Jim Hall – It’s Nice To Be With You – Jim Hall In Berlin

180-gram vinyl

Remastered from the original tapes

Includes liner notes and a picture of the original master tape box

The intimate musical get together that occurred in June 1969 was due to a large extent to the close friendship between the inimitable American guitarist Jim Hall and Producer Joachim Ernst Berendt. As Hall was visiting him in Berlin, Berendt proposed a recording with bassist Jim Woode and drummer Daniel Humair; this configuration developed into an intensely introspective session. In such a transparent setting, Hall unfurled all his finest qualities — what Humair perceptively summed up as clarity, purity, sensitivity.

Hall’s harmonic brilliance on “Up, Up and Away,” demonstrates how he could turn a pop melody into his own, and “Blue Joe” reveals a free approach to the blues. Whereas brilliantly coordinated interplay comes to the forefront on the title piece, there are also amazing solo elements. In the style of his idol Bill Evans, Hall engages in an intensive conversation with himself on “In a Sentimental Mood” and the tender “Young One”; no note is superfluous, and every tone is heart-felt.

With its sophisticated Bossa mood, “Romaine” delivers a surprising finale to the record. Jim Hall had to wait for over a decade to record a second album under his own name. This recording was ample compensation for the long wait he and his fans endured.

Format : Vinyl Record

1 Lp