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Jim Hall Ron Carter Duo: Alone Together, Again Back in the 1970s and early 1980s, the prolific collaborations of Jim Hall and Ron Carter created quite a stir, one that has never quite abated. Today's audiences are still clamoring for more. Concord Records noted this interest and included three of the Hall/Carter duo tracks on the October 2006 release of a 2-CD compilation, HALLMARKS (B000IFRQAE). Now both Hall and Carter have made time in their schedules for a reunion tour, beginning in April 2007 at The Blue Note in New York, and including venues as far away as Japan. Reviewers have commented on their taste and humor, harmonic sensibilities, and mastery of their craft. Both are revered by fans and by fellow artists alike. Both eschew reliance on technical or physical accoutrements, relying instead on their own cerebral musical imaginings. Hall and Carter are masters of understatement, flawless examples of how to make a little say a lot. Once the melody is stated, these two masters explore together, neither playing the expected notes yet each feeling, hearing, and anticipating the other. If you ever supposed that two improvisers might run out of things to say to one another, particularly when the subject is an often-played tune, perish the thought. ALONE TOGETHER (B000000YQ3), their first duo album was recorded in 1972 at The Playboy Club in New York City. Ten years later they re-created the live duo recording experience at a small nightclub in New York's Greenwich Village - 'Live at The Village West'. And two years later a reprise -TELEPHONE (B0000006FD)-, recorded live at the Concord Jazz Festival. ALONE TOGETHER, AGAIN is a rare opportunity as both artists have plates full of other projects. It's been years since these two giants have taken the stage together as a duo, and decades may elapse before it happens again. (©2007 Devra Hall-Levy)