Articles by Steve Holt
I Remember Len Dobbin
by Steve Holt
Len Dobbin was a cool jazz voice on the radio when I was a teenager just getting into playing jazz. In fact, my love affair with jazz began in the 1970s when I discovered the album Headhunters by Herbie Hancock in 1973. Up to that point I had been playing pop and folk music, like most teenagers coming out of the sixties. But Headhunters started me on a new journey. For the next few years a learned more about crossover ...
Continue ReadingI Remember Charlie Biddle
by Steve Holt
Charlie Biddle--even the name sounds like show biz. But it didn't take long for that name to become a pseudonym for Montreal jazz. I guess it helps to a club named after you.When anyone talked of Montreal jazz, Charlie's name always came up. Truly he was one of those larger-than-life figures. Not only did he have a big personality, but he was physically a big man. When he would shake my hand, it was like shaking hands with ...
Continue ReadingPat Metheny / Brad Mehldau: Metheny Mehldau
by Steve Holtje
A pianist and a guitarist, both known for beautiful ballad playing, get together for an album of mostly duos. Snooze city, right? That's what I thought after the first track. Boy, was I wrong. This thing is intense! Not that the opening number, written by Mehldau (everything's original; he wrote three, Metheny seven) is sleepytime; I'd just made the mistake of trying to listen to it in the background while I did something else. When Metheny's “Ahmid-6 followed, it grabbed ...
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