Jim Hall, It's Nice To Be With You, Jim Hall in Berlin, Reissue, 1969

Jim Hall in some ways resembles Bill Evans. An uncritical ear may at first miss what is exceptional in his playing, because strictly surface-wise it all "sounds nice." In my early years of listening to much strident and heavy music and its association with my generation and outlook, I associated "nice" with my father's era and for a time missed some of the more subtle players. Not for years, but then.

Jim Hall's guitar playing is a special thing. Yes it is often quiet and harmonically pleasant. But then you start to get what's going on underneath the surface. That's true of the welcome reissue of It's Nice to Be with You, Jim Hall in Berlin (MPS 0209730) the first in what I hope are many rounds of MPS reissues. This one incredibly was only his second solo release at the time. There were far more later. Nonetheless it goes some way in reminding those now and then of the real artistry of his electric guitar style.

The premises are straightforward: Jim and his electric guitar by itself (overdubbed for harmony and lead parts) and Jim with a good trio of Jimmy Woode on bass and Daniel Humair, drums. They cover three Hall originals, some standards and the pop hit of the time "Up, Up and Away."

The subtle mastery of Hall is very much out front; beautifully singular voicings and very inventive line weaving are the order of the day. And that special soft sound.

It is a treasure of guitar sublimity. But that was Jim on most occasions. It is great to have this out again. I don't remember seeing this at record shops in the States then, so it is doubly good to have it readily available now. Jim was one of the greats. He shows us why here.

John Wetton, Richard Palmer-James, Jack-knife & Monkey Business Reissue

John Wetton came to my attention (and those who followed such things) as the replacement for departing bassist-vocalist Greg Lake during King Crimson's second phase. His vocals and songwriting, along with his bass playing, gave the band a second life much in keeping with the direction Fripp favored in those days. Later of course Wetton became a key member of UK and Asia.

Throughout the period and after has been a long association with lyricist-guitarist Richard Palmer-James, beginning from their schooldays in 1962 and continuing apace. We have some of the best fruits of that collaboration with two of their albums re-released and packaged as a special 2-CD set, namely Jack-knife (1978) and Monkey Business (1972-1997) (Primary Purpose 001).

Jack-knife is nothing to sneeze at, with its eclectic collection of blues classics done prog-style and originals. But the second album Monkey Business fascinates me a good deal more, a kind of scrapbook of demos, alternate versions and the songs King Crimson were working on when the band came to an abrupt halt, ending the second phase in 1974.

We get some excellent prog rock in various stages of completeness but all with a spark of immediacy, some music very familiar from Crimson (and UK and Asia), others not as much, but all fascinating. We get different versions of "Easy Money," "The Laughing Lake," "Starless," and much else besides.

It will bring back a period for those who originally experienced it, but it is good music anyway for those who didn't.

This may not get to those not enamored with prog in its prime period, but for others it will be most memorable and absorbing.

Toulouse Engelhardt, Mind Gardens

For contemporary acoustic guitar soloists who have established their own distinct style of playing, we can think of Gary Lucas, John Fahey, Leo Kottke and Ralph Towner. All have laid down their own original turf to create vibrant music that to varying degrees draws upon folk styles, country blues and/or classical guitar influences.

To that list we can add Toulouse Engelhardt, based on his recent solo album Mind Gardens (Lost Grove Arts 1008). "13 Novelties of Space, Time and Contemplation" is how the album cover describes the music. It fits. Other than one duet for guitar and alto flute this is an all-solo affair.

Toulouse plays six- and twelve-string guitar with the sort of flourish one expects of someone worthy of such lengthy display. I like the way he voices chords especially. He gets some beautiful, bright, resonant sounds by doing such things and it is great to hear. He can also pick out very well on chords-melodies in interesting ways that may remind a bit of Kottke but as an extension, not a copy.

It is music that washes over you in most pleasing ways, yet for the guitar conscious he is doing something that's worth attending to. Check out his nice version of the Shaker hymn "'Tis A Gift to Be Simple" if you want to hear his very creative way with something familiar.

This is good. Very, very good. Acousticians take note!

SimakDialog, Live at Orion, Two-CD Set

The remarkable Indonesian fusion group SimakDialog have been mixing it up for a while with a number of increasingly developed albums on MoonJune records. They return in a big way with a 2-CD set recorded in a Baltimore, MD venue, Live at Orion (MoonJune 068).

It is a treat to listen to the well-recorded date, with all the advantages a live gig can have--the ability to stretch out, take more chances, improvise at greater length, be energized by a sympathetic audience, and such. That is very much what happens on this set.

Riza Arshad on electric piano, Tohpati on electric guitar, Rudy Zulkarnaen on bass guitar, and the traditional Indonesian hand percussion threesome of Endang Ramdan, Erlan Suwardana and Cucu Kurnia, and special guest Beledo on electric guitar for the final piece--all make this a special occasion.

The percussion triumvirate gives the music drive yet also leaves an audio opening for the electric instruments that gives them their own aural pocket. In a live setting the doings of keys, guitar and bass are all the more out front. Their interplay and that of the percussion section gives off a special dynamic clarity.

The pieces are expanded versions of previously recorded numbers and perhaps a couple of new ones as well. Their Indonesian-fusion mix has never sounded so convincing as here, though previous albums are uniformly terrific.

Both guitarist Tohpati (plus the guest Beledo) and keyboardist Riza Arshad come through with some very impressive soloing in the advanced fusion realm. Guitar enthusiasts will especially appreciate Tohpati, who is on fire here, showing himself as one of the more innovative and accomplished artists out there these days. Riza sounds excellently inventive, too. And the two-guitar jamming on the final cut is something to hear.

