Another jazz great departs, with the news reported by NPR and Jazz Corner in the States that guitar icon Jim Hall has died at the age of 83. His death comes shortly after the passing of drummer Chico Hamilton whose group Hall was an original member of in 1955. Hall later joined the Jimmy Giuffre 3 and toured with Ella Fitzgerald in South America in the early-1960s just as bossa nova was to become all the rage. A member of Sonny Rollins’ quartet from 1961-2 and then co-leader of a famed quartet with Art Farmer, Hall also played duos with Paul Desmond before forming his own trio in 1965. His honours include being awarded the Jazzpar prize, and becoming an NEA Jazz Master. Key records include his appearance on Sonny Rollins’ The Bridge in 1962 and his albums with Ron Carter Live at Village West in the 1980s and more recently Hemispheres with Bill Frisell.