Jim Hall

James Stanley Hall December 4 1930 – December 10 2013 Was An American Jazz Guitarist Composer And Arranger. Born In Buffalo New York Before Moving To Cleveland Ohio Hall Was From A Musical Family His Mother Played The Piano His Grandfather Violin And His Uncle Guitar. He Began Playing The Guitar At Age Ten When His Mother Gave Him An Instrument As A Christmas Present. As A Teenager In Cleveland He Performed Professionally And Also Took Up The Double Bass. Hall's Major Influences Since Childhood Were Tenor Saxophonists Coleman Hawkins Lester Young Paul Gonsalves And Lucky Thompson. While He Copied Out Solos By Guitarist Charlie Christian And Later Barney Kessel It Was Horn Players From Which He Took A Lead.
In 1955 Hall Attended The Cleveland Institute Of Music Where He Studied Piano And Bass In Addition To Theory. About A Year Later He Moved To Los Angeles Where Cool Jazz Was Prominent At The Time. He Focused On Classical Guitar And From 1955 To 1956 Played In Chico Hamilton's Quintet. It Was At This Time That He Began To Gain Attention.
In The Jimmy Giuffre Three Hall Developed Some Of His Own Personal Musical Preferences Including "challenging Arrangements And Interactive Improvisation In Duos And Trios." He Taught At The Lenox School Of Jazz In 1959 Toured With Jazz At The Philharmonic And Worked With Ben Webster 1959 Bill Evans 1959 Paul Desmond 1959–65 Ella Fitzgerald In Europe 1960 Lee Konitz 1960–61 Sonny Rollins 1961-2 1964 And Art Farmer 1962-1964 . Working With All Of These Prominent And Established Artists Furthered Hall's Career And Aided In Producing His Own Bands And Own Styles.
By 1960 Hall Was Living In New York. In 1962 He Led A Trio With Tommy Flanagan And Ron Carter—with The Addition Of Red Mitchell In 1965. Furthermore He Landed A Gig Playing With Bill Berry Bob Brookmeyer Benny Powell Art Davis And Jake Hanna As A House Band For The Merv Griffin Show On Television. Most Notably He Arranged And Recorded Duos With Evans And Carter Which Allowed His Complex Arrangements And Improvisations To Shine.
Hall Had Incredible Improvisational Ability And Creativity. He Was An Arranger As Much As An Artist Known For Developing Motives And Using Blues Inflections. These Characteristics Are Showcased In His 1975 Album Jim Hall Live! With Don Thompson And Terry Clarke. Around This Time He Also Recorded With Pianist George Shearing And Classical Violinist Itzhak Perlman. He Further Continued Creating Music With Mitchell And Ron Carter Until 1985. In The 1990s Hall Continued To Tour And Record All Over The World. His Sidemen Included Drummers Billy Stewart And Andy Watson Steve LaSpina Bass Players Scott Colley And Gil Goldstein From 1985 To 1993 And Keyboardist Larry Goldings. At Times Hall Included Chris Potter On The Tenor Saxophone. These Players Are Featured On Hall's Video Master Sessions With Jim Hall From 1993. Hall Appeared As A Guest Soloist In Michel Petrucciani's Trio With Wayne Shorter In 1986 And Performed At The Village Vanguard With Bill Frisell. In 1990 He Hosted The JVC Jazz Festival New York Which Also Featured Pat Metheny And John Scofield. After This He Played A Number Of Duo Concerts With Metheny. In 1994 Hall Recorded A Completely Solo Album. Furthermore In 1996 He Returned To Europe To Lead A Quartet With Joe Lovano.
In 1997 Hall Received The New York Jazz Critics Award For Best Jazz Composer/Arranger Which Was A Very Important Milestone In His Career. His Pieces For String Brass And Vocal Ensembles Can Be Heard On His Textures And By Arrangement Recordings. His Original Composition "Quartet Plus Four" A Piece For Jazz Quartet Featuring The Zapolski String Quartet Was Debuted In Denmark Where He Was Awarded The Jazzpar Prize.
His Last Orchestral Composition Was A Concerto For Guitar And Orchestra Commissioned By Towson University In Maryland For The First World Guitar Congress Which Was Debuted In June 2004 With The Baltimore Symphony. He Was Awarded An NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship Award In January 2004. Hall Was One Of The First Artists To Join The Fan-Funded Label ArtistShare And Released Magic Meeting In 2005. In November 2008 The Double Album Hemispheres Was Released Through ArtistShare Featuring Fellow Guitarist And Former Student Bill Frisell 6 With Scott Colley Bass And Joey Baron Drums .
Hall Performed In A Project Titled The Live Project Where He Shared His Music Making Process Through ArtistShare As Well As Interviews With Other Musicians About His Lasting Influence. In 2010 Hall And Baron Recorded A Duo Album Which Listeners Can View On The Recording Coming To Life. In 2012 At The Age Of 81 Hall Had Gigs At The Blue Note In New York City And At A Number Of Jazz Festivals In The US As Well As In Europe.
