14 FEBRUARY 2014 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

IN MEMORIAM

JIM HALL1930-2013

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Jim Hall was one of the greatest musicians in the world. With a beautiful touch and a deep intelligence and soul, everything he played had the kind of individuality and spirit that gave his musical voice such a unique quality. But for all of Jim’s excellence as a musician, everyone that knew him loved him as one of the great people in their lives. He was consistently generous and curious and always a great listener, on and off the bandstand. We will all miss him so much.

- PAT METHENY, GUITARIST

I first heard Jim Hall on the Sonny Rollins recording The Bridge when I was about 17 years young. It was an incredible revelation. I didn’t know what they were doing, but I knew that that’s what I wanted to do. Jim, more than any other guitarist, changed the way the instrument functioned in a group, as well as a soloist. His way of comping was a composition in itself. His solos were always so melodic and thematic and just made sense! His beautiful warm singing tone and touch just completed the package. He played with grace, humor, intelligence and, above all, he could swing like mad. A most gentle and caring man - that came across in person as well as in his music. A true model for us all. I miss him.

- JOHN ABERCROMBIE, GUITARIST

Jim Hall made such extraordinary, beautiful music, like nothing we had heard before. Absolutely one of a kind. A master. We all know that. But what I’m thinking about now is the humanity, humility, generosity...STRENGTH. In all his interactions, whether on the bandstand or in everyday conversation, it always seemed as if his energy and attention was directed outward, away from himself. He listened. LISTENED in such a big way and cared. He was so aware of what was going on around him and could transform it, bring it (us) together, lift it up. It wasn’t about him. It was about all of us. He never looked back, never settled, uncompromising, kept going and going, stayed excited, curious, like a little kid. Wow. Jim Hall! Amazing. Thank you Jim.

- BILL FRISELL, GUITARIST

Jim Hall was one of my favorite guitar players of all time. More importantly, he was also one of my favorite people. His influence on me musically was very strong and will always be very strong. Personally he was also an inspiration. His music was warm, soulful and very thoughtful and that’s the way he was as a person.

- MIKE STERN, GUITARIST

So sad to hear that the master musician Jim Hall has left this earth. He left it a much better place through his deep humanity - which came through his music in such a profound way. He showed us the power of subtlety, nuance and understatement. His strength and expressiveness came from playing only the essential. A true poet of the guitar - and one of the most thoughtful people I have ever known. I feel so privileged to have had him as a teacher and example of a human being so completely generous of spirit. A life and legacy so worthy of celebration - he left us so much to learn from and I am so grateful to him for so much.

- PETER BERNSTEIN, GUITARIST

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | FEBRUARY 2014 15

Jim Hall was a great sensitive musician and a great sensitive man.

- SONNY ROLLINS, SAXOPHONIST

I knew and played with Jim for over 40 years and never once was it anything less than pure musical joy. If it’s true that you are forever changed by your experience of another, my life was certainly changed forever by playing with him. I could never quite attain the same level of interplay with other musicians that I did with Jim...perhaps because Jim always insisted that I (as well as the other bandmembers) had a voice in the musical conversation that he had initiated - and that is the essence of true jazz, as I see it. Audiences were always captivated by the spell that he would cast over them and he was a true gentleman of jazz. He never gave less than 100 percent to the musicians that he collaborated with and also to the audiences that adored him. Jim was a tremendous influence on generations of guitar players and his pure musical direction will be felt forever. Our loss is painful, gut-wrenching and brings into focus the fact that artistic integrity is primary in an artist’s life. Jim was constantly looking for alternative sounds beyond his instrument. As a result of that approach, he influenced us to do the same on our respective instruments - which was especially daunting for a drummer attempting to complement Jim’s discovery of a steel-drum sound on his new Retro pedal. Dry, wry hilarity abounded in the man and nobody was immune to it - in fact, the drier, the better. His music cut through all strata of society and his admirers ranged from the likes of Tom Brokaw to Eric Clapton to Jerry Stiller. It was always grounding to hear his guitar and to be reminded of what purity of sound could be attained when your goals (and your intent) are pure. Long live the music and the legacy of Jim Hall!

- TERRY CLARKE, DRUMMER

I had a deep connection with Jim both musically and personally and I’m overwhelmed by the loss. We met when he came to New York from California with the Jimmy Giuffre Three in 1958. He moved into an apartment near mine in Greenwich Village and we began hanging out together a lot. We listened to records, played, laughed a lot and went around to hear all the music in town together. Jim was one of the best laughers I ever had the pleasure to know. Many things delighted him and he would twinkle and laugh when he told me about something that amused him. One day, early in our friendship, he and Bob Brookmeyer and Jimmy Giuffre were at my apartment on Cornelia Street, listening to some records. Jim lay down on my carpet on his back, with his hands behind his head. Bob and I were making jokes and something I said struck Jim funny. He leaped up with laughter so convulsively that he dislocated his left shoulder. We had to rush him over to Saint Vincent’s hospital where they managed to get him back together, but he had a very sore arm. He had a record date the next day with Giuffre and told me he did a lot of moving the guitar around with his knees to avoid moving his left arm. Jim Hall’s playing was always so satisfying. Good time, beautiful sound and an immediacy that always drew you into the heart of the music. I was glad when both Brookmeyer and Gerry Mulligan included me in recording projects with Jim and I treasure those records.

- BILL CROW, BASSIST

Jim Hall was one of my dearest friends and jazz colleagues. Along with John Lewis we did so many things together. He was one of my favorite guitarists.

