and Greg Osby. Frisell (a former student of Hall) is considered to be ...