Jim Hall's debut as a leader proved to be a landmark recording for the guitarist, as the chemistry between him, young pianist Carl Perkins, and bassist
Red Mitchell was superb. Unfortunately, producer Richard Bock, an inspired producer at times, couldn't resist tweaking the master tapes unnecessarily over the course of later editions. The original Pacific Jazz LP had ten tracks, though Bock inexplicably edited six of them, removing most of the solos by Perkins and bassist
Mitchell on the first reissue and also removing one song, "This Is Always," entirely. If that wasn't bad enough, Bock later overdubbed drums played by Larry Bunker, completely destroying the intimate sound of the original album. When
Jazz Guitar was reissued on CD in 1988, none of the masters of the tracks prior to editing could be found. "Too Close for Comfort," recorded during the 1957 sessions but issued separately on an anthology, was added, along with an erroneously labeled master and alternate of "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," as the longer alternate take was actually the original master and the shorter take an edited version. Of course, the removed song, "This Is Always," was nowhere to be found. Collectors grumbled about this situation, trying to find an original LP pressing of
Jazz Guitar in decent shape, though its value quickly shot up into the hundreds of dollars in the 1990s. The inadequate CD reissue lapsed from print and
Hall fans wondered if anything better would eventually turn up. Fortunately, a mint copy of the original
Jazz Guitar LP was located and remastered, adding the lost recording of "This Is Always" to boot, and duly issued by the European Gambit label. The sound is excellent, with no audible surface noise, and the contributions of both Perkins (who died in 1958) and
Mitchell can now be fully appreciated. If that weren't enough, other material recorded by
Hall as a sideman with
John Lewis over three sessions between 1956 and 1960 has been added as bonus material.
Jim Hall has recorded many landmark albums during his long career, but this CD reissue is definitely one of the essential parts of his vast discography. ~ Ken Dryden