Jim Hall is one of Jazz's greatest guitar players. Now probably best known for playing with Bill Evans, the legendary pianist, Jim Hall's unmatched tone and style stand out among the thin, weak tones and repetitive, over-bearing lines of the vast majority of Jazz guitarists.
His 1975 album, Concierto, was recorded with Ron Carter on bass, Steve Gadd on drums, Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, and Chet Baker on trumpet, and Roland Hanna on piano. The featured track of the album is the "Concierto de Aranjuez," which Miles Davis famously covered in his Sketches of Spain. The track is a retelling of the "Concierto" and is quite different than Miles' version. I think that Jim Hall's guitar really adds a lot--especially considering it was written as a guitar concerto.I appreciate Jim Hall's playing throughout, as crisp, crunchy, and concise. This is clearly apparent on, for example, the second track, "Two's Blues." His solo contrasts sharply with Chet Baker's trumpet solo, which I feel is weak and floppy. He gets to the point and his tone is golden.
Speaking of Chet Baker, I don't like his playing on this album. I don't really like his playing in generally, actually. He has an enjoyable, uptempo solo on the first track, "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To," but besides that I feel that most of his solos lack substance. Paul Desmond too. They're both way too smooth. Not only do their tones lack oomph--instead of being pointed, their rounded and polished off--their playing lacks punch. I guess they kind of go hand in hand.
No comments:
Post a Comment