Jim HallMagic MeetingReview

At the age of 75, Jim Hall says he's still learning to play. It's a typically self effacing comment from the man who's probably the single most important influence on modern jazz guitar (after Jimi Hendrix).

Over the last ten years or so, Hall's been busy writing for strings, duetting with Bob Brookmeyer, Pat Metheny and a whole slew of great bass players, ever keen to experiment and push himself a little more. This latest release is Hall's first with ArtistShare, a radical new business model for musicians. Enthusiasts subscribe to a recording project; in return for their cash they're allowed access to the rehearsal and recording process via the internet. (The CD is only available online by the way - see the panel on the right for links).

If it gets records like this made, that can only be a good thing. Hall is joined by drummer Lewis Nash (Hall's bandmate in the Grand Slamgroup with Joe Lovano) and bassist Scott Colley for this intimate live set, recorded over a week at the Village Vanguard.

On the opening "Bent Blue" Hall begins unaccompanied, his crabbed chords and spiky lead lines ringing over the chinks of glasses and the occasional cough. You could almost swear it was Derek Bailey doing his Standards bit again. As the rhythm section kicks in, Hall becomes a quiet storm of ideas, both in his oblique chords and quietly intense soloing. His sound is toppier than of old, more brittle, but still uniquely his.

On Joe Lovano's "Blackwell'sMessage" hes at his most abstract, ghosting Nash's toms with blurry chromatic runs. Over thirteen minutes Nash and Colley take things to boiling point and back down again while Hall unleashes several solos that almost sound like the work of different players. Frisell, Scofield, Abercrombie and Metheny come to mind, and it's fascinating to speculate how Hall's influence on those players is filtering back to the man himself. By contrast,"Canto Neruda" features Hall strumming drone-like chords throughout in slightly ragged, minimalist fashion. There are few jazz guitarists that would dare attempt such a thing.

Nash and Colley are funky and responsive, with the bassist turning out thoughtful, inspired solos on "Skylark" and "Furnished Flats". Their subtle dynamic shading keeps the music mobile and supple. As ever, the guitarist isn't unafraid not to play; each note is made to count. When the rhythm section leave him to play on his own, he sounds solo, revelling in the space between the notes. Beautiful stuff. I wish I'd been there.