This recorded, intimate document was recorded at Jazz Beat during the Montreal Jazz Festival in

1990 and sees its first official release on this Impulse! volume. Bassist Charlie Haden and guitarist
Jim Hall played a number of duet concerts together over the years, but this was certainly among
the very earliest. Given their respective careers up to this point, both men had nearly perfected the
artistry of playing in this particular chamber jazz setting. That all said, it does not prepare the
listener for the canny, intimate, yet absolutely electric interplay on offer here. From readings of
standards such as "Bemsha Swing," "Body and Soul," and Skylark" through to Ornette Coleman's
"Turnaround" and excellent originals by both men -- including Haden's bookends, the tenderly
dissonant "First Song" and the knotty "In the Moment," and Hall's sprightly melodic Latin waltz
"Down from Antigua" and his fingerpopping "Big Man Blues" -- this music is an adventure top to
bottom. It unfolds gradually and cannily over 76 minutes. Ethan Iverson's liner essay is spirited,
insightful, and illuminating to boot. This set is not only impossible to criticize, but adds an
immeasurable depth to the catalogs of both artists.