Jim Hall: Jim Hall and Basses (2001)

Jim Hall is no stranger to guitar/bass duets after several memorable outings with the likes of Ron Carter and Red Mitchell, but this series of studio sessions is even more challenging, mixing it up in pairings with Dave Holland, Christian McBride, Charlie Haden, George Mraz, and Scott Colley. Only three of the 13 pieces are standards, including a soft and sparse treatment of "All the Things You Are" with Mraz, a whisper-soft and slowly savored "Don't Explain" with Haden, and a switch to acoustic guitar for a tense "Besame Mucho" with Colley. Hall's skills as a composer are vastly underrated by the jazz audience as a whole, but his fellow players recognize his formidable skills. He makes a relatively rare appearance on a 12-string acoustic guitar in his challenging opener, "End the Beguine," in which he and Holland rise to the demands of this captivating piece. McBride joins the leader for the playful waltz "Dog Walk," while Colley, Hall's regular bassist at the time of these recording sessions, joins him for the invigorating "Dream Steps," a reworking of the chords to the standard "You Stepped Out of a Dream." In addition to several memorable duo (or trio) improvisations, Hall is joined by both Colley and Mraz for the initially loping and suddenly very abstract "Tango Loco," featuring Mraz's tasty arco bass. Hall's adventuresome streak as a composer, arranger, and performer continues to flourish. - Ken Dryden

Tracklist:
01. End the Beguine! (Hall)
02. Bent Blue (Hall)
03. Abstract 1 (Hall-Haden)
04. All the Things You Are (Hammerstein-Kern)
05. Abstract 2 (Hall-Colley-Mraz)
06. Sam Jones (Hall)
07. Don't Explain (Herzog-Holiday)
08. Dog Walk (Hall)
09. Abstract 3 (Hall-Colley-Mraz)
10. Besame Mucho (Skylar-Velazquez)
11. Dream Steps (Hall)
12. Abstract 4 (Hall-Colley)
13. Tango Loco (Hall)
Personnel:
Jim Hall - electric &acoustic guitars
Scott Colley, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Christian McBride, George Mraz - bass
Jim Hall & Basses
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Charlie Haden Quartet West: Now Is The Hour (1996)

Charlie Haden and his Quartet West continue to mine the "noir jazz" genre inspired by '40s films. Seldom does modern music so perfectly evoke a time and place in history as this terrific band. Fans of Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra will find the simple accessibility either surprising or disappointing, but fans of classic, romantic jazz will find joy.

Tracklist:
1  Here's Looking at You - Haden 6:11
2  The Left Hand of God - Young 7:48
3  Requiem - Tristano 1:31
4  Back Home Blues - Parker 4:04
5  There in a Dream - Haden 7:04
6  All Through the Night - Porter 4:12
7  Detour Ahead - Carter, Carter, Ellis, Ellis, Freigo… 6:04
8  Blue Pearl - Powell 4:32
9  When Tomorrow Comes - Broadbent 4:37
10  Palo Alto - Konitz 4:54
11  Marables's Parable - Haden 3:30
12  Now Is the Hour (Haere Ra) - Kaihau, Scott, Stewart 4:58
Now Is the Hour
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Enrico Pieranunzi: Fellini Jazz (2003)

Italian pianist, composer, and arranger Enrico Pieranunzi has done something delightful and enlightening on Fellini Jazz: he has gathered together some of the brightest lights in American jazz -- all of whom who have a serious affinity for European music -- and formed a quintet for creatively interpreting theme music from the director's films. While most of the themes here were composed by Nino Rota, there are two original pieces that extrapolate from various melodic and harmonic schema in Rota's work. All of the music here, with the exception of the themes from Amarcord and City of Women (the latter composed by Luis Bacalov), comes from Fellini's films of the 1950s. There is a reason for this. The musical element in Rota's scores from these films was, at the very least, informed by the spirit of jazz. Using the great American musicians who came of age during the great Yankee discovery of Fellini's movies is a brilliant touch, as they become "actors" themselves in this musical drama. Not being Italian, and not being regular players of Rota's scores, they look at Pieranunzi's adaptations with a non-literal, gauzy, nearly surrealist view. And while some would argue that Pieranunzi is not on the same level musically with his collaborators as a pianist, and perhaps someone like Brad Mehldau or Fred Hersch might have been a better choice, they'd be wrong. Pieranunzi -- specifically because he brings the great Italian jazz tradition, with its deep reliance on lyricism and harmonic interplay, to the mix -- is the only player who could have pulled off the gig. This is a beautifully, movingly wrought album that is indeed a jazz date first, but one that is also not so far removed from the music of Fellini's cinema because of its reliance on impression, subtlety, grace, warm humor, and, of course, elegance. Two sets of liner notes accompany the set, one by Pieranunzi about the session and one from Ira Gitler about the films and Pieranunzi. Fantastic and breathtaking. ~ Thom Jurek

Tracklist

01. I Vitelloni;

02. Il Bidone,
03. Il Bidone;
04. La Citta Delle Donne;
05. Amarcord;
06. Cabiria’s Dream;
07. La Dolce Vita;
08. La Dolce Vita;
09. La Strada;
10. Le Notti Di Cabiria;
11. Fellini’s Waltz.
Personel:
Kenny Wheeler - Trumpet, Flugelhorn;
Chris Potter - Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone;
Enrico Pieranunzi - Piano;
Charlie Haden - Bass;
Paul Motian - Drums.
Fellini Jazz
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Ravi Coltrane: Blending Times (2009)

Son of legendary jazz greats John and Alice, Ravi Coltrane continues to strengthen his own brand with the much-anticipated follow up to his Grammy-nominated release, In Flux. Blending Times features Ravi's acclaimed quartet, one of the most consistently excellent working bands in jazz and includes a collection of new originals and a very special collaboration with Charlie Haden and Brandee Younger on 'For Turiya', dedicated to Ravi's mother.

Tracklist

01. Shine

02. First Circuit
03. A Still Life
04. Epistrophy
05. Amalgams
06. Narcined
07. One Wheeler Will
08. The Last Circuit
09. Before with After
10. For Turiya
Blending Times
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