Hall Died In His Sleep In His Placesplit Manhattan /placesplit New York Apartment On December 10 2013. Hall's Musical Style Develops With Every New Album And Collaboration He Engages In. His Approach To Music Is Unique - He Views Music As A Way To Break All Barriers Not Limited To Music As Well As To Share His Discoveries With Others. Music Is A Vehicle Of Peace For Hall And He Therefore Makes It A Goal To Reach Out To Others And Communicate His Music Teaching Seminars All Over The World. He Is Innovative And Always Interested In New Modes Of Musical Expression To Further His Ability.
Hall's Tone Has Been Described As Mellow Warm Gentle Subtle Rich And Lightly Amplified. Unlike Other Musicians Hall's Work Is Not Necessarily Recognized By A Signature Riff But Rather His Expressive Capabilities. As An Arranger His Solos Are Aptly Constructed Taking Into Account Harmonic Melodic And Rhythmic Elements. They Are Composed With Both Feeling And Technique With Clarity As The Ultimate Goal.
Hall Was Especially Innovative With Instrumentation Mixing Classical With Jazz By Adding Violinist Itzhak Perlman Into The Mix. Furthermore In 1957 He Played In A Trio With Saxophonist Jimmy Giuffre And Trombonist Bob Brookmeyer Without Any Rhythm Section. Without Piano Bass Or Drums The Three Musicians Improvise At The Same Time Keeping Rhythm Themselves. Similar To Duke Ellington The Other Artists On The Record Influence The Composition And He Creates Music To Showcase Their Talents As Well. Furthermore He Is Always Open To What Is New And What Others Are Playing Including The Guitar Synthesizer. Jim Hall "I'm Not Sure I Have What's Called A Style But I Have An Approach To Music An Attitude To Consciously Allow Myself To Grow. I Don't Like To Be Boxed In Or Labeled As Having To Do With Any Certain Period Of Jazz Music Or Music In General." Silence Is As Much A Part Of Hall's Music As Is Sound. Intimate Settings Such As Smaller Clubs Showcase This Strength. Hall "carefully Chooses A Few Notes Instead One After Another And Placed Them With The Care Of Someone Setting An Elegant Table." Although Hall Is Generally A Leader His Excellent Listening Skills Allow Him To Aid Other Musicians Harmonically When Required And Staying Silent When Needed. Everyone Is Equal In Hall's Groups He Explains "each One Of These Guys Is A Creative Growing Musician And I Treat Them That Way."
Exemplifying Hall's Musical Technique Is His Collaboration With Guitarist Pat Metheny 1990 . The Duo Met Thirty Years Previous When Guitarist Attila Zoller Brought 15-Year-Old Metheny To The Guitar A Club Where Hall And Bassist Carter Had A Standing Position.
"Jim Is Father Of Modern Jazz Guitar To Me He’s The Guy Who Invented A Conception That Has Allowed Guitar To Function In A Lot Of Musical Situations That Just Weren't Thought Of As A Possibility Prior To His Emergence As A Player. He Reinvented What The Guitar Could Be As A Jazz Instrument... Jim Transcends The Instrument... The Meaning Behind The Notes Is What Speaks To People." - Pat Metheny Because Of His Desire For Spontaneity And Emphasis On Communication With Other Musicians And Others Hall Preferred Live Venues. However Metheny Is The Opposite So The Album Contains Pieces Recorded Live And In The Studio. Reflecting Hall's Broad Musical Tendencies This Album Contains Originals By Him Metheny Mutual Friends Steve Swallow And Zoller And Two Standards. Hall And Metheny's Expertise And Virtuosity Allowed For Much Improvisation Usually Spurred By Mood Which Lead To Different Compositions "at Times Acoustic Soft Reverential Melodic Cacophonous Outlandish Humorous And Upbeat."
Hall Changed The Way Jazz Guitar Sounded With His Innovation Composition And Improvisation. Apart From Metheny He Influenced Other Contemporary Artists Such As Frisell Mick Goodrick John Scofield And John Abercrombie. Hall Always Used An Extremely Simple Approach Regarding His Instruments. In The Early Stages Of His Career Playing With Chico Hamilton He Used A Gibson Les Paul Custom. From That Period On He Has Been Associated With The Gibson ES-175 Guitar. This Guitar Originally With A Single P90 Pickup Was Used With A Gibson GA50 Amplifier. He Then Switched To A Humbucking Pickup Before Acquiring A Custom Made D'Aquisto Guitar. After The GA50 He Started Using Solid-State Amplifiers Mostly Polytones Although He Also Used Walter Woods Amp And Harry Kolbe GP-1 Pre-Amp And Cab . He Also Used His Signature Sadowsky Guitar Based On His Original D'Aquisto.
He Used Flatwound Strings Gauges 11 15 20 Unwound 30 40 50 From High E To Low E And Small Teardrop Picks Of Heavy Gauge. Hall Sometimes Used A Boss Chorus Pedal And A Digitech Whammy Pedal.
