This excellent double-album compendium captures the earliest recordings of Jim Hall, the quintessential example of a guitarist's guitarist. You don't get many ‘wow’ moments from him, just the growing satisfaction of being in the capable hands of an introverted expert who has most aspects of the game covered. This quiet American has never been a speed demon of the fretboard, but his elegant, minimalist style wears so well that this four-album collection is pleasure to revisit from start to finish. It opens with Guitar Jazz, Hall's debut album as leader. It featured a drumless trio with the estimable Carl Perkins on piano and the great Red Mitchell showing that West Coast double-bassists could steam along on a brisk version of ‘Tangerine’. Like many another bassman, Mitchell could also play acceptable piano, as he does on the album Good Friday Blues, when Red Kelly took over the bass. The other two albums feature Jim as sideman to clarinettist Bill Smith and altoist Paul Desmond, two sophisticated and somewhat cerebral soloists each destined to become the front-line voice of the Dave Brubeck quartet in later years. Smith's hot chamber-jazz quartet included drummer Shelly Manne and bassist Monty Budwig, with Hall supplying all the chordwork, particularly skilfully on ‘Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen’. The final album, First Place Again, acknowledges Desmond's run of wins in the alto-sax section of Metronome magazine's annual jazz poll. Alongside him here are Hall and the MJQ's Percy Heath and Connie Kay on bass and drums. Enough said about the rhythm section. Paul's limpid but quicksilver sax sounds especially felicitous on ‘For all We Know’, ‘Greensleeves’ and ‘East Of The Sun’, where the sax-guitar counterpoint choruses are scintillating.