By Arrangement
Jim Hall is an accomplished guitarist who's been playing professionally since the mid-'50s. OnBy Arrangement, Hall maintains his clean, articulate guitar style and displays his abundant talents as a composer and arranger, delving further into the territory he explored so successfully on 1997'sTextures. Hall also hosts a number of special musical guests on this date, including guitarist Pat Metheny, saxophonist Joe Lovano, and trumpeter Tom Harell. Besides performing his own material, Hall has worked out compelling arrangements of songs by jazz composers like Thelonius Monk, Benny Golson, and Paul Desmond. On the classic John Lewis composition, "Django," Hall and Metheny duet on acoustic guitars over an empathic string section. Juxtaposing his straightforward performances against backgrounds of strings, brass, and even a chorus of voices, Hall's easy listening approach is both tasteful and emotive.--Mitch Myers