Jim Hall/Bill Frisell

Hemispheres

(ArtistShare)

The disc of duets between Jim Hall and Bill Frisell, included in a double-album set that finds the distinctive stylists alone together and in a quartet setting, is quite simply a masterpiece, featuring some of the most searching and beautiful music ever made on guitar. Each man is acutely aware of every gesture that the other makes – you can feel how closely they’re listening to one another – but there’s never any sense that one is following the other. In fact, they delight in pushing the connections between them as far as possible and heightening contrasts in styles.

On “All Across the City” and “Migration,” Frisell gives his pedals a workout, enveloping Hall in nebulae of sounds, colors and textures, and interweaving lines and melodies delivered with a country twang. Hall remains unperturbed; his lines bristle with quirky dissonances and off-hand avant-garde gestures. On “Bag’s Groove,” the pair delivers mirror-image takes on the blues, with Hall’s sharp, funky acoustic guitar contrasting Frisell’s rounded, good-natured country drawl. Surprising details and arresting nuances reward careful listeners on every track.

The quartet session – featuring bassist Scott Colley and drummer Joey Baron – isn’t far behind in quality and inventiveness. Again the music cooks on a low, blue flame and the subtlest moments are the most intense. As they do on the duet album, variety and contrast carry the day. Hall and Frisell luxuriate in the melody of “Chelsea Bridge,” yet they never once play “I’ll Remember April” as written. They work up a nice Kansas City head of steam on “Owed to Freddie Green,” with each guitarist skating effortlessly over the four-beats-to-the-bar swing groove. Then, they weave tempoless abstractions into “Hear and Now.” Everything is delivered with wit, deep feeling and attention to sound and texture. A constant joy and an instant classic. – Ed Hazell