Jim Hall (1930), a East Coast guitarist who arrived in Los Angeles in 1955 and played with Chico Hamilton (1955-56) and Jimmy Giuffre (1956-59), moved back to New York in 1959 and played with Sonny Rollins (1961-62) and Art Farmer (1962-64). Hall specialized in slow and tidy solos that were the antithesis of Charlie Christian's solos. Hall's crystal-clear guitar was pure sound, predating the era of quiet, soft jazz.

He matured as a leader in the 1960s (a quartet with Paul Desmond) and especially in the 1970s. He also composed classical music and a Quartet Plus Four for jazz and string quartets (recorded in april 1998).

Jim Hall died in 2013.