The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I've just heard this for the first time. Jim's on fire!

    Jazz Impressions of Japan (1976)



    Don Thompson Bass, Terry Clarke drums

    1. Light2. Careful3. Kyoto Bells4. Without Words5. Echo6. Young One (For Debra)7. Two Special People8. Something for Now

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  3. #2

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    My favorite, same crew a year earlier


  4. #3

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    There's also 'Live in Tokyo' by the same trio. A little hard to find but worth tracking down.

  5. #4

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    Both of the duet albums with Bill Evans are near the top of my JH list.

  6. #5

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    It's something I've never paid attention to, but a certain well-known jazz guitar player used to have a term for saying that the drummer was getting in the way of his playing.
    He called it 'Terry-Clarke-ing''.
    If a drummer was doing this he'd tell people, "He's Terry Clarke-ing me on my solos."
    Anyone ever notice this?

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgcim
    It's something I've never paid attention to, but a certain well-known jazz guitar player used to have a term for saying that the drummer was getting in the way of his playing.
    He called it 'Terry-Clarke-ing''.
    If a drummer was doing this he'd tell people, "He's Terry Clarke-ing me on my solos."
    Anyone ever notice this?
    Yeah, I love Terry Clarke's drumming with Jim Hall. Hall certainly played with him for a reason and it doesn't seem to get in the way of Hall's playing at all. These players don't need the drummer to spell out the beat and the drummer has much more freedom to be artistic. Only works with very solid players that don't get lost I would think.

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by fep
    Yeah, I love Terry Clarke's drumming with Jim Hall. Hall certainly played with him for a reason and it doesn't seem to get in the way of Hall's playing at all. These players don't need the drummer to spell out the beat and the drummer has much more freedom to be artistic. Only works with very solid players that don't get lost I would think.
    He sounds fine with Ed Bickert, too. Bickert and Hall are way different than this other guy I quoted, so I guess it's just a matter of taste.

  9. #8

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    I first heard parts of Jim's "Concierto" on a jazz radio program in early '76 and was hooked ever since. That album is def. my No.1 , the Duo dates with Bill Evans are a close second.

  10. #9

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    My favorite is probably all across the city, just for the memories, it was an album that really got me into Jim Hall. Undercurrent too!



    I also like his duets with Red Mitchell, i had the transcriptions and went through them... years ago!

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by David B
    There's also 'Live in Tokyo' by the same trio. A little hard to find but worth tracking down.
    I didn't know Jim Hall also released a Live in Tokyo album.

    The Jimmy Raney one is one of my favorites.

  12. #11

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    There's a 3-volume expansion of "Jim Hall Live" from the same set of appearances in Canada.
    It was available from the website Jim Hall as "Jim Hall Live vols 2-4". It was offered by Artist Share, and might be out of print. There are several other Jim Hall albums available from Artist Share as well.

  13. #12

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    Yep, "Jazz Impressions of Japan" is top 3 Jim in my book along with "Jim Hall Live" (the entire box set) and "Live In Tokyo". That 1975-1976 period for Jim was just off the charts! I hope some other bootlegs and/or live recordings surface from this period.

  14. #13

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    I like it when he let’s his hair down…so to speak!

  15. #14

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    I like all the Jim Hall records I have in my collection.
    I always discover something new in them.

  16. #15

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    Not under his leadership but the Paul Desmond quartet recordings are seminal and probably my favorites.
    That said I'll cast a vote for his debut as a leader, "Jazz Guitar" on Pacific Jazz. Very early and nowhere near as sophisticated as his later material but earthy and as swingin as can be....

  17. #16

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    The Complete Paul Desmond/Jim Hall Quartets.

