Jim Hall

Jazz guitarist, composer, and arranger Jim Hall was born in Buffalo, New York on December 4, 1930. He was one of the most innovative guitarists in jazz and continued to work on his craft until his death. Raised in a family of musicians, he received a guitar for Christmas when he was 10 years old. When he was 13, he heard a Benny Goodman album featuring guitarist Charlie Christian and his life was forever changed. Hall’s music career began in 1956 when he moved to Los Angeles, California and studied classical guitar with Vicente Gómez. He played in Chico Hamilton’s quintet between 1955 and ’56, joining Jimmy Giuffre’s band from 1957 to 1960. During this time, he recorded his 1957 debut album Jazz Guitar. In the late ‘50s, he began teaching at the Lenox School of Jazz as well as touring with Jazz at the Philharmonic. He began working as a sideman with dozens of artists including Ben Webster, Ruby Braff, Bob Brookmeyer, Buddy Collette, Paul Desmond, John Lewis, and many others. He moved to New York in 1960 and continued playing alongside more jazz greats, recording and performing with Sonny Rollins, Lee Konitz, Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald, Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, and more. While he had recorded collaborations with others, he didn’t release his second proper solo album until 1969’s It’s Nice to Be with You. Subsequent solo albums in his catalog included Where Would I Be? (1971), Circles (1981), Subsequently (1992), and By Arrangement (1998). With over three dozen studio releases as leader or co-leader, over a dozen live albums, more than 20 compilations and numerous albums as a sideman, Hall was a prolific artist. Over his career, he received numerous awards including the New York Jazz Critics Award for Best Jazz Composer/Arranger (1997), the Danish Jazzpar Prize (1998), the Choc de l’année Award (in 2005 and ’06), Downbeat Music Magazine, and many more. Jim Hall died on December 10, 2013 at the age of 83.

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