Jim Hall was the coolest cat ever. My wife and I met him after his gig at the Jazz Bakery in LA. He was so kind and cordial! I asked him to sign the cover of my "Jim Hall - Live" LP. And on it he writes "Thanks." The guy's a legend and he's thanking ME for listening. Very cool and very kind. Thanks for the tunes, Jim!!!
Great story! It is no wonder that Jim was Bill Frisell's teacher,. A couple of years ago I went to see Bill Frisell after a concert and asked him for an autograph, and he wrote "Thank you!" I was just as surprised as you.
Jim Hall - the master of subtle introspection. The 1960's sociologist Marshall McLuhan spoke of the "cool medium" whereby due to the relative sparsity of the subject, the observer was able to participate psychologically in the ongoing creation of meaning rather than being bombarded with excessive information. This, to me, sums up Mr. Hall's brilliance in phrasing and use of rest notes. Superb Melodicsm and sensitivity. RIP, Mr Hall
Agreed. He stated things in a cool enough manner that the listener hears something during the first listen and deeply enough that the listener still hears something else, something new, during the 10th listen. His mantra "listen and respond" are words to live by, not only in music, but in the rest of life.
I’ve always loved this combo since it’s beginning, along with Sonny Rollins and”The Bridge”! Jim Hall has great style in soloing and accompaniment!! The supporting musicians are also great!
What gets me is that every chord form that Jim Hall used, I could recognize, since I've played guitar for years. But put them together like Mr. Hall does? Ain't gonna happen!
Jim Hall looked like ,a chartered accountant or a postal clerk, but played like an angel. As for Art Farmer, when you heard him in public, his tone was of breath-taking beauty; to such an extent that no audio equipment could reproduce it faithfully.
What a wonderful unassuming character Jim Hall was - and it comes through in his playing which is an antidote to the excesses we have to endure these days - play on Jim - wherever you may be . . .
QUELLE Leçon de swing et de musique improvisée .......!!!!! heureusement que les "anciens " nous laissent ces témoignages de musiques jouées "ensemble" en direct ...........sans artifices gratuits .....!!! que du plaisir .......MERCI
Playing slow on guitar on ballads is extremely difficult due to note decay, I think it really separates the true pros from guys that can play relatively fast bebop tunes like Cherokee with authenticity but perhaps but slower stuff
An excellent partnership, with the late Art Farmer, Steve Swallow and Walter Perkins! It was fortunate to see Jim, at the Newport Jazz Fest. (in August, this year). Like the other, best jazz guitarists (Farlow, Christian, Raney, et. al.), he was BOTH supportive ... and inventive.
I think what's so revolutionary about Jim Hall's playing is how much he's able to make "happen"/"swing" without as little fingers as possible. I remember my early forays into jazz guitar being about learning all these lush chord voicings with extensions. But, sometimes all you need is 2 notes to imply an entire harmony -- all thanks to the rest of the rhythm section.
Great stuff, all these players are the best there is/was, but Dam Jim Hall is so solid. He's a bad ass soloist as well as Comp his ass off. Thanks for sharing this!
Jim was wonderful. I love his sound from this period the most - when he used a P90 ES-175 through a Gibson amp. His tone later changed when he started using other equipment - still great (his touch didn't change), but somewhat different, slightly woodier I guess. Jim's amp is visible at 4:10 Good old GA-50. These things are great.
***** Sure is, but if you compare Jim's sound over some years (which leaves the ever so important factor of fingers unchanged), you can hear the effect of equipment on his sound. There are particular sonic properties of certain aspects of equipment. For one, when I plug my guitar into a tube amp I can almost certainly tell whether the amp has 6L6s in it. I don't even know what 6L6 technically is compared to other tubes, but I can hear it in the sound. Sounds different than 6V6s or EL84s. Also, P90s sound different than humbuckers and old buckers (or low wound contemporary copies) have different sound than later buckers with more gain. That said, yeah, it's in the fingers. And in the head.
How we've lost so much... irreplaceable musical supremo's whose like will sadly never be seen again. Musical genious has been washed out of the human DNA but thank f@k% we have amazing recorded audio and visual footage for prosperity.
What a treat, one of my favorite tunes, which is nowhere near as well-known as it should be. (Find the lyrics: What other popular tune contains the word "dunce?") Hall is the most "acoustic" electric guitarist in Jazz, playing with an incredibly complex musical intelligence; Farmer is a giant, and should have had great success outside of the Jazz world; Perkins is an atomic clock; and what an unexpected treat to see the very young Steve Swallow, in his pre-Gary Burton, pre-ECM youth, sounding like the heir to Scott LaFaro!
Tasty, very tasty indeed. Jim Hall of course, but Art Farmer too. As Dizzy said, Art was like surgeon the way he could play through the harmony. Indeed.
condivisibile appieno il plauso agli artisti ed in specie a Jim Hall che consente sempre, appunto come è stato detto, un ascolto libero, creativo ed interattivo complessi.
Now that is the magic touch. I could play any one of those chords but it would never sound like Jim. It's innate to his touch and rhythm, and inimitable.
