Jim Hall; Ron Carter Duo - Alone Together (1972)

In the 1970s, guitarist Jim Hall and bassist Ron Carter joined to form one of the most enduring and empathetic duos in jazz history. Their first album was Alone Together, a collection of standards and originals recorded live at New York's Playboy Club in 1972. Known for his conservative, reliable delivery, Hall opens with an embarrassingly effortless reading of Sonny Rollins' "St. Thomas". Carter immediately establishes himself as a simpatico partner, complementing Hall's nonpareil, deceptively simple technique through his parallel, contrapuntal lines. Though there is little in the way of improvisational tension manufactured in this eight track programme, Hall and Carter compensate by delivering an elegant, controlled concert characterised by time-shifting patterns and moments of sublime beauty ("Softly As In A Morning Sunrise"). There are no false notes or rough jousts in "Alone Together", only a relaxed, gentlemanly ambience that occasionally disguises an overt virtuosity. Elements of Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian can be found in the progressive phrasing of Hall, whose cat-like finesse is most clearly pronounced in his own "Whose Bluse". His conversations with Carter reach a peak in the concluding "Prelude To A Kiss" and "Autumn Leaves". An ideal collaboration, then, offering a programme equally suited to a late- night club session or an alfresco picnic. --Kevin Mulhall




Tracks:

*01.-St. Thomas
*02.-Alone Together
*03.-Receipt, Please
*04.-I'll Remember April
*05.-Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise
*06.-Whose Blues
*07.-Prelude To A Kiss
*08.-Autumn Leaves



Personnel:

*Jim Hall: guitar
*Ron Carter: bass













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