Jim Hall: The Early Albums Collection (4 CDs) ENLIGHTENMENT

Born in Buffalo, New York in 1930, James Stanley Hall was an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Hall moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, during his childhood. Hall’s mother played the piano, his grandfather the violin, and his uncle the guitar. Jim began playing the guitar at the age of 10, when his mother gave him an instrument as a Christmas present. At 13 he heard Charlie Christian play on a Benny Goodman record, which he called his “spiritual awakening”. As a teenager in Cleveland, he performed professionally, and also took up the double bass. Hall’s major influences since childhood were tenor saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Paul Gonsalves, and Lucky Thompson. While he copied out solos by Charlie Christian, and later Barney Kessel, it was horn players from whom he took the lead. In 1955, Hall attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he majored in composition, studying piano and bass in addition to theory. Jim Hall was a true original on the jazz spectrum, always experimenting and pushing ahead, and the albums featured on this new collection illustrate his musical prowess, innovative practices and acute talents perfectly. All originally released between 1959 and 1965, the eight records featured here in astounding re-mastered versions remain a pure delight, and this set works equally well for those new to Jim Hall’s music and those already somewhat familiar. – Featuring 8 records released between 1959 and 1965, this 4CD set works equally well for those new to Jim Hall’s music and those already familiar.

– Disc 1 –
1 Stompin’ at the Savoy
2 Things Ain’t What They Used to Be
3 This Is Always
4 Thanks for the Memory
5 Tangerine
6 Stella By Starlight
7 9:20 Special
8 Deep in a Dream
9 Look for the Silver Lining
10 Seven Come Eleven
11 Arrowhead
12 Street Swingers
13 Hot Buttered Noodling
14 Musicale Du Jour
15 Raney Day
16 Jupiter

– Disc 2 –
1 He’s Gone Away
2 Jacob’s Ladder
3 We Played at Love
4 Mother I Would Marry
5 Wandering
6 The House of the Rising Sun
7 Hold on
8 The Streets of Laredo
9 Black Is the Color
10 Dark Is the Night
11 Pretty Little Horses
12 I Gave My Love a Cherry
13 Abstraction
14 Piece for Guitar & Strings
15 Variants on a Theme of John Lewis (Django): Variant I
16 Variant II
17 Variant III
18 Variants on a Theme of Thelonious Monk (Criss-Cross): Variant I
19 Variant II
20 Variant III
21 Variant IV

– Disc 3 –
1 My Funny Valentine
2 I Hear a Rhapsody
3 Dream Gypsy
4 Romain
5 Skating in Central Park
6 Darn That Dream
7 Hold Me
8 A Primera Vez
9 Presente de Natal
10 Morning of the Carnival
11 Este Seu Olhar
12 Betaminus
13 Move It
14 All Across the City
15 Coisa Mais Linda
16 How About You

– Disc 4 –
1 I’ve Got You Under My Skin
2 My Man’s Gone Now
3 Turn Out the Stars
4 Angel Face
5 Jazz Samba
6 All Across the City
7 Capricious
8 Impromptu
9 Don’t Go Down South
10 Muffle Guffle
11 Free and Oozy
12 Paraphrase
13 Empty Ballroom
14 At la Carrousel