This is prostrate-on-the-couch, block-out-all-distractions, listen-through-a-good-sound-system music. Guitarists Jim Hall, 78, and Bill Frisell, 57, comprise a mutual admiration society, and this two-CD set represents their first long-form collaboration. Hemispheres is ultra-sensitive, and at times almost unbearably subtle, but considerable rewards await the patient and attentive listener.
Disc One is a series of duets, recorded at musician Tony Scherr’s house in Brooklyn on an analog 8-track recorder. The twosome played some songs (“Bags Groove,” Dylan’s “Masters of War”) and engaged in plenty of freely interactive improvisation, which resulted sometimes in space-jams like the 15-minute “Migration” (where Frisell uses loops and effects to underpin Hall’s solos) and sometimes in a more song-like piece like “Beijing Blues.”
Frisell’s atmospherics blend well with Hall’s mostly single-note lines, played with a round, muted tone that can at times come off as nigh toothless. When Frisell solos, his sound has more bite, although he steers well clear of anything that might be borderline loud or feature too much of his trademark warble.
Disc Two adds bassist Scott Colley and drummer Joey Baron to the mix, and was recorded digitally at a New York studio in one session. Might be time for some fireworks? Nope.
A handful of the tunes are on the frisky side, notably the standards “My Funny Valentine” and “Sonnymoon For Two,” but clearly the emphasis throughout the project was on quiet give-and-take and delicate communication. The narrow scope of the album’s mood and dynamics can be frustrating at times, but then again Hemispheres is best experienced in times of isolated reflection, or perhaps used as background music while you’re chopping carrots for the stew.
This article appears in Dec 31, 2008 – Jan 6, 2009.