Did Jim Hall ever record totally solo?

**Matt Milton** · 07-10-2020, 08:19 AM

Am I right in thinking Jim Hall never recorded a solo album? By which I mean, a completely unacompanied solo album?
Are there any totally solo tracks of his on any of his albums?

**mr. beaumont** · 07-10-2020, 08:23 AM

Dedications and Inspirations is a record you should seek out. It's not all truly "solo," as some tunes are double tracked, but its Jim by himself and doing some really interesting stuff.

**lawson-stone** · 07-10-2020, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by Matt Milton

Am I right in thinking Jim Hall never recorded a solo album? By which I mean, a completely unacompanied solo album?
Are there any totally solo tracks of his on any of his albums?

He has a haunting solo performance of "Something Tells Me" on his "Jazz Guitar Environments" book/cd set. Otherwise, that tune is usually ensemble. But it's beautiful on that set if you can find it. Bonus is the transcription in the book.

**grahambop** · 07-10-2020, 09:03 AM

This album has this one solo track:

**grahambop** · 07-10-2020, 10:31 AM

**clebergf** · 07-10-2020, 01:36 PM

I love this video!

**neatomic** · 07-10-2020, 01:54 PM

jim hall has 2 guitar tracks on It's Nice To Be With You: Jim Hall In Berlin...where he overdubs his own guitar..but with no other accompaniment

you one (for debra) was written by hall for his daughter

the other is a cover of in a sentimental mood

a great lp over all...and the last tour to feature him on his iconic es-175 thru gibson ga 50 amp

cheers

**sgcim** · 07-10-2020, 04:55 PM

When I went through my Jim Hall phase years ago, I picked up just about everything I could find by JH, and the closest thing I could find to an entire album of Hall playing without a bass player or horn player was the album "Lee Schaefer: A Girl and a Guitar". An entire record of just Hall and the vocalist.

A good, but morbid way to hear Hall play solo back in the 90s was at Memorials at St. Peter's in NYC.
At Jimmy Raney's Memorial, he played a solo version of Skylark, which I thought was specially dedicated to Raney, but he also played it for someone else (Atilla Zoller?), so I guess it was his go-to solo tune.
Hall's style, like Bill Evans' is based off of using rootless voicings, and that doesn't make for good solo playing. Evans eventually developed a great solo style, but his early solo LPs were just for quick junk money.

**Matt Milton** · 07-10-2020, 05:10 PM

Originally Posted by clebergf

I love this video!

That's quite savage, in its own tweed jacket and tie kind of way! Nice

**Matt Milton** · 07-10-2020, 05:21 PM

This has now sent me off down a 'listening to different Jim Hall recordings of 'Careful'' rabbit-hole.
This one is very much not a solo recording, but what a FANTASTIC recording it is...

**grahambop** · 07-10-2020, 05:59 PM

Jim Hall plays a nice solo introduction to Skylark here:

**Flat** · 07-10-2020, 11:55 PM

Does anyone know the story behind Careful? I got to see Jim a few times.

One time he talked about Careful before he played it, and how the chord progression moved, or made some unusual modulation, and how if you weren't careful, you'd end up playing it wrong...and that's why he called it Careful.

The theory was bit over my head. Anybody know the story?

Great video, btw. A creative savage in a tweed jacket, indeed!

**dot75** · 07-11-2020, 05:14 AM

Originally Posted by Flat

Does anyone know the story behind Careful? I got to see Jim a few times.

One time he talked about Careful before he played it, and how the chord progression moved, or made some unusual modulation, and how if you weren't careful, you'd end up playing it wrong...and that's why he called it Careful.

The theory was bit over my head. Anybody know the story?

Great video, btw. A creative savage in a tweed jacket, indeed!

I thought it was a 16 bar tune you had to be careful not to turn into 12 bars ?

Disclaimer : Haven't hear it for a while / had my morning coffee...

**Flat** · 07-11-2020, 01:37 PM

I think that was it! Thanks, dot75!

**sgcim** · 07-11-2020, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by dot75

I thought it was a 16 bar tune you had to be careful not to turn into 12 bars ?

Disclaimer : Haven't hear it for a while / had my morning coffee...

Because it's a blues, it's easy to fall into a 12 bar blues instead of a 16 bar blues, Like Soft Winds.

**sgcim** · 07-11-2020, 04:32 PM

Another beautiful example of JH playing solo guitar is his playing of the melody of Django on the Jazz Abstractions album. Some beautiful use of inner voices.

**Sam Sherry** · 07-11-2020, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by sgcim

Another beautiful example of JH playing solo guitar is his playing of the melody of Django on the Jazz Abstractions album. Some beautiful use of inner voices.

**neatomic** · 07-12-2020, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

intonation is slightly wonky..but you can really hear that flatwound thunk

really the first modern player...had such a great ear

cheers

**GTRMan** · 07-12-2020, 04:45 PM

I'm not familiar with his total body of work, only some of it. I followed him pretty closely for a few years. Saw him play totally solo one night at a club.

After seeing and hearing Joe Pass play solo jazz guitar it was pretty difficult not to compare Jim to Joe (or anybody to Joe for that matter). Let's just say that I don't think it was Jim's bag.

His duo work with Ron Carter was pretty strong though. That say's a lot.

**neatomic** · 07-12-2020, 06:23 PM

check out his two albums of duos with bill evans....piano/guitar duo's are another level...easy for a guitar and bass to keep out of each others way... piano-guitar is way more tricky...takes EARS!