When producer Mary Ann Topper teamed Petrucciani with Hall in late 1985, it was a truly inspired choice. Hall, the consummate accompanist and thoughtful soloist, is the kind of player who can work with just about anyone and find a way to gracefully inject his own gentle presence. And if the Petrucciani/Hall pairing was inspiration, adding Shorter for the final three pieces of the performance was pure genius. Working together, on the strength of this Montreux performance recorded on July, 14, 1986, yielded the kind of incredible interplay that most musicians dream of. Hall's tone has always been warm, but blends an acoustic brightness that yields an incredible feeling of intimacy; regardless of where you are, you feel like you're sitting only a few feet away.
After seeing "Round Midnight," I knew I had to buy the soundtrack, and if you too have seen the movie, you know what I mean. All the recordings on here were recorded live for the movie, which gives it a great intimate feeling. At the same time, the sound quality on this particular CD is surprisingly good.
An elegant and sophisticated pianist, his encyclopedic harmonic approach and wide range of his repertory made him one of the most distinctive jazz pianists to come out of Chicago, gaining the respect of local and visiting musicians for his notable mastery of the instrument.
The duo setting is regarded by many as one of the most demanding, intimate, and personal musical undertakings one can take on, and the upcoming album by Lars Jansson and Thomas Agergaard is certainly no exception. Both celebrated as significant, influential figures in Scandinavian Jazz, their spacious, introspective joint personal statement ‘Garden of Sounds’ is set to release on June 2nd on Arts.