Jim Hall, Pat Metheny - 1999 "Jim Hall & Pat Metheny"

Jim Hall & Pat Metheny is an album by jazz guitarists Jim Hall and Pat Metheny that was released by Telarc on April 27, 1999. The album contains eleven studio recording tracks and six live tracks.

These two guitarists -- one an elder statesman, the other still a relatively young man in the midst of a stellar career -- are such a natural fit that it's amazing no one's thought of getting them together for a duo album before. Both play with a gentle touch and sweet tone, and both are capable of challenging experimentation, though each have spent most of their time in one mainstream tradition or another (Jim Hall in straight-ahead jazz, Pat Metheny in jazz-rock fusion). On this disc they focus on original compositions (Metheny's "Farmer's Trust" and "Into the Dream," Hall's "Cold Spring" and "Waiting to Dance"), but there are also tunes by Jerome Kern and Steve Swallow as well as the inevitable rendition of "Summertime." Their interplay is nothing short of astounding, and the five improvisational pieces scattered throughout the program sometimes sound as organized as the standards. The mood does get a little bit samey after a while, and the complete lack of high frequencies in both guitarists' tones might leave you wondering if you've got water in your ear. But overall, this really is a wonderful album.

“The presence of Pat Metheny on Jim Hall’s 1998 By Arrangement fulfilled the younger guitarist’s long-standing dream of recording with Hall. But these duets confirm how beautiful their performing together could become. Unlike many encounters between high-profile guitarists, these recordings, from both a New York studio and a Pittsburgh concert, show no sense of competition or interest in displays of empty virtuosity. Instead, the CD’s 1 to the enduring spirit of Hall’s music, emphasizing interaction and a subtle complexity. Hall plays the lightly amplified electric guitar that is his trademark, with a gorgeous liquid tone, while Metheny brings a bevy of instruments to the meeting, including a standard electric (no synth), several acoustics – including a fretless classical – and his 42-string model for some remarkably harplike effects. There’s tremendous variety in the music and thought in the choices of tunes and approaches. “The Birds and the Bees,” played in memory of its composer, the late guitarist Attila Zoller, has a haunting depth, while the frequently played “Summertime” achieves a new identity in Metheny’s arrangement, with spare and vibrant lead contrasting with animated rhythm guitar. Both musicians are adept composers, and highlights include Metheny’s “Ballad X” and Hall’s increasingly propulsive “Cold Spring.” Given that Hall participated in one of the first recorded examples of free improvisation, “Free Form” with the Chico Hamilton Quintet in 1955, and Metheny has recorded with the British avant-gardist Derek Bailey, it’s fitting that the two guitarists test the limits of their empathy in five brief and intriguing collective improvisations that sometimes explore unusual textures and microtonal harmonies. Whatever the material, though, the earmarks of the set are a quiet energy and a sustained lyric invention that invite and reward repeated listenings. The recording quality is superb, capturing every nuance of this music that seems to live near the core of the jazz guitar ethos.”

When guitarists Jim Hall and Pat Metheny discussed what they'd play during their first recording sessions together, a number of ideas were tossed around. At one point, Metheny suggested they play some of the bossa nova songs that helped Hall build his reputation back in the '60s. "We agreed that we would do some 'free' things instead," says Hall. "That was mostly through my pushing because I didn't want to do all Jobim tunes - which I love, but they've been done for 30 years." In the end, five free improvisations were recorded, four tunes from Metheny's songbook, four from Hall's, and four standards, all of which can be heard on Telarc's new Jim Hall & Pat Metheny.

Track listing:

All tracks are written by Pat Metheny and Jim Hall except where noted.

01.    "Lookin' Up" (Hall)    Studio    4:34
02.    "All the Things You Are" (Oscar Hammerstein II/Jerome Kern)    Live    6:58
03.    "The Birds and the Bees" (Attila Zoller)    Live    5:04
04.    "Improvisation, No. 1"    Studio    1:05
05.    "Falling Grace" (Steve Swallow)    Studio    4:39
06.    "Ballad Z" (Metheny)    Studio    4:33
07.    "Summertime" (Gershwin/Heyward)    Live    5:35
08.    "Farmer's Trust" (Metheny/Mays)    Live    5:29
09.    "Cold Spring" (Hall)    Live    6:29
10.    "Improvisation, No. 2"    Studio    1:11
11.    "Into the Dream" (Metheny)    Studio    3:05
12.    "Don't Forget" (Metheny)    Studio    4:46
13.    "Improvisation, No. 3"    Studio    3:22
14.    "Waiting to Dance" (Hall)    Studio    4:38
15.    "Improvisation, No. 4"    Studio    2:37
16.    "Improvisation, No. 5"    Studio    2:08
17.    "All Across the City" (Hall)    Live    7:34

    Jim Hall is featured on the left channel, Pat Metheny to the right.

Personnel:

    Jim Hall – electric guitar
    Pat Metheny – electric, acoustic, fretless acoustic, and 42-string Pikasso guitar