When Asked If He Ever Tried Playing Solid-Body Guitars Again He Said "solid Bodies Are Strange To Me I Need To Feel The Body Resonating". Discography As Leader
Jazz Guitar Pacific Jazz 1957 It's Nice To Be With You MPS Records 1969 Where Would I Be? Milestone 1971 Alone Together Milestone 1972 - With Ron Carter
Concierto With Chet Baker And Paul Desmond CTI 1975 Live! Verve 1975 Live In Tokyo Paddle Wheel 1976 Commitment A&M 1976 Jim Hall And Red Mitchell Duo Recorded Live At Sweet Basil Artists House 1978 Big Blues With Art Farmer CTI 1978 Circles Concord 1981 Studio Trieste CTI 1982 Telephone With Ron Carter Concord 1985 Power Of Three With Michel Petrucciani And Wayne Shorter Blue Note 1986 Jim Hall's Three With Steve La Spina And Akira Tana Concord 1986 These Rooms Denon 1988 All Across The City Concord 1989 Live At Town Hall Vols. 1 & 2 Music Masters 1990 Subsequently Music Masters 1991 Youkali CTI 1993 Something Special Inner City 1993 Dedications & Inspirations Telarc 1993 Dialogues Telarc 1995 Live At The Village West With Ron Carter Concord 1995 Textures Telarc 1996 Panorama Live At The Village Vanguard Telarc 1997 By Arrangement Telarc 1998 Jim Hall & Pat Metheny Telarc 1999 Grand Slam Live At The Regatta Bar With Joe Lovano Telarc 2000 Jim Hall & Basses Telarc 2001 Duologues With Enrico Pieranunzi Cam Jaz 2004 Magic Meeting With Scott Colley And Lewis Nash ArtistShare 2005 Free Association With Geoffrey Keezer ArtistShare 2006 Hemispheres With Bill Frisell Joey Baron And Scott Colley ArtistShare 2008 Conversations With Joey Baron ArtistShare 2010 Live At Birdland With Joey Baron Greg Osby Steve Laspina ArtistShare 2013 Live! Vol. 2-4 With Don Thompson And Terry Clarke ArtistShare 2013 As Sideman A.O. With Manny Albam
Jazz Goes To The Movies Impulse! 1962 With Bob Brookmeyer
Street Swingers Disques Vogue 1957 With Gary Burton
Something's Coming! RCA 1963 With Ornette Coleman
Broken Shadows Columbia 1972 1982 With Paul Desmond
First Place Again! Warner Bros 1959 Desmond Blue RCA Victor 1961 Late Lament RCA Victor 1962 Two Of A Mind Also With Gerry Mulligan RCA Victor 1962 Take Ten RCA Victor 1963 Glad To Be Unhappy RCA Victor 1964 Easy Living RCA Victor 1965 With Bill Evans
Interplay Riverside 1962 Undercurrent Blue Note 1963 Intermodulation Verve 1966 Loose Blues Milestone 1982 Recorded 1962 With Art Farmer
Listen To Art Farmer And The Orchestra Mercury 1962 Interaction Atlantic 1963 Live At The Half-Note Atlantic 1963 To Sweden With Love Atlantic 1964 With Ella Fitzgerald
Ella In Berlin Mack The Knife Verve 1960 With The Kronos Quartet
Music Of Bill Evans Savoy Jazz 1986 With Jimmy Giuffre
The Jimmy Giuffre 3 Atlantic 1957 Trav'lin' Light Atlantic 1958 The Four Brothers Sound Atlantic 1958 Western Suite Atlantic 1958 The Easy Way Verve 1959 The Train And The River Atlantic 1959 7 Pieces Verve 1959 Herb Ellis Meets Jimmy Giuffre PolyGram 1959 The Jimmy Giuffre Quartet In Person Verve 1960 Hollywood & Newport 1957-1958 Fresh Sound 1992 Complete Studio Recordings Gambit Spain 2005 With Hampton Hawes
All Night Session! Vol 1-3 Contemporary 1956 With The Modest Jazz Trio
Good Friday Blues Disques Vogue 1960 With Helen Merrill
Something Special Inner City 1967 A Shade Of Difference Milestone 1968 With James Moody
Great Day Argo 1963 With Mark Murphy
That's How I Love The Blues! Riverside 1962 With Greg Osby
The Invisible Hand Blue Note 2000 With Sonny Rollins
The Bridge Bluebird 1962 The Standard Sonny Rollins RCA Victor 1964 Road Shows Vol. 2 EmArcy 2011 With Lalo Schifrin
Piano Strings And Bossa Nova MGM 1962 With Sonny Stitt
Stitt Plays Bird Atlantic 1964 With Bill Smith
Folk Jazz Contemporary 1959 With Billy Taylor
Impromptu Mercury 1962 With Ben Webster
Ben Webster At The Renaissance Contemporary 1960 read less