Edmond Hall needed an extended stretch before forging a truly personal voice, yet once the early 1940s arrived his clarinet tone had become strikingly singular and raw, audible from the first phrase. One of four brothers—all clarinetists and sons of the veteran New Orleans player Edward Hall—he appeared in a succession of local groups, among them Buddy Petit’s band from 1921 to 1923, before traveling north to New York in 1928 with Alonzo Ross.
For the next six years he sat in Claude Hopkins’ orchestra, doubling on baritone and only rarely hinting at the mature clarinet style he would later claim. Engagements with Lucky Millinder, Zutty Singleton, and Joe Sullivan followed, and by the time he entered Red Allen’s unit in 1940 his approach had fully crystallized. He stayed with Teddy Wilson’s sextet through 1944, turning down the invitation in 1942 to succeed Barney Bigard in Duke Ellington’s Orchestra.
From 1944 onward Hall worked regularly with Eddie Condon, including broadcasts on the Town Hall Concert series, led his own unit at Cafe Society, spent several seasons in Boston, and served as a regular member of the house band at Condon’s club between 1950 and 1955. Global tours as part of Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars occupied 1955–1958; during the following decade he rejoined Condon from time to time. His final recording session took place at John Hammond’s 1967 Spirituals to Swing concert, shortly before Hall died of a heart attack.
As a leader he documented his work for Blue Note (1941–1944), Commodore, Savoy, Storyville, United Artists, and assorted smaller imprints.