This live album is definitely one of their very best. The excitement builds and the energy never flags. Excellent. Primo SimakDialog! Start here if you don't know the band. And you should. In any case this is not to be missed.

Looking for Johnny, The Legend of Johnny Thunders, DVD Documentary

Who was Johnny Thunders? He was the legendary guitarist, singer, songwriter with the New York Dolls, the Heartbreakers, and as a solo artist who died in 1991 at the tender age of 36. The Danny Garcia docu-biography film Looking for Johnny is out on DVD (MVD Visual 6544D) and I watched it the other night with interest.

Johnny was in some ways a Keith Richards of the later generation of rockers. He wrote effective songs, played guitar in straightforward ways, and lived an image of the rocker-on-the-edge that was all too real. The film follows his life with extensive interview footage, including some of Johnny himself, concert/club video excerpts and a chronological narrative.

It tells the story of how he fit in with the New York Dolls and their emphasis on raw hard rock and a visual wallop, then follows him into the Heartbreaker days when the music continued in the raw and hard vein that was in the end intertwined with punk though in the musical sense it had a kinship but not an absolutely identical quality. And it goes on to his solo and on again, off again band offshoots.

It is a story of the tragedy of rock excess. By this period the image of the rock star and legitimation by self-destruction had carried over from the earlier jazz-Bird ethos and entered the electric music scene. Johnny got heavily into hard drugs and ultimately it contributed to his early death but also in part hindered any significant major success. He was and many in his band were so obviously strung out that they gained a reputation for unreliability which seems quite warranted. Beisides, a dangerous image was one thing but the rock world needed artists to produce on demand and Johnny was not always ready to put together a cohesive musical presentation when it was most needed.

His solo career is covered in some depth and on the musical side it revealed Johnny as a more versatile songwriter with a prolific ability to come up with some good tunes.

But mostly this is a story of a talent that gradually slid down the slope of self-destruction into an early oblivion. In that way he was the prototypical rocker of the era, a person who would rather destroy himself than grow old. The film describes that slide in detail, harrowingly I suppose you could say. The testimony of friends and associates, band members and rock industry magnates associated with his career, all of it contributes to a vivid picture of someone who simply could not stop, who was inside a fragile creature not really suited to the emotional and lifestyle extremes of the rock scene of the day.

It's very sad in the end. And pretty riveting throughout. Certainly a good and engrossing documentation of the New York scene and the burgeoning raw-rock revival. It explains his success, and it goes into the labyrinthian variables that the music business embodied in his day, how his dangerous image was both a way to sell him and also what kept him off the mainstream money-wagon for the most part. Fascinating.

Curved Air, North Star

For whatever reason I paid almost no attention to the prog rocker British group Curved Air in their heyday. I heard their big hits on the radio and did not hate them; otherwise I was moving into other directions then.

They disbanded and reformed several times and last year recorded a new album, North Star (Curved Air 002). I was sent a copy, listened, and was surprised that I rather liked it. A few months later and here I stand with a review of same.

I like it. They do some of the old songs, some new ones and some covers, notably Lennon's "Across the Universe." The original singer, Sonja Kristina, is there and she sounds fine. Kirby Gregory is on lead guitar and makes a good showing as does violinist Paul Sax.

It's about a prog-psych ambience, some nice prog-type arrangements and a little bit of soloing, and the songs, which strike me as memorable. They get a rich group sound, too.

So if you aren't into prog you may not care for this music. But if you are it is a most pleasant surprise. It's good for all that.

Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord, Jeremiah

Now that all the hooting and hollering about Blue is behind us, I trust we can get back to the music other than that one! MOPDTK of course is one outfit and Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord is another. There are members that span both groups, but the two have managed to maintain separate identities. Both have a sense of humor and both do some amazing music.

The Jon Lundbom aggregation have come through with a new one, Jeremiah (Hot Cup 142), that should remind us (the Catholic "we") that these cats still kick some exceptionally large butt. Or is it that they kick butt very swiftly and in a timely manner? Never mind the turn of phrase. You I am sure get me.

This album is another scorcher. Jon Lundbom supplies most of the compositional frames and they jump out at you. But he also is an exceptional electric guitarist who needs to be listened to. He has a jagged style that is out in a linear way but rhythmically outstanding as well. I won't say that he has the rhythmic sensibility of later Zappa, but both manage to play with time and against time in their own distinctive way. So his guitar wielding is something to hear.

The band is at its iconoclastic best again on this one. They have two guests who add to the mix in good ways. They are Justin Wood on alto and flute, Sam Kulik on trombone. So you get four horns for the compositional gathering and the guests solo well too.

Otherwise it's the potent combination of Lundbom, Jon Irabagon on soprano, Bryan Murray on tenor and baltosax, Moppa Elliot on bass, and Dan Monaghan on drums (and that snare!....sorry, a little allusion to some humor expressed by band members on social media in reference to my naming their last album as a "Record of the Year" last December).

If you don't think these guys can be funny listen to Bryan Murray's solo entrance on "The Bottle." Why it is funny I cannot put into words, but some of AEC's playing in their heyday was funny in inexpressible ways like that.

But the band is also dead serious of course. This is more of the gathering's remarkable music, evolutionarily modern, a superb outcropping of where things have been going in the realm of advanced "jazz."

That's a truth I feel and I am happy to express it. If this album sells--and of course I wish it does--it is nothing to do with controversy. It is for the excellence of the music. It's here to hear, so give it your ear.