1969 · Album
It's Nice to Be with You: Jim Hall in Berlin
Recorded 1963 in Berlin · Philips · Produced by Not specified in original release documentation
Intimate Conversations in a Foreign City
Hall's guitar whispers where it could shout, letting silence do as much work as the notes themselves.
Jim Hall was never a flashy player, and that's exactly what makes this Berlin session work so well. Recorded live in front of an audience that clearly appreciated restraint, It's Nice to Be with You captures Hall doing what he does best: listening hard to whoever's in the room and responding with intelligence and warmth. There's no ego wrestling here, no one trying to prove anything. The guitar sits in the mix like it belongs there naturally, and the whole thing has the feeling of friends playing in someone's living room, except that living room happens to be packed with people and the conversation is being recorded.
What distinguishes this from Hall's other work is the setting itself. There's an ease to the playing that comes from being in front of a live audience in a city that wasn't his home, which somehow freed him to be more himself. The tunes move at a comfortable pace, nothing rushed. Hall's sense of time is impeccable throughout—he'll hold a note just long enough to make you hear it, then step back and let space breathe. The interplay between instruments feels genuinely conversational rather than competitive, which is rarer than it should be in jazz.
This isn't a debut or a peak moment in Hall's career—he was already an accomplished musician by this point. It's also not a record that everyone needs to own, especially if you're just starting out with his music. But if you already know Hall's work and want to hear him in a particularly relaxed and connected setting, this one rewards careful listening. The title says it plainly: it's nice to be with you, listener included. That's not a small thing in jazz.
