Reviews

"James Hall and Robert Siegel are a perfect match in The Serpent Speaks, a beautiful symphonic composition in sound and word. The music by Hall is a modern jazz alliance with Siegel’s dramatic poem about the fallen world. Using two percussionists, a saxophone, a guitar, a bass, and Hall’s own lyrical trombone, the music intertwines with two voices, female and male, to make for a powerful statement about human misery and hope. Word and sound blend together in an artistic marriage that is greater than the sum of the parts. There is rhythm; there is meditation; there is drama; and there is love."

-Bill Edgar
Jazz Pianist
Author, Taking Note of Music

"...at times I felt I was listening to the music of the spheres...the whole struck me as symphonic."

-Robert Siegel
Author of The Serpent Speaks,
included in his collection "A Pentecost of Finches" (Paraclete Press).

"We heard “The Serpent Speaks” premiere and wish we could hear it again! The power of jazz arises from a power to convene, and James Hall has convened a breathtaking synergy in his trombone, sax, guitar, traps, percussion, bass and voice readers. We anticipated it would be avant garde jazz, but we all found the piece delightfully accessible, expressive, a broad palette of sound in support of Siegel’s provocative poem, brilliantly written and sensitively played. I who had not read the poem before hearing this setting cannot imagine it without this happy marriage to Hall’s affectionate, transparent treatment. His arrangement honors the players as much as the poem, melding seamlessly scored passages with improvisation. Their respect for each other, for James and for the poem itself lent a redemptive ambiance to the dark but ultimately hopeful text."

-David Covington
Guitarist, Vocalist, and Songwriter