Jim Hall & Joey Baron
Conversations
Artist Share
www.artistshare.com
By George W. Harris

Jim Hall seems to thrive on these intimate summit meetings. He’s done them with other guitarists, as well as pianists, bassists, and in Joey Baron, he finds the perfect drummer, as Baron has done stuff like this with the likes of Bill Frisell for years. Baron’s got the ears of a true conversationalist, knowing when to listen and when to contribute on this collection of originals and standards. The material ranges in time from under a minute to over nine, the latter being an opportunity for Baron to stretch out a bit on “Travelogue.” Other songs, like “Bag’s Groove” are short and sweet little rhythmic ditties, while others like “Ballad Painting” are a bit more explorative. The shorter tunes make you beg for them to stretch out a bit, almost like you’re on the tail end of a great movie, but other than that, the interplay is impressive here.