Telepathy

Performer: Ron Carter (Bass)
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Ron Carter (bass); Jim Hall (guitar). Reissue producer: Nick Phillips. LIVE AT THE VILLAGE WEST: Producers include: Retrac Productions, Jim Hall. Engineers include: Jim Anderson, Phil Edwards. Recorded live at the Village West, New York, New York in November 1982. Originally released on Concord Records (CCD-4245). Includes liner notes by Jim Ferguson. TELEPHONE: Producer: Carl E. Jefferson. Engineers include: Phil Edwards, Phil De Lancie, Jim Hilson. Recorded live at the Concord Pavillion, Concord, California in August 1984. Originally released on Concord Records (CCD-4270). Includes liner notes by John S. Wilson. Recording information: Concord Pavillion, Concord, CA (11/1982-08/1984); Village West, New York, NY (11/1982-08/1984). Illustrator: Dennis Purcell. Here are two duet albums, both recorded live within two years of each other between a pair of giants: bassist Ron Carter and guitarist Jim Hall. Hall, along with his former bandmates Jimmy Giuffre and the late Paul Desmond, is the consummate melodic improviser, and Carter, despite his tenures with Rollins and Coltrane, is adept at moving from one musical space to another -- either intervalically, modally, or stylistically -- without difficulty. The intimate interplay found on both Live at the Village West and its successor, 1984's Telephone (as in two-way conversation), is nothing short of remarkable. The setup is between two front line instrumentalists who are both rhythmnatists in their own right. Hall is a consummate rhythm guitarist and he gets a chance to display it on tunes such as "Down From Antigua," "Laverne Walk," "Indian Summer," and "Two's Blues." Carter, who is known for his unwavering rhythmic commitment, is deft as a lead man in such an intimate setting. Check out his solos on "Bag's Groove" and "Alone Together." Hall, however, is the greatest surprise. Despite the fact that this is, as one would expect, a fairly laid-back date, his intricacy of attack and his lofty, harmonic scalar heights are simply astonishing. In his solo ascent on Carter's "Telephone," he goes inside the rhythm and harmony of the tune and exchanges them interval by interval. On "St. Thomas" from the Village West album, he cops the three-string lead pattern he's so famous for, inverts the harmony and melody, and builds a new series of changes in the middle of the break. The gorgeous low-key swinging found here in this reissue proves one thing for sure -- that these two dates should have always been packaged together. These are indispensable guitar and bass duets by two masters of intimate musical discourse. ~ Thom Jurek

One of the most gifted, influential, and ubiquitous jazz bassists of the 20th century, Ron Carter made his name in the early 1960s in the bands of Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Cannonball Adderley, Thelonious Monk, and others. His unique combination of technical facility, visceral swing, and innate melody made him one of the most in-demand session players for decades, and he recorded with innumerable top-flight musicians, including George Benson, Sonny Rollins, and Stanley Turrentine. Somehow, he's found time over the years to maintain a solo career as well, composing his own material and leading a variety of all-star bands onstage and in the studio.

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