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If you had to pick, let's say, 3 to 5 solos that perfectly capture Jim Hall's style/sound/approach to improvising, what would they be and why? Writing an end-of-semester paper about Jim and I want to feature some recordings, wanted to get multiple opinions. Some I would choose from are as follows:
"The Bridge" to show how he plays on very fast tunes
"Scrapple" from the live album to show how he plays bebop tunes
Kind of stuck on a ballad since there are SO many great recordings out there
I'd love to hear what y'all think!
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12-02-2024 06:39 PM
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St. Thomas with Ron Carter.
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A ballad played solo might tick both boxes:
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“I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” with Bill Evans. He improvises a whole new head. And check out his comping when Bill Evans solos: magnifique!
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I had this whole thread going a while back where I transcribed all the solos off Jazz Guitar for a workshop I was teaching:
Jim Hall “Jazz Guitar”
As for my pick … probably Tangerine from Jazz Guitar. It smokes, he plays bebop, he plays blues, it’s super rhythmic and sparse through most of it …. so many Jim-isms in it. And it’s also concise, which is very Jim.
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One guy I knew at college played that whole solo, and he wound up dying from a heart condition in his 20s.
Originally Posted by AllanAllen
Pretty clear cause and effect right there...
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Angel Eyes from Jim Hall Live for its musicality, melodic development of motifs, combination of single notes and chords and overall-excellence.
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His solos on “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” (Concierto) and “I Hear A Rhapsody” (Undercurrent) are two of my favorites.
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For a ballad I'd say "Autumn Leaves" with Ron Carter, maybe also "Embraceable You" Originally Posted by jcbgtr
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This was destined to be a wholly unhelpful thread that would lead to an excellent day of listening.
Too many wicked solos to choose from.
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The 5 songs on Jim Hall "Live".
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Sonny Rollins on Jim Hall "Jim is the class of his instrument. His playing never fails to inspire me."
(The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins, p. 145
His Scrapple from the live album was the first tune came to my mind.
Something completely different, with Lee Konitz:
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"With A Song In My Heart" from These Rooms
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Update: I got a 93 on the paper! I didn’t talk about specific tunes as much as I did records, namely The Bridge, Undercurrent, Jazz Guitar, Live, Alone Together, and Powers of Three (with Petrucciani and Shorter)
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So many of his solos take you on a melodic journey. I love his work on "I Get A Kick Out Of You" with Paul Desmond!
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This thread inspired me so I was listening to Jim Hall Live! in my car yesterday, thinking which tunes I would pick, but the thing that struck wasn't just his solos, it was the way he played the heads! Infinitely creative, playful, and not just a straight up melody statement.
BTW, you all know that the bassist Ron Thompson recorded this album on his own gear? And recorded all of four nights of music? And that volumes 2, 3, and 4 were released as a limited set in 2012? They're my favorite jazz guitar recording of all time. Hall does a take on "Fly to the Moon" that is mind blowing, definitely not the tired old standard we all know.
Jim Hall Live 2 - 4
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Don Thompson. He managed to play bass like that *and* manage recording. Yeah, all those recordings were done "live from the stage." And what a trove it is! I was so delighted when the boxed set of Vols 2-4 came out. I think DT was also responsible for the live Paul Desmond-Ed Bickert recordings, too. Some of those were released back in the day and the rest in the Mosaic boxed set. Wonderful music featuring two of my favorite guitarists.
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Came here to say this Originally Posted by AndyV
also - too bookmark this thread !
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A common misconception about J H is that he was not a "fast " player... Originally Posted by BMoore
Wonderful! thx for posting....
S
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