    DG

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by dconeill
    There's a 3-volume expansion of "Jim Hall Live" from the same set of appearances in Canada.
    It was available from the website Jim Hall as "Jim Hall Live vols 2-4". It was offered by Artist Share, and might be out of print. There are several other Jim Hall albums available from Artist Share as well.
    Yeah that entire run at the Bourbon Street starting with Live! beginning the set and Volume 2-4 completing it, is Jim as close to the height of his playing as far as I'm concerned.
    Contender for Jim Hall's best album?-screen-shot-2021-11-12-4-01-15-am-pngContender for Jim Hall's best album?-screen-shot-2021-11-12-4-01-44-am-png
    Each piece is a compositional masterpiece and a model for improvisation and no repeated tunes.
    Oft overlooked is the duo with Red Mitchell, and I'm sorry that it's not more widely recognized. The recording engineer on this recording is also really good; it's got one of the most natural acoustic spaciousness of his recordings.
    Contender for Jim Hall's best album?-screen-shot-2021-11-12-4-03-17-am-pngContender for Jim Hall's best album?-screen-shot-2021-11-12-4-12-55-am-png
    And too, he did a duo with George Shearing I'm particularly fond of. Another collaboration I wish they'd done more of.
    He really was the master of the small group dynamic. Some of my best memories were of live duos he did with bassist Ron Carter. He really shined in a live setting.

  19. #18

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    I hadn’t heard the Red Mitchell album before, but it’s on YouTube. Wow, magnificent.

    Red’s cello tuning on the bass really creates a sympathetic warmth around the guitar: a perfect match.

  20. #19

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    I adore Jim Hall Live with the Canadians but the ones I go back to most often are The Complete Paul Desmond/Jim Hall Quartets. I'm probably way in the minority but I dig an obscure one-of that Jim did with Andre Previn and Itzhak Perlman. Previn composed all of Perlman's solos but everyone else improvised.


  21. #20

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    I love the Jim and Red Mitchell record! That was engineered by David Baker, I think? Jim was extremely generous with introducing me to musicians, luthiers, engineers, etc. I got to work with David on my first CD

    There are also wonderful duo records of Red Mitchell and Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel and Joe Beck, respectively. He really brings out the best in each guitarist. Well worth seeking out.

    While were all here sharing our favorite Jim Hall, here's a lesser known live date from the late 90's that really resonates with me. Check out the clever key change intro on Stella


    PK

  22. #21

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    I don't think I could name a single favorite. The ones I come back to the most are Bossa Antigua (Paul Desmond), Sonny Rollins Featuring Jim Hall – The Complete Quartets, Interplay (Bill Evans), and Undercurrent.

  23. #22

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    My favorite Jim Hall album is whichever one I'm listening to at the moment. He's a unique voice.

  24. #23

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    My favorite recording with Jim Hall is "Glad To Be Unhappy" which was released under Paul Desmond's leadership.

    It's exquisite. It's also the only Jim Hall record I had when I was a teenager learning to play guitar and albums were expensive. I wore it out.

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by paulkogut
    I love the Jim and Red Mitchell record! That was engineered by David Baker, I think? Jim was extremely generous with introducing me to musicians, luthiers, engineers, etc. I got to work with David on my first CD
    It's remarkable how much a good engineer and producer can change the feel of a performance. There's an intimacy in the Red duo that accentuates the feel of movement, air and connection between them. It's a part of why I like that record; I can't get enough of it, sensually.
    One time Jim was in my town recording a live album. He was on Concord then and the engineers had very elaborate medusa-en seas of wires everywhere and very elaborate mixing equipment there. Jim had always let me record for my own recordings so I was curious about how the recordings would come out. Between sets I asked him "Why don't they mic the guitar in any way? The acoustic sound out of that D'Aquisto is such a beautiful sound of air moving. It's what you hear. It's what I hear. It's what you're playing for and it's the sound of your breath."
    He looked around and sure enough, there wasn't a room mic or an air mic anywhere to be seen. Close mic'd amp. That's what they wanted.
    The commercial recording came out and the music is beautiful. But my little recording of him playing that Jimmy D' and the decay of sound that radiates from the wood... that's sheer excitement.
    That's what I heard in Red's session too.
    Maybe I'm the only one who it matters to, but his touch and sound will always be that of an acoustic guitar.

  26. #25

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    Wow, Jimmy, I’m sure we’d all love to hear your recording of that session!