Jim Hall

Given that he's played with the likes of Jimmy Giuffre, Paul Desmond and Lee Konitz, it's no wonder that Jim Hall is one of the coolest jazz-ats in the biz - a guitarists famed for his spare, completely uncluttered approach to improvisation. The 81-year-old isn't adverse to the odd challenge, either: when he and his trio played a residency at the New York Blue Note in April, he invited fellow guitarist Julian Lage – a man nearly six decades his junior – to sit in with them. The Jim Hall Trio are booked for a four-night residency at Blue Note Tokyo from June 3, but their leader will be heading to Cotton Club the night before for a solo show of his own.