Dave Holland

slapagroov · #1 03-04-2009, 11:17 PM

I've always loved Dave, but have really been into him lately. I've been listening to the big band recording What Goes Around. More recently, I discovered the Birds of a Feather album with guys like Roy Hargrove and Kenny Garrett. It's really amazing.
I was wondering, what recordings of his do you guys really like and why? I'm interested to see if there are things that I haven't heard. (Other than One's All. I want it, but don't want to pay $40!)

Peder Waern · #2 03-05-2009, 02:39 AM

He made an interesting solo bass recording in the 70s called "Emerald tears" recorded on ECM. You can also check out his early playing with Miles Davis. He did some recordings with Chick Corea and Antony Braxton in a group called Circle around this time also.

Other than that I think all his quartet/quintet from the 1980s and on is worth checking out. He's featured on a lot of more mainstreamish jazz albums too. Pat Metheny's "Question& Answer"(?) with Roy Haynes on drums and Michael Brecker's "tales from the hudson" are two good examples of that.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...iftxqt5ldde~T4

I like him because he has very good energy for being a double bass player, and a great groove along with great creativity. He's also a tasteful player. A very nice bassist to have in your band I'd imagine...

Nadav · #3 03-05-2009, 07:31 AM

He splits the bass chair with Christian McBride on Roy Haynes' Love Letters. Definitely worth checking out.
There's also Conference of the Birds from the 70s with Braxton, Sam Rivers, and Barry Altschul.
Triplicate with Steve Coleman and Jack DeJohnette.
Anything else you come across will probably be great too.

slapagroov · #4 03-05-2009, 02:47 PM

that's cool. Thanks for the input. I did pick up Emerald Tears on iTunes. I'm digging it. I listened to some of the others, too. I was really liking triplicate

Andrew Jones · #5 03-05-2009, 03:10 PM

Why is One's All so expensive?

Aj

slapagroov · #6 03-05-2009, 11:02 PM

I believe b/c it's out of print. It would be nice if they put it on iTunes for us. Could someone tell Dave that we want it!

Pat Harris · #7 03-14-2009, 10:41 AM

I second the motion for Pat Metheny's "Question and Answer." It's great to hear Holland shred on some standards. That whole album has an amazing vibe.

I really love his "Live At Birdland" CD with the quintet.
His playing on Bill Frisell's album "With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones" is fantastic as well. I think the "ScoLoHoFo" album is definitely woth checking out. Joe Henderson's "So Near So Far" is great.

Holland can certainly play some great asymmetrical meter music and grooves, but I think his strong walking lines and melodic solo work gets overlooked a bit.

-Pat

jazzbasser535 · #8 03-14-2009, 10:55 AM

I really dig some of Dave's more recent stuff, which I think has more of a straight-ahead jazz feel than some of his other stuff, which can get quite avant garde.

Check out:

Dave Holland Big Band - Overtime
Dave Holland Quintet - Critical Mass
Dave Holland Sextet - Pass It On

Pass It On in particular is really great. Eric Harland on drums, Mulgrew Miller on piano, etc. A really great band.

Scroller · #9 03-22-2009, 04:51 PM

Another great one with Holland is John Abercrombie's Gateway w/Dejohnette on drums. Holland is in great form. His playing is huge, and ferocious. Then again, tons of his stuff is like this...

Another one that is often overlooked is Chick Corea's The Song Of Singing. Hmmm, think I might go queue up my vinyl copy right now...

JDubbleyoo · #10 03-23-2009, 04:21 AM

Hank Jones, "The Oracle", with Holland and Billy Higgins, playing originals and standards. DH playing changes and swinging like crazy with Higgins. This group did some touring before the recording--both as a trio and backing up some all-star horns, too, so they hit the studio with a head of steam.

Sam Sherry · #11 03-23-2009, 07:56 AM

All good picks. And like so many here, Dave was and is a major inspiration as player, composer and bandleader for me.

If you can find either of his ca. 1975 duo recordings with Sam Rivers on CIMP, they're well worth it.

Three favorite sideman sessions are:

* Joe Henderson's So Near, So Far (Musings for Miles) which is all standards and Mr. Holland walks like a motherf****r.

* Stan Getz, Live at the Left Bank with Richie Bierach and Jack DeJohnette -- my favorite Getz record at this point as the sobered-up master saxophonist embraces 80s acoustic jazz with a band to live for.

* Kenny Wheeler, What Now? with John Taylor and the tasteful yet absolutely scorching Mr. Chris Potter. As noted elsewhere, Mr. Holland presents a master-class in broken-time playing on this no-drums quartet.

dblbss · #12 03-27-2009, 08:53 PM

Kenny Wheeler's "Flutter by, Butterfly"

JDubbleyoo · #13 03-28-2009, 02:11 AM

"If you can find either of his ca. 1975 duo recordings with Sam Rivers on CIMP, they're well worth it."

"Kenny Wheeler's "Flutter by, Butterfly"

Yes!!

jsbarber · #14 03-28-2009, 03:09 PM

You might also check out Gary Burton's "Like Minds" , w/ Holland, Metheny, Corea, and Haynes. It was the first time Metheny and Corea played together, apparently.

Ones All is a great CD, although it is expensive. But it is a solo CD by one of the all time greats... Was worth it to me.

Holland's Quartet and Quintet CDs with Robin Eubanks and Chris Potter kill. I have a CD that Kevin Eubanks plays on with them, and he too can really play.

Also, Dave Holland very graciously publishes charts for his tunes. If you're interested go to:

http://daveholland.com/ and look in the Lojack section. They cost a few bucks each. He uses some professional music software so they are well done also.

Jim

slapagroov · #15 04-03-2009, 06:56 AM

You can get the duo albums with Sam rivers on iTunes. Pretty cool stuff. I definitely want to check out the recordings with chick corea.

bhagiti · #16 04-03-2009, 07:02 AM

Also Wheeler's Angel Song on ECM - sublime session w/ Konitz and Frisell

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

* Kenny Wheeler, What Now? with John Taylor and the tasteful yet absolutely scorching Mr. Chris Potter. As noted elsewhere, Mr. Holland presents a master-class in broken-time playing on this no-drums quartet.

oliebrice · #17 04-15-2009, 09:32 AM

some more Dave Holland 'as a side man' reccomendations:
-Betty Carter - 'Feed the Fire'. This album has the greatest vocal improvisation I've ever heard...great band with Dave, Geri Allen and Jack DeJohnette.
-Kenny Wheeler - 'Gnu High', with Jarrett and DeJohnette
-Joe Lovano - 'Trio Fascination' with Elvin
-an incredible live Sam Rivers bootleg, burning trio with Barry Altschul, available here: http://inconstantsol.blogspot.com/20...am-rivers.html

and to hear him in a very different context, playing free improv before he was with Miles, the groundbreaking album 'Karyobin' by the Spontaneous Music Ensemble (John Stevens, Kenny Wheeler, Evan Parker and Derek Bailey. One of the most important early records of european free improv).

Paul New · #18 05-10-2009, 03:37 PM

Prime Directive.

dblbss · #19 05-16-2009, 09:31 PM

Don Thompson's" Forgotten Memories" w/ Kenny Wheeler, Phil Dwyer , Claude Ranger on Itunes $5.99