Jim Hall and Bill Frisell are two great modern jazz guitarists who display disparate styles that mesh together beautifully on this double-CD set of duets and quartet recordings. As much as the acoustically oriented but amplified approach of Hall is a classic sound influential to all mainstream jazz guitarists, he is extremely open to new directions, particularly on an improvisational level. Frisell is one of those many disciples, but his utilization of effects and loops is a realm Hall likely would not explore on his own. Yet somehow the common ground these two find is remarkably attractive, brilliantly conceived, and well executed by any criteria. The duo sessions, recorded here and there over a six-month period, also have deep roots in old-school concepts, as it was produced at Tony Scherr's home studio on an eight-track analog 12" reel-to-reel machine. The free pieces signify new beginnings for both guitarists, as Frisell's one-note electric pluckings during "Throughout" buoy Hall's improvisations in a composition that was played once, then recorded inversely with a pulse.
A thematic virtual bassline on the lengthy "Migration" is identified by Frisell's backward spacy loops in another reverse psychology idea. A chatty conversational "Bimini" exemplifies Frisell's desire to provide a sonic backdrop for Hall to offer the sparse and lean lines he is renowned for. They do Milt Jackson's "Bags Groove" straight forward, mostly acoustic with no effects, tackle Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" led by Frisell's signature chiming chords, play Hall's famous "All Across the City" completely peacefully, and offer a composed bluesy tribute to their wives on "Monica Jane." Adding bassist Scott Colley and drummer Joey Baron for the second CD, the program is half-standards, including the shuffle beat modal bass underscored "I'll Remember April," and a bright, thoroughly made up extrapolation on "My Funny Valentine" provided by the genius of Hall and Frisell's plucky tones urging Hall back to rhythm guitar. A tribute to the great Count Basie guitarist on "Owed to Freddie Green" illuminates one of Hall's biggest influences, as he takes the choppy swinging role of rhythm beyond conventional while Frisell counters, and they both dig deep into the bop bag during the Sonny Rollins standard "Sonnymoon for Two," employing Thelonious Monk like off minor angularities. They do explore the dark side on "Hear & Now," a macabre underground improvisation, and evoke a futuristic train motif during "Barbaro" as the rhythm section eggs on both guitarists. Colley is completely in his element backing yet another group of masterful musicians, while Baron prefers brushes to stick work, shading and embellishing the music, never pushing or prodding. This is one of the Artist Share projects thankfully inspired and funded by fans, and as Hall has collaborated with several other fellow plectrists through the years, this hopefully is not a one shot with Frisell, for it is far from a one-note effort. If you are a guitar maven, this will rank high on your must have list. - Michael G. Nastos. (allmusic.com)
The magic that occurs when student meets teacher on equal footing years down the road is rare enough. With Jim Hall—one of the most influential guitarists of the past half century—his spare approach, a reference point for younger guitar icons including John Abercrombie, John Scofield and Pat Metheny, has resulted in more magic than most. Hall and Metheny met successfully on Jim Hall & Pat Metheny (Telarc, 1999) and, while the elder guitarist also met briefly with Bill Frisell on a handful of tracks on Dialogues (Telarc, 1995), it was clear that the simpatico between them was profound and warranted further investigation. 13 years later—Frisell's star rising considerably during that time—the two reconvene for Hemispheres, a double-disc set with one disc of duo material and the other in quartet with bassist Scott Colley and Joey Baron, where their empathic relationship is finally and fully realized.
Frisell's music has always been about choice—sometimes rejected by jazz purists, but choice nevertheless. When he intersects, on the duo disc, with Hall for his country-tinged "Family," with Hall's tender lyricism a thing of rare beauty, it's clear that for these two there's plenty of potential in all music. Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" is nearly unrecognizable were it not for Frisell first, then Hall iterating its theme over a series of sometimes sophisticated, sometimes simple voicings that lend it a fresh perspective.
The two duo free improvs are most impressive, however, especially the lengthy "Migration," where Frisell's arsenal of effects creates a canvas over which Hall demonstrates his unparalleled mastery of understatement; a guitarist who grew up in the mainstream but remains committed to exploring music wherever it takes him. Frisell's abstruse loops and reverse-attack lines create another-worldly space for Hall to subtly interject his own kind of economy.
