Patty Hall

by Katie Kowsh

Call her a singer-songwriter, history teacher, guitarist, poet, banjo player, or author, Patty Hall has earned all of these distinctions.

In her newest album, JUST BE GLAD!, Hall sews together 13 tracks from her bountiful quilt of life experiences. This ever-versatile artist sings about topics ranging from a tribute to Amelia Earhart to failed relationships.

Hall is confident in her musical convictions — what she’s learned what and who she is. The overwhelming impression on this album is that she is just having a hoot doing what she loves to do. You can feel her joy and hear her smile through the wire. Her voice is added with wisdom, making her sound comfortable enough to just let it all hang out. And, through that, she is able to put others at ease too. The best part is that she isn’t too busy to stop and share what’s on her mind with whomever will listen.

In addition to performing at local San Diego coffeehouses, Hall also gives workshops and lectures. She’s also got some impressive supporters. Lou Curtiss writes, “I first heard Patty Hall sometime in the early 1970s and immediately booked her for a concert series I was doing at Folk Arts Records, my store in San Diego. Her original songs were clear (still are) and she also played traditional and old-timey music.”

A fourth-generation California native, Hall was more than qualified to call herself the “Native Daughter of the Golden West.” She recalls what it was like to leave her California home for Nashville in 1975 to pursue an internship at the Country Music Foundation. It begins with an effortlessly graceful kind of acoustic arpeggio that warms listeners up for lyrics and a delivery that’s just as thoughtful and seamless. Hall longingly sings, "Far across the valley - far as the eye can see / looking to the hills – the hills of Tennessee/ I swear I saw an ocean – It was shining in the sun / where the state of Alabama ought to be.

These days Hall is back in San Diego sharing what she’s learned during her 25 years away. Whether it’s a documentation of her longing for the land she loves, living an organic lifestyle, or giving a history lesson about life “back in the olden times,” Hall entertains, teaches and keeps it real. Her “tell it like it is” clarity and candid nature is like a welcome mat on the doorstep of her brain, inviting friends to stick around a while.

© 2006, SAN DIEGO TROUBADOUR - SAN DIEGO TROUBADOUR - January 2006

MAY 2008 SAN DIEGO TROUBADOUR

JUMP ON UP!
PATTY HALL

Reviewed by Allen Singer

In some distant corner of one of those soon-to-be-gone music stores, in between show tunes and spoken word CD albums, you might still find a children’s section with discounted, overly
dusty, but still in alphabetical order children’s CDs. There might be some wonderful children’s song collections there and Patty Hall’s new CD would be a perfect addition to any child’s home library of songs.

JUMP ON UP! is a joy for both children and adults. It’s a 12-track musical surprise consisting of five of Patty’s original children’s songs, six American traditional tunes, and an excellent original tune called “Little Dancers” by Jason Weiss. The folk songs all lend a sense of continuity and provide a historical grounding for her CD. Knowing Patty, this is not an accident of musical roulette with the tracks or style, but a way of enriching what children and even adults hear. The CD welcomes children in and invites adults to join them in a quality music experience. JUMP ON UP! provides kids with a wake-up call to be yourself and appreciate who you are. It’s a CD with a beat and a distinct rhythm, providing a musical place
where kids’ differences and similarities can be universally appreciated.

The CD starts out with “Wrinkly Knee Blues,” a song played as a Chicago-style blues tune that lyrically points out the uniqueness of each of us while giving voice to our own little quirks. Patty has definitely moved on with this CD by adding blues to her trunk full of musical styles. Whether doing old traditional tunes or her own wonderfully written songs, Patty performs heartfelt music. Her award-winning song, “Raggedy Candy Heart,” is a complex but heartwarming song that feels very real. Patty Hall really is Raggedy Ann! In fact, she has written many books about the doll, her adventures, and her stories.

The old traditional tunes on the CD showcase Patty’s core as a musician who is dedicated to the very roots of American string music and her special talent as a banjo player, vocalist and guitarist. Patty plays “The Keeper,” an old camp that brought me back to when I was a kid away from home at summer camp, enjoying the comfort of a great group sing around the campfire.

JUMP ON UP! is comforting, educational, and musically diverse. Unlike many children’s musical CDs, it’s not condescending or overly commercialized. Adults can learn a thing or two by giving this children’s CD a listen. You’ll definitely shake your tail feathers to this wonderful collection of timeless music.

- SAN DIEGO TROUBADOUR