Charlie Haden - Jim Hall

2014 archive release, a previously-unreleased recording of a stunning duo performance by these two recently departed masters at the 1990 Montreal International Jazz Festival. At first this might seem an unusual pairing - the dean of the avant-garde bass and a fellow that defined mainstream jazz guitar - but Charlie Haden and Jim Hall shared much common ground. Besides the decades of jazz history they each walked on stage with on July 2, 1990, they also both proved themselves to be masters of the Art of the Duo over the course of their illustrious careers. Together Haden and Hall bring thundering intimacy and gentle envelope-pushing on this profound series of duos. Haden and Hall had something else in common as well, an earthiness that grounded whatever they're doing, something that gives a listener something to hold onto.