Jim Hall

James Stanley Hall (December 4, 1930 – December 10, 2013) was an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger.

Biography

Hall was born in Buffalo, New York, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio. At home, his family was musical. 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 one for Christmas. As a teenager in Cleveland, he performed professionally. He also took up the double bass. 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 here that he began to gain fame.

In the Jimmy Giuffre Three, Hall developed some of his own personal musical preferences, including "challenging arrangements and interactive improvisation in duos and trios." From this time on, Hall's career picked up. 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 many 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 most recent 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 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 Manhattan, New York apartment on December 10, 2013.

Musical style

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. Like the guitarist Charlie Christian, his solo work is influenced by the horns, specifically saxophonist Sonny Rollins and his virtuosic and adventurous licks. 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.

For Hall, experimentation is key. He is 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.

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 needed 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 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. In response to this record, Hall explains

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.

Because of his desire for spontaneity and emphasis on communication with other musicians and others, Hall prefers live venues.</ref> 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."

Metheny praises Hall, commenting,

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.

In sum, Hall's musical style is both artistic and expressive. Other players are equally part of his creative process as he experiments with new and old sounds, pushing the boundaries of the instrument.

Influences

Hall's major influences since childhood are tenor saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Paul Gonsalves, and Lucky Thompson. He has copied out solos by guitarists Christian and Barney Kessel, but it is the horn players that he truly imitates with his rounded tone and use of silence and space. Hall changed the way jazz guitar sounded, with his innovation, composition, and improvisation. He has influenced current artists such as Frisell, Metheny, Mick Goodrick, John Scofield, and John Abercrombie.

Equipment

Hall has 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). Currently he is using his signature Sadowsky guitar, based on his original D'Aquisto.

He uses flatwound strings gauges 11, 15, 20 (unwound), 30, 40, 50 (from high E to low E) and small teardrop picks of heavy gauge. It is not rare to see him using 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 (CTI, 1975)
• Live! (Verve, 1975)
• Live in Tokyo (Paddle Wheel, 1976)
• Commitment (A&M, 1976)
• Jim Hall and Red Mitchell (Artists House, 1978) - duo recorded live at Sweet Basil
• Big Blues (CTI, 1978) - with Art Farmer
• Circles (Concord, 1981)
• Studio Trieste (CTI, 1982)
• Telephone (Concord, 1985) - with Ron Carter
• Power of Three (Blue Note, 1986) - with Michel Petrucciani and Wayne Shorter
• Jim Hall's Three (Concord, 1986) - with Steve La Spina and Akira Tana
• 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 (Concord, 1995) - with Ron Carter
• 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 (Telarc, 2000) - with Joe Lovano
• Jim Hall & Basses (Telarc, 2001)
• Duologues (Cam Jaz, 2004) - with Enrico Pieranunzi
• Magic Meeting (ArtistShare, 2005) - with Scott Colley and Lewis Nash
• Free Association (ArtistShare, 2006) with Geoffrey Keezer
• Hemispheres (ArtistShare, 2008) - with Bill Frisell, Joey Baron and Scott Colley
• Conversations (ArtistShare, 2010) - with Joey Baron
• Live at Birdland (ArtistShare, 2013) - with Joey Baron, Greg Osby, Steve Laspina
• Live! vol. 2-4 (ArtistShare, 2013) - with Don Thompson and Terry Clarke

As sideman

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

• The Paul Desmond Quartet with Jim Hall (Giants of Jazz/ita, 1995)

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)