Craig Hall Performing

Guitarist and upright bassist Craig Hall carved a professional musical niche out of the isolated Rocky Mountain landscape beginning in the 80’s. After graduating from Montana State University music program with highest honors, where he studied classical guitar with Christopher Parkening and jazz theory with Fred Raulston, Craig took to the highways of Montana, Wyoming and beyond to play countless jazz gigs with a small, determined cluster of fellow rural, mostly-jazzists, eventually teaming up with regional players for tours covering most of the lower 48, Alaska, Hawaii, then gigs in Canada, Australia, Romania, The Czech Republic and Japan.

Highlights as a dedicated sideman included gigs/tours and/or recordings with Eden Atwood, Jeni Fleming, Bob Nell, Kelly Roberty, Brad Edwards, Kostas, Rob Quist, Dave Walker, MJ Williams, Ann Tappan, Montana Mandolin Society, Rob Kohler, Dave Morgenroth, Michael Meyers and dozens more, and, more recently, Silas Stewart, Bob Bowman, Elana Haydn, Marie Smith, Garrett Stannard, the big bands of Scott Jeppeson, Eric Richards, Rob Tapper, and symphonies of Helena and Billings and others. He has side manned for many visiting/touring jazz and pop groups, most notably as essentially house bassist at Dalyjazz in Missoula.

As leader he has played throughout the region, been featured on the NPR program “11th and Grant” and received a Montana Arts Council award. As educator he has taught at Stanford Jazz Workshop, Yellowstone Jazz Camp and clinics across Montana, Wyoming and elsewhere. He has taught privately for over 40 years and has taught adjunct at MSU Bozeman, MSU Billings and Sheridan College. He currently spearheads The Gallatin Guitar Program, partnering with Lori Marx and Aaron Banfield.

Recording duties have placed him as sideman on over 70 CD’s, cassettes and records.

He hikes (slowly) and climbs (less and less) and throws the ball to his dogs, often with his wife, MSU librarian Mary Anne Hansen, and hangs, when possible, with his son and three grandkids in Redono Beach, California.