Jim Hall (musician)
James Stanley Hall was an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger.
Biography
Early life and education
Born in Buffalo, New York, Hall moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio during his childhood. Hall's mother played the piano, his grandfather violin, and his uncle guitar. He began playing the guitar at the age of 10, when his mother gave him an instrument as a Christmas present. At 13 he heard Charlie Christian play on a Benny Goodman record, which he calls his "spiritual awakening". 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 Charlie Christian, and later Barney Kessel, it was horn players from whom he took the lead. In 1955, Hall attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he majored in composition, studying piano and bass in addition to theory.Early professional career
In 1956, Hall moved to Los Angeles, where he studied classical guitar with Vicente Gómez. From 1955 to 1956, Hall played in Chico Hamilton's quintet, a group associated with the cool jazz movement, and Hall's playing began to gain attention from critics and fellow musicians.Hall left Hamilton's group to join another cool jazz ensemble, the Jimmy Giuffre Three, and he worked on and off with Giuffre from 1957 to 1960. Hall recorded his first solo album for Pacific Jazz in 1957, though the album made only a modest impact, and Hall did not get to record a follow-up until 1969.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Hall developed a preference for "challenging arrangements and interactive improvisation in duos and trios." He taught at the Lenox School of Jazz in Massachusetts in the summer of 1959. Hall toured during the late 1950s with Jazz at the Philharmonic and worked around this time in Los Angeles with Ben Webster, appearing on Ben Webster at the Renaissance. During 1959, he recorded the first of six albums as a featured soloist with Paul Desmond. In 1960, Hall also toured and recorded with Ella Fitzgerald in Europe.
Hall moved to New York City around 1960 and began performing with band leaders including Lee Konitz, Sonny Rollins, and Art Farmer. He formed a studio partnership with Bill Evans during this time, appearing on four albums with Evans from 1962 to 1966. Hall also worked as a studio guitarist for commercial recording dates during the early and mid-1960s. As a freelance studio musician, he appeared on albums by singers Big Joe Turner, Johnny Hartman, June Christy, Big Miller, and Freda Payne, as well as on commercially-oriented orchestral pop and jazz albums by Quincy Jones, Lalo Schifrin, Oliver Nelson, and Gary McFarland. His freelance jazz work in the 1960s covered a range of styles. He participated in cool jazz, bossa nova, and third stream albums led by John Lewis, Gerry Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, and Paul Desmond. Hall recorded bebop and hard bop sessions with Sonny Stitt, Nat Adderley, and Sonny Rollins. He recorded a soul jazz session with organist Paul Bryant.
In 1962, he led a trio with Tommy Flanagan and Ron Carter, who was replaced by Red Mitchell in 1965. In the mid-1960s, Hall joined the studio orchestra of The Merv Griffin Show, playing with Bill Berry, Bob Brookmeyer, Benny Powell, Art Davis and Jake Hanna.
In the late 1960s, Hall decided to leave his television job and pursue his solo career more actively. He recorded and performed in Germany and Japan, appearing on the Berlin Festival Guitar Workshop LP alongside Barney Kessel and Baden Powell, and on the Guitar Genius In Japan LP alongside Kenny Burrell and Attila Zoller. The German MPS label recorded Hall's second solo album, It's Nice to Be With You in 1969. In 1971, he began recording for Milestone Records, whose co-founder Orrin Keepnews had produced several records with Hall when running his previous label, Riverside Records. While on Milestone, Hall recorded the first of three duet albums with Ron Carter. Moving to CTI Records, Hall made the 1975 Concierto album, which featured Paul Desmond and Chet Baker, and became a critical and financial success.
Hall was an arranger and composer as much as a performer, known for developing motifs and using blues inflections. These characteristics are showcased in his 1975 album Jim Hall Live!, with Don Thompson and Terry Clarke. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hall recorded with pianist George Shearing, classical violinist Itzhak Perlman, and had a studio reunion with Art Farmer. He also continued recording in duos with Red Mitchell and Ron Carter until 1985.
Later life and career
Hall recorded steadily from the 1970s until 2010, releasing albums on the Horizon, Concord, MusicMasters, and Telarc record labels.Hall continued to tour all over the world during these years as well. His band members included drummers Bill Stewart and Andy Watson; and Joey Baron, bass players Scott Colley and Steve LaSpina; pianists Gil Goldstein and Larry Goldings. At times, Hall included Chris Potter and Greg Osby 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 solo album. Furthermore, in 1996, he returned to Europe to lead a quartet with Joe Lovano.
In 1995, Hall was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. In 1997, Hall received the New York Jazz Critics Award for Best Jazz Composer/Arranger. 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 2006, on behalf of the French Minister of Culture, Kareen Rispal, Cultural Counselor of the Embassy of France, bestowed Hall with the honor of Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres, saying, in part, "We honor you, Jim Hall, for expanding the musical universe, for your innovations and contributions to musical expression. We salute your ongoing experimentation which has been known countless times to bring people around the world together." In November 2008 the double album Hemispheres was released through ArtistShare, featuring fellow guitarist and former student Bill Frisell with Scott Colley, Joey Baron and produced by Brian Camelio.
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 entitled Conversations. 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.
Personal Life
Hall married Jane Hall on September 9, 1965. Jane, a psychoanalyst by profession, was also an occasional composer and singer. Hall recorded several of her compositions, including "O Gato", "It's Nice to Be with You", "Where Would I Be?", "Goodbye, My Love", "The Answer Is Yes", and "Something Tells Me".Hall died in his sleep in his Manhattan, New York apartment on December 10, 2013, six days after his 83rd birthday.
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."Jim Hall insisted a lot on the aural aspect of improvising music, stating that "Players should force themselves to hear something and then play it, rather than just do whatever comes under their fingers. I try to make my playing as fresh as possible by not relying on set patterns."
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.
Silence is as much a part of Hall's music as is sound. Intimate settings, such as smaller clubs, showcase this strength. Hall "carefully 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 style is his collaboration with guitarist Pat Metheny. The duo had met 30 years previously, when guitarist Attila Zoller brought 15-year-old Metheny to The Guitar, a club where Hall and bassist Carter had a standing position.
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 led to different compositions,"at times acoustic, soft, reverential, melodic, cacophonous, outlandish, humorous, and upbeat." Apart from Metheny, he influenced other contemporary artists such as Bill Frisell, Mick Goodrick, John Scofield, and John Abercrombie.
Equipment
Hall always used an extremely simple approach regarding his instruments. In the very beginning of his tenure with Chico Hamilton, he used a Gibson Les Paul Custom. He soon switched to the hollow-body electric Gibson ES-175 guitar. This guitar, which Hall used for many years with its original P-90 pickup, was used with a Gibson GA50 amplifier. By the early 1970s, Hall was using a Guild-band humbucker pickup in his guitar. In the mid-to-late 1970s, luthier Jimmy D'Aquisto supplied Hall with a pair of archtop guitars, one of which was all-acoustic, and the other of which had an electric pickup, and Hall began to use these instruments professionally. Also in the 1970s, Hall started using solid-state amplifiers, including those made by Polytone, Walter Woods, and Roland. Hall started working with luthier Roger Sadowsky in 1982, initially using Sadowsky for repair and maintenance work. Eventually the two collaborated on Sadowsky's Jim Hall Model guitar, a commercially available guitar based on Hall's original D'Aquisto.Hall used flatwound strings gauges 11, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 and picks of varying thickness whose usage depended on what part he was playing. He would usually use medium picks for playing melodies, a thin pick if he would play a calypso, or "some kind of zany rhythmic thing" and heavy picks for ballads. 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".