RAW PICKS Joel Reviews (RPJR#20): Jim Hall – It’s Nice To Be With You, Jim Hall In Berlin

LP REVIEW: Part 2 of the art & poetry of the jazz trio, with Jim Hall – It’s Nice To Be With You, Jim Hall In Berlin (1969)

LABEL

MPS is an active music label today. You should visit their website and read their story – there are some great photos of people and recording equipment. The label started in 1968 in Zurich, founded by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer who was not only an audio engineer but also an amateur pianist. The tree on the logo represents the Black Forest where they are located.

The website also has a piece about the Jim Hall album under review, so click here to check that out. I have to say though, the album title should probably win a prize for the lamest album title of the 20th century. I mean “It’s Nice To Be With You” – seriously … nobody could come up with anything better…? And that album cover photo, it’s very creepy ….. anyway, moving on 🙂

ARTIST

Jim Hall (1930 – 2013) was a classically trained guitarist, known for his warm, glowing tone and sleek, almost nonchalant, and somewhat punctuated, style. He was often praised for his originality and his refusal to rely on musical patterns or preconceived ideas during his improvisations.

Starting in the mid-1950s, Jim Hall participated in a number of collaborations, one with drummer Chico Hamilton and the other with brass player Jimmy Giuffre. This caught the attention of sax great Sonny Rollins, who brought him into a new, pianoless, quartet. Pianoless jazz became a defining formation for Jim. In this format, he partnered with saxophonist Paul Desmond and Art Farmer, but he also lead trio sessions like the one from the review record here.

Of course, the exception confirms the rule, and I have to share with you one of my favorite Jim Hall pieces, “Concierto de Aranjuez” from his magnificent 1975 album Concierto.  In addition to Jim Hall, there is a full band here, you can hear Paul Desmond on sax, Chet Baker on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, Steve Gadd on drums, and Roland Hanna on keyboards. Here is the youtube link, but be warned, this piece is almost 20 minutes long and there is not a boring minute in it.

MUSIC

This is the second review of a jazz trio. In RPJR#19 I wrote about piano jazz with Tommy Flanagan’s trio and this time we replace the piano with the guitar by putting Jim Hall in front of the drum and bass. And like I wrote in RPJR#19, there is something special about a jazz trio. They are in the room with you and there is not much to distract you. You can listen to the individual notes and that’s a different listening experience.

That album title may be lame, but the music certainly is not! Listening to this record reminded me why Jim Hall is one of my favorite jazz guitarists. His tone is unique – ‘glowing’ is a good way to describe it – and like I wrote above, the way he interprets the tunes, even the classic ones like Body and Soul and My Funny Valentine, is very original. Listening to Jim Hall play is always interesting because you never know what notes he is going to play next and he always swings – on this record that is greatly assisted by tasteful drumming by Jimmy Woode.

What is somewhat weird is the way they recorded this. It is closely miked and that’s OK as it puts Jim Hall front and center and it makes the sound clear as a bell. However, the bass appears to be hiding directly behind Jim and the drums are sort of doing their own thing at the bottom left of my right speaker. The left speaker appears to be oddly silent. I do find it a little distracting but once you settle in you can more or less ignore it. I wanted to alert the potential buyer – no, there is nothing wrong with your set-up or the record 🙂

You can listen to the complete album here:

RAW MUSIC STORE

This Jim Hall album is available online at the RAW Music Store website for 80AED.

PERSONNEL

• Bass – Jimmy Woode : played with Duke Ellington for 5 years; spent most of his career in Europe after moving to Sweden in 1960 and he was considered one of the leading figures on the European jazz scene.

• Drums – Daniel Humair: born in Geneva, Switzerland, Humair played clarinet and drums from the age of 7. He was so in demand during the 70s that there were not many of the jazz greats he didn’t play with.

• Guitar – Jim Hall

TRACKS

• A1: Up, Up And Away
• A2: My Funny Valentine
• A3: Young One, For Debra
• A4: Blue Joe
• B1: It’s Nice To Be With You
• B2: In A Sentimental Mood
• B3: Body And Soul
• B4: Romaine