- GUNTHER SCHULLER, COMPOSER

I am incredibly lucky to call Jim Hall a close friend and so honored to have shared music with him over the last 20+ years. His incredible empathy, humor and curiosity are in the forefront of my mind when I think of Jim. But during the last month since his passing, I keep returning to thoughts of his incredible generosity, with me and with the many others who shared his presence. He has given us all so much in his unbelievable seven decades of making music. That is obvious. Every modern improviser owes something to Jim (he would hate to hear me say that, but it’s true). He taught us all that in order to truly connect to another person, you have to leave space and listen. He continued to place emphasis on that connection and I think that was Jim’s greatest lesson for us all. And it was because of his inherent generosity that he always wanted to help his friends succeed in their expression. One thing that was sure to make Jim’s eyes glaze over with boredom was when someone started talking about his musical past in abstract terms, as if they were baseball statistics. I saw it happen many times. But when someone talked about people he knew and respected and the music that resulted, telling their musical experiences and humorous stories related to individuals and how those individuals connected to each other through music, that was what got Jim’s attention. I think in a way, he cared a great deal more for the people whom he made music with than he did for the music itself. And that is just one part of what made his music so powerful - his ability to make a significant connection and experience with those with whom he shared the music-making process. If I knew Jim at all, he would want us to tell his stories and celebrate his music. But most of all, I think he would want us to continue listening to each other, to live, connect, share experiences and of course, make music.

- SCOTT COLLEY, BASSIST

Working with Jim Hall was LIFE-CHANGING. It is difficult to find the words to properly describe knowing him and playing with him for 28 years. I remember our first gig. It was on a Sunday night in May of 1986 at the Village Vanguard. Everything seemed to click from the very first tune we played. Jim’s sound, his choice of notes and his time feel had me playing my bass effortlessly. He had a way of comping behind me during my solos that made me feel like I could try anything and succeed. When we finished the first set, Jim asked me to join his trio and a fantastic journey through music and life began. One memory I would like to share was when we played at the Library of Congress in March of 2009. Jim had been dealing with some medical issues and it was his first gig after his recuperation. When Jim was introduced and came onstage, the audience gave him a rousing standing ovation. It was an incredible moment filled with admiration and love. I think it really showed how deeply he touched so many people with his music. As a person, his sense of humor could lighten any situation and his political views were never hidden. He was a dear friend and he inspired me personally and musically. I feel so lucky to have seen Jim at a birthday celebration just six days before he passed away. We had a lot of laughs that day as Jim shared his favorite stories. I will miss him greatly!

- STEVE LASPINA, BASSIST

Jim Hall was one of the most influential musicians in my life from the beginning. Jim and my dad were friends, playing gigs and going to concerts together at the Cleveland Institute of Music where Jim was studying composition before he went to LA in 1955. I grew up listening to Jim on recordings he made with Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Brookmeyer, Art Farmer and Sonny Rollins. I remember rushing home from high school to watch The Merv Griffin Show hoping to see Jim. One of my dreams as a kid was to somehow get myself together on my horn and someday play with Jim Hall. That focus guided me for years. After moving to NY in the mid ‘70s, we finally met. Jim was also a fan of the Paul Motian Trio with Bill Frisell and myself and heard us at the Vanguard on occasion. We first played together around 1994 or so. Jim called me to be a part of his Telarc recording Dialogues. We recorded Jim’s beautiful ballad “Bon Ami” and a tune he wrote for me “Calypso Joe”. I was overjoyed and overwhelmed. Textures followed and that led to us co-leading our quartet Grand Slam in 1996 with George Mraz and Lewis Nash. Last May we played Blues Alley in Washington DC, which unfortunately was the last time we all played together. I am deeply saddened by Jim’s passing but will continue learning from his innovative and poetic contributions to jazz, treasure our moments together and celebrate his genius, humanity and friendship for all of my days.

- JOE LOVANO, SAXOPHONIST

Whether on or off the bandstand, James Stanley Hall never ceased to surprise. Straight-faced, racked with pain in a hospital bed, he tells me how his nurse bathes him, yet did not seem impressed. Everytime we played together, I would discover yet another facet of his subtle genius. I would chuckle in disbelief, look up and, for an instant, meet that incredible knowing grin of his. Over the years Jim would often call me in some remote corner of the world when least expected. His postcards and snail mail were like his musicianship: incredibly thoughtful. On the bandstand Jim listened so deeply and set the climate for all of us to do the same so that I could not wait to hear what would be coming next. It was always a surprise!

- JOEY BARON, DRUMS

Jim, to me, was always the beacon of modern, creative, emotionally driven, adventurous music. He embraced the guitar, in all its circuitous glory. Utilizing open strings, triads, bends, Jim invited all the colors and sounds that are very unique to the design of the instrument into the modern vocabulary of improvised music. Jim’s sense of humor was also paramount. When hanging out, the focus was always on funny stories or encounters, shedding light on the humorous and often completely surreal side of people and how they interact. In a lot of ways, this is the lesson I have been learning from Jim my whole life and continue to learn. Jim was so inclusive as a person and a musician. He could show you how our mistakes were just as human and rich as what we played perfectly. And at the core of our mission as musicians, is a responsibility to take risks, be willing to fall and have love and compassion for the absurd and the sublime. Jim showed us that these are all ingredients of the human condition and what better way to honor them than through the gift of music.

- JULIAN LAGE, GUITARIST