Jim Hall’s Master Class in Jazz Guitar at the Bakery

It was hard to understand why the Jazz Bakery wasn’t overflowing with guitarists Thursday night for the opening performance by Jim Hall and Scott Colley. How often, after all, does one get to hear one of the finest jazz guitarists in the world, working in a chamber music setting with the sole accompaniment of a talented young bassist?

Not very often at all, in fact, and it was a revelation to hear Hall at the top of his game, performing in such relatively spontaneous fashion. The sparseness of the setting obviously provided an opportunity to experience the very heart of his music, to appreciate the remarkable creativity of improvisations in which the shifting of a single finger on a string could create a subtle change of mood.

Equally important, and somewhat more unexpectedly--given the fact that Colley is far younger and far less known than Hall--it was fascinating to hear the stunningly symbiotic interaction between the two players. With very little prior performing experience together, the pieces of their music meshed like the workings of a fine Swiss watch.

In “All the Things You Are,” for example, they climaxed the piece with a superbly balanced tightrope walk through an improvised segment of counterpoint, each producing lines that wound sinuously and harmoniously around each other. “In a Sentimental Mood” began as a lushly chorded solo guitar statement, then moved into a two-player musical etude, its impact enhanced by the surging sense of swing that underscored all of Hall’s phrasing, and the compositional-like structure-making that invested everything Colley played.

And, finally, there was a Hall original--”Why Not Dance”--dedicated to the swing era bandleader Jimmie Lunceford. Hall’s sly whimsy was present in his use of strums, guitar taps and sound effects, and the overall effect, amazingly, was a strikingly impressive two-man version of the ineffable Lunceford swing.

The performance was preceded by the screening of “Jim Hall--A Life in Progress,” an hourlong documentary, providing some insights into the career of this fine artist. But the music was the real thing--music that was as good as it gets for contemporary jazz guitar. And any guitarist who fails to stop by to hear Hall’s definitive playing is missing one of the opportunities of a lifetime.

* Jim Hall and Scott Colley at the Jazz Bakery through Sunday. 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. (310) 271-9039. $22 admission tonight at 8 and 9:30; $20 admission Sunday at 7:15 and 8:30 p.m. (Documentary screens at 7 tonight and 6 p.m. Sunday. Separate admission, $5.)