Ken Hall

"I think a lot of people will remember Ken but I am surprised to find little about him online. I can't recall how I met him but it was a long time ago, possibly through Doug Cox but likely earlier, maybe at Old Town Strings. I was pleased to get to play with him for a period around 1993. He was mostly known as a guitarist (and a good one) but with us (Barrelhouse: myself, Clark Brendon and Charles Gates) he played mostly piano. We played Spinnaker's and Swan's. He also joined Little Marty's Jukejoint (same members as above) on a fun gig in Market Square. Ken was always calm and easy to work with, singing some songs too, like Life is a One Way Ticket, Katy Mae, Gonna Sit right Down and Write Myself a Letter etc, a mix of blues and early jazz. I saw him a number of times with Doug Cox in the Sidewalk Blues Band. I also remember him being in the Songs of Ireland group and a Latin Band (was it Kumbia?). He wasn't with us for long but it was fun while it lasted and I've always respected him. A diverse musical talent and much missed! RIP!!" Dave Harris
"Ken Hall was Victoria's Renaissance musician. Mostly known as a guitar player, he also played the cello and various flutes and percussion instruments every time I spoke to him he was working on a new Music approach. He was mostly known for his blues and Latin music adventures in Victoria.
He was always learning and working on new stuff. In fact, right up to the time of his departure, we had begun work together on a new CD, which would've been our first project together in many years. I feel very fortunate I was able to reconnect with Ken before his passing. Lots of folks knew Ken as a teacher, which was how I first met him at the Victoria Folklore centre (later to be known as Old Town Strings,) when I first took guitar lessons from him.
As a newcomer to Victoria, I didn't know any musicians yet and hooking up with Ken for lessons was one of the most serendipitous things that ever happened to me. We both shared a love for Blues and old swing tunes, and Ken really liked my slide guitar playing. I can't remember exactly how it happened, but together, we ended up forming the Sidewalk Blues band. The band became known as the Sunday night house band at Pag's for seven years, and we also hosted the blues jam at the George & Dragon Thursday nights around the same time.
All the time I knew him, Ken was always about the music and his family first. Ken was a great father. He was settled at where he was with his music as long as he was able to keep working on it and to keep playing for people. We shared hundreds if not thousands of gigs together over that magical time. Back then in Victoria, it was possible to sometimes play up to ten gigs a week and often we would play at least four or five times a week. We played in many buildings in downtown Victoria at one time or another during that time. Ken's legacy as a musician and a teacher will live on through those who were fortunate enough to learn from him or share music with him. I count myself as one of those people and think of (Too Tall) Ken Hall fondly and often. I wish we got to finish that last CD, I still have plans to, as Ken left some demos behind here in my studio that need finishing." Doug Cox
"I took guitar lessons from Ken when I was a teenager. We really clicked. He liked me and really tried hard to teach me music theory. It worked. I eventually learned what he what explaining. He introduced me to Duke Robillard way back when his first record came out. He didn’t play flashy stuff but he had a great handle on pure music. I started with him at Old Town Strings. He had me come to his house where he spent hours with me passing the music on. We were always friends after that. We meant to play together. Sadly our last conversation was around doing a gig, but cancer came up in the conversation and he told me how sick he was. Susan was very ill at that point and my mom was near death too. Life will not make time for everything. I never saw him again." Bill Johnson