The Steve Hall Quintet

Album Review

A strong debut from journeyman jazzer Steve Hall and his cohort of performers. Given the band's relative obscurity, the release is surprisingly well put together, with a nice mix of standards and original compositions, and tones ranging from relaxed to up-tempo. The album is somewhat solo-heavy, with horn players Cal Hudson and Richard Watson taking their share of flights of fancy, as well as guitarist Peter Schwimmer. Oddly enough, Hall's organ tends to fade into the background in a rhythm role more often than not. The original compositions are generally not terribly adventurous, but quite nice. The standards are treated with perhaps more reverence than one would expect — really, even more than the originators (especially in the case of Monk and Shorter) might have given their compositions. This jazz is almost too well polished. Still, the performances are very nice, and Hall shines in his solo runs on the Hammond. Certainly worth a spin.