Dave Holland
(born October 1, 1946) is a British jazz bassist and composer who is a significant representative of avant-garde jazz.
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DAVE HOLLAND TICKETS
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Biography
Born in
Wolverhampton,
Staffordshire,
England, Holland learned to play bass as a child, and spent three years studying the instrument at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama.He was discovered by Trevor Oerton,one of the midlands top musicians of the day and became a member of his band. By 1967 he was a regular player at
Ronnie Scott's, the premier jazz club in London, backing visiting musicians. He was also involved in the London
free improvisation scene around the drummer
John Stevens, and performed on the
Spontaneous Music Ensemble's classic 1968 album
Karyobin
. That same year,
Miles Davis and
Philly Joe Jones heard him playing at Ronnie Scott's, and Jones told Holland that Davis wanted him to join his band (replacing
Ron Carter). Davis left the UK before Holland could contact him directly, and two weeks later Holland was given three days' notice to fly to
New York for an engagement at
Count Basie's nightclub. He arrived the night before, staying with
Jack DeJohnette, a previous acquaintance. The following day
Herbie Hancock took him to the club, and his two years with Davis began. This was also Hancock's last gig as Davis's pianist, as he left afterwards for a honeymoon in
Brazil and was replaced by
Chick Corea when he couldn't return for an engagement due to illness. Holland's first recordings with Davis were in September 1968, for half of the album
Filles de Kilimanjaro
(with Davis, Corea,
Wayne Shorter and
Tony Williams).
Holland was a member of Davis's rhythm section through the summer of 1970; he appears on the albums
In a Silent Way
and
Bitches' Brew
. All three of his studio recordings with Davis were instrumental in the evolution of
jazz fusion. In the first year of his tenure with Davis, Holland played primarily acoustic bass. By the end of 1969, he played electric bass guitar (often treated with wah-wah and other electronic effects) with increasing frequency as Davis's music became increasingly electronic, vamp-based and funky. Holland was also a member of Davis's working group during this time, unlike many of the musicians who would appear on the trumpeter's studio recordings. The so-called "lost quintet" of Davis, Shorter, Corea, Holland and
Jack DeJohnette was active in 1969 but never made any studio recordings as a quintet. A 1970 live recording of this group plus percussionist
Airto Moreira,
It's About That Time
, was issued in 2001. (
Steve Grossman replaced Shorter in early 1970;
Keith Jarrett joined the group as a second keyboardist thereafter, and
Gary Bartz replaced Grossman during the summer of 1970.)
After leaving Davis's group, Holland briefly joined the avant-garde jazz group
Circle with
Chick Corea,
Barry Altschul and
Anthony Braxton. This started a long association with the
ECM record label. After recording few albums with Circle, the group soon disbanded when Corea was replaced with
Sam Rivers. 1972 saw the recording of
Conference of the Birds
, with
Sam Rivers, Altschul and Braxton – Holland's first recording as a leader, and the beginning of a long musical relationship with Rivers. The album itself is often mentioned being among the most important avant-garde jazz recordings. The title of the album is also the title of a 4,500 line epic poem by Persian Sufist writer,
Farid al-Din Attar.
Holland worked as a leader and as a sideman with many other jazz artists in the 1970s, including
Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, and the
Gateway Trio with
John Abercrombie and Jack DeJohnette. The Gateway trio released two influential modern jazz albums in 1975 and 1977, and reformed in 1994 for a recording session which yielded another two albums. While Holland has recorded solo and duo albums, the bulk of his recording and performance work has been in small- and medium-sized groups.
In the 1980s Holland left Rivers's group, and formed a variety of quartets and quintets, while continuing to occasionally work as a sideman for
Herbie Hancock and others.
The most recent incarnation of the Dave Holland Quintet, formed in 1997, has won multiple
Grammy nominations and awards. The quintet includes
Robin Eubanks on
trombone and
cowbell;
Steve Nelson on
marimba and
vibraphone;
Chris Potter; and
Billy Kilson — and more recently, Nate Smith — on
drums. Holland's band invariably includes young musicians and he is known for his patronage of many young jazz musicians. The quintet has also recorded as the Dave Holland Big Band, augmented by eight brass and saxophone players. The second Big Band recording,
Overtime
(2004) was released on Holland's own Dare2 record label.
Holland's trademarks as a
composer include
folk song-like motives,
asymmetrical rhythms, and themes in two or more voices (usually trombone and saxophone).
Holland currently resides in
upstate New York. He is an avid fan of his home town football team
Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Discography
As leader
- 1971 - Music from Two Basses
(with Barre Phillips) - ECM
- 1972 - Conference of the Birds
- 1972 - ECM
- 1976 - ''Sam Rivers/Dave Holland Vol. 1'' - Improvising Artists
- 1976 - Sam Rivers/Dave Holland Vol. 2
- Improvising Artists
- 1977 - Emerald Tears
- ECM
- 1982 - Life Cycle
- ECM
- 1983 - Jumpin' In
- ECM
- 1984 - Seeds of Time
- ECM
- 1987 - The Razor's Edge
- ECM
- 1988 - Triplicate
- ECM
- 1989 - Extensions
- ECM
- 1990 - Question and Answer
- collaboration with Pat Metheny and Roy Haynes
- 1993 - Ones All
- Intuition
- 1995 - Dream of the Elders
- ECM
- 1998 - Points of View
- ECM
- 2000 - Prime Directive
- ECM
- 2001 - Not for Nothin
- ECM
- 2002 - What Goes Around
- ECM
- 2003 - Extended Play: Live at Birdland
- ECM
- 2005 - Overtime
- Dare2
- 2006 - Critical Mass
- Dare2
- 2008 - Pass It On
- Dare2
Compilation
:
- 2004 - Rarum, Vol. 10: Selected Recordings
- 2004 - ECM
As sideman
With Miles Davis
- Filles de Kilimanjaro
(1968)
- In a Silent Way
(1969)
- 1969 Miles - Festiva De Juan Pins
(1969)
- Bitches Brew
(1969)
- Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time
(1970)
- Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East
(1970)
- Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West
(1970)
- Live-Evil
(1970)
- Big Fun
(1969-1972)
With Anthony Braxton
- Circle, A.R.C.
(1970) ECM
- Circle, Paris Concert
(1971) ECM
- New York, Fall 1974
(1974) Arista
- Five Pieces (1975)
(1975) Arista
- Anthony Braxton Live
(1975) Arista
- The Montreux/Berlin Concerts
[live] (1975) Arista
- Quartet (Dortmund)
[live] (1976) HatART
With Kenny Wheeler
- Gnu High
(1975) ECM
- Deer Wan
(1977) ECM
- Angel Song
(1997) ECM
With Gateway
- Gateway
(1975) ECM
- Gateway 2
(1977) ECM
- Homecoming
(1994) ECM
- In the Moment
(1994) ECM
With others
- Tomasz Stanko, Balladyna
(1976) ECM 1071
- Joe Henderson, So Near, So Far (Musings for Miles)
(1993)
- Bill Frisell, With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones
(2001) Nonesuch
- Scolohofo, Oh!
(2003) Blue Note Records
Filmography
As a Leader
- 2000: Dejohnette, Hancock, Holland and Metheny - Live in Concert
- 2005: Dave Holland Quintet - Live in Freiburg
- 2009: Dave Holland Quintet: Vortex
[1]
- 2009: Dave Holland Quintet - Live from the Zelt-Musik-Festival, Freiburg 1986
As a Sideman
- 2004: Miles Electric - A Different Kind of Blue
References
- VIEW DVD Listing