Bassist Charlie Haden and guitarist Jim Hall both famously loved performing and recording in the duo format, so this concert recording was probably inevitable. The performance came as part of Haden’s Invitation series at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and it finds them doing what they both loved: playing both standards and originals with the unique blend of respect for tradition and desire to break it down that characterized both of them. It’s Haden’s genius as a bassist to be able to play solos that non-bassists actually want to listen to; it’s Hall’s genius to recognize that he can actually lay out during those solos — and to know exactly how to pick up on Haden’s ideas when it’s his turn.

– Rick Anderson