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Anyone who tries to tell you
that the 1970s were a fallow period for mainstream jazz should be pointed
in the direction of Jim Hall’s Concierto post haste. Without question,
one of the finest recordings of that decade and one of the premier CTI
releases, Concierto may also be the great guitarist’s masterpiece.
It has everything going for
it – a group of magnificent musicians almost telepathically linked
in their highly-refined sense of lyricism and dynamics, a selection of
compositions exquisitely balanced between the earthy and the elevated,
and the leadership of a master soloist in peak form. Not to be discounted
are the contributions of the producer, Creed Taylor, who brought together
the prenaturally sympathetic front line of Hall, Paul Desmond and Chet
Baker with the superb rhythm section of Ron Carter, Sir Roland Hanna and
Steve Gadd (the wild card drummer who turns out to add exactly the right
momentum to the proceedings). Arranger Don Sebesky deserves praise as
well for his non-intrusive role; he structures the material with grace
and imagination, refraining from the use of additional string and horn
sections to flesh things out. His arrangement of “Concierto de Aranjuez”
recasts the popular piece in a totally different light than Gil Evans'
and Miles Davis’ celebrated 1960 version – no mean feat.
Concierto finds Hall in an
unfamiliar context. Up to this point, the guitarist had tended to record
in intimate settings for his own projects: small, horn-less groups –
these were the surroundings Hall was most comfortable with. Here, he’s
the leader, at least on a good portion of the tracks, of a full-fledged
band.
And what a band! Two more simpatico
horn players than trumpeter Chet Baker and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond
couldn’t have been found. Baker, who had to wait until after his death
to receive the recognition he deserved as a superior, highly personal stylist
and not the Miles Davis-clone he was unfairly written off as, rarely sounded
as assured. The always impeccable Desmond, who used Hall as a sideman on
his own solo recordings, doesn’t disappoint here; the way he meshes
with Baker, both tonally and in lyric sensibility, is uncanny. So empathic
were Hall, Baker and Desmond that when they intertwine in contrapuntal conversation
("You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To”), they sound like the
same soloist playing three separate instruments.
– Steve Futterman
One of the All-Time
Great Records
I owned the LP of this and now own the CD. This group of all-stars led
by Jim Hall with arrangements by Don Sebesky play so beautiful and moving
that it is hard to imagine being without this recording. The centerpiece
is of course “Concierto.” It is impossible to fully describe
the interplay and virtuosity displayed on this piece. One of the most
thrilling moments in music for me is Paul Desmond’s entrance into
this piece. If you can’t hear that moment without feeling so totally
happy that you are alive and able to enjoy such sublime sounds, then check
your pulse because you are probably not among the living anymore.
– Norm Hall
Introduction to Jazz
Voices
I came to jazz in the mid-eighties, and Concierto was my introduction
to the jazz guitar of Jim Hall. I didn’t stop there – I own
everything that is in print that Jim Hall played on – but I keep
returning to this masterpiece.
This is a recording of jazz
voices. Who needs out-and-out lyrics when you have the magnificent, battle-weary,
eloquent instrumental voices of Paul Desmond, Chet Baker and Jim Hall
to talk to you?
“Concierto de Aranjuez”
is the arena for these jazz voices to tell their stories, and what can
we do but listen, over and over? I’m not slighting the rest of this
CD; the difference between the carefully-structured, slow, intense “Concierto
de Aranjuez” and the more-mainstream jazz cuts is part of what makes
this all work so well. An essential jazz CD.
– a fan from Bainbridge Island, Washington
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Jim & Ron
Paul Desmond
Chet Baker
Photos by Chuck Stewart |
to hear sound samples.