Two Frisell tunes are given unusual duo treatments, particularly "Throughout," which follows a common approach to the session: play the piece straight from the chart, then perform an inverse, freer version. "Throughout" has been recorded by Frisell many times and in many contexts, but it's never sounded this open, this expressive. "Monica Jane" is more faithful, filled with the kind of skewed poignancy that's been a Frisell trademark since he first emerged in the late '70s.
Adding a rhythm section could tie a duo down; but Colley and Baron's sensitivity and telepathy retain a delicate openness on the quartet disc. Largely standards plus two Hall compositions and two free improvs, the warm-toned combination of Hall and Frisell remains dominant, with Colley and Baron providing a flexible backdrop that allows both guitarists complete freedom. Frisell has rarely sounded this straight- forward and jazz-centric since his duet record with Fred Hersch, Songs We Know (Nonesuch, 1995).
Hall has played in duet with many musicians in his lengthy career, but few collaborations have yielded as much honest, unassuming magic as Hemispheres, a characteristically understated yet emotionally rich set where so much is said with so little spoken. - John Kelman. (allaboutjazz.com)
Jim Hall’s unique harmonic language, thoughtful phrasing, risk-taking sensibility and walking-on-eggshells sensitivity greatly informed Bill Frisell’s expansive guitar vocabulary. Indeed, as a student between stints at Berklee, Frisell sought out the elder guitar statesman for lessons. The two have since played together on rare occasions (including a couple of tracks on Hall’s 1995 Telarc outing, Dialogues) but nowhere in such deeply rewarding fashion as on this remarkable encounter.
The first CD is perhaps the most startling. A series of stark duets between guru and disciple, it is composed of 10 intimate, near-telepathic dialogues that run the gamut from enchanting ballads to swinging romps and swirling psychedelia. From the spacious opener “Throughout,” with Frisell’s signature digital processing loopage providing an ambient backdrop for Hall’s deliberate single-note exposition, to Hall’s luminous ballad “All Across the City,” a blues-drenched “Bags’ Groove,” the experimental 15-minute soundscape “Migration” and a surprising stab at Bob Dylan’s melancholy “Masters of War,” these are expressive, freewheeling guitar duets of extraordinary daring and soul. Elsewhere on this first disc the pair delivers Frisell’s Americana ditty “Family” with a tender, chamberlike touch and explores Hall’s buoyant “Bimini” with free-improv abandon.
CD two is a lively, somewhat more conventional quartet session with the stellar rhythm tandem of bassist Scott Colley and drummer extraordinaire Joey Baron, both of whom have logged plenty of bandstand time with Hall since the ’80s (Baron also performed and recorded for years with Frisell). Highlights here include a swinging, Latin-tinged “I’ll Remember April” along with a sublime rendition of “Chelsea Bridge,” a Zen-delicate “In a Sentimental Mood,” a jaunty “Owed to Freddie Green” and a swinging rendition of Sonny Rollins’ “Sonnymoon for Two” that could also be titled “Owed to Charlie Christian.” The radical surprises on this solid quartet offering are the provocative free-improv pieces “Hear and Now” and “Card Tricks.” - Bill Milkowski (jazztime.com)
Tracks
Disc-1
01. Throughout (Frisell)
02. All Across The City (Hall)
03. Bag's Groove (Jackson)
04. Migration (Frisell/Hall)
05. Family (Frisell)
06. Waiting To Dance (Hall)
07. Bimini (Hall)
08. Masters Of War (Bob Dylan)
09. Beijing Blues (Frisell/Hall)
10. Monica Jane (Frisell)
Disc-2
01. I'll Remember April
02. Barbaro (Frisell/Hall/Baron/Colley)
03. Chelsea Bridge (Strayhorn)
04. Owed To Freddie Green (Hall)
05. Beija Flor (Cavaquinho)
06. Hear And Now (Hall)
07. My Funny Valentine (Rodgers/Hart)
08. Card Tricks (Frisell/Hall/Baron/Colley)
09. In Sentimental Mood (Ellington)
10. Sonnymoon For Two (Rollins)
JIM HALL guitar
BILL FRISELL guitar
SCOTT COLLEY bass
JOEY BARON drums
Disc 1 recorded at Tony Scherr's House. Disc 2 recorded at Sear Sound, NYC
ArtistShare - AS0079