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Dave Holland Big Band: Philadelphia, December 11, 2010
by Dylan McGuire
Dave Holland Big BandPainted Bride Art CenterPhiladelphia, PADecember 11, 2010 Bassist and jazz music legend Dave Holland says he is a believer in the communal spirit of music and, judging by the scope of talent in his Big Band--as well as the enthusiastic capacity crowd at his shows at the Painted Bride Arts Center in Philadelphia on Dec. 11--the community is happy to embrace his vision.Although it only makes a few appearances ...
Continue ReadingDave Holland: Passing the Torch
by Dylan McGuire
Standing onstage in the auditorium of the Philadelphia School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA), a lanky, grey-haired gentleman stands by the piano, directing a small group of student musicians playing Herbie Hancock's “Cantaloupe Island." He stops the song during the trumpet solo and says to the student in a British accent, “Did you listen to the recording?" The student looks at his feet and replies, “No." “You always have to listen to the ...
Continue ReadingDave Holland & Pepe Habichuela: Hands
by Raul d'Gama Rose
The music on Hands, featuring stellar turns primarily from Spanish guitarist Pepe Habichuela and British-born bassist Dave Holland, is quite simply one of the most captivating on record. It is completely an alternative to style, to mere virtuosity, and to angelic grace and charm, as dictated by a muse. This music is the epitomé of the darkly beautiful magnetism of duende, and comes not from the hands and the fingers of the musicians, but rather from their innermost being--from the ...
Continue ReadingDave Holland & Pepe Habichuela: Hands
by John Kelman
Sometimes the best indicator of an artist's versatility is in the side projects they accept. Bassist Dave Holland's career could hardly be described as monolithic, with his discography as a leader--ranging from his quintet (Critical Mass (Dare2, 2006)) to his big band (Overtime (Dare2, 2005)) --nothing short of but exemplary. Still, some of the most unexpected revelations have come on peripheral dates, such as Mid-Eastern-informed Thimar (ECM, 1998), with Tunisian oudist Anouar Brahem and British reed man John Surman, or ...
Continue ReadingDave Holland & Pepe Habichuela: Hands
by Chris May
Centuries old, an accretion of musics absorbed by north Indian migrants as they travelled, one stream through the Balkans, the other through the Maghreb, towards their final desination in southern Spain, flamenco is not easy for a non-Gypsy convincingly to perform. Intricately codified, rich in lore and tradition, its broad mannerisms can be mimicked quickly enough, but to inhabit its soul, its cante jondo (deep song), takes much, much longer. Some would say a lifetime, more or less.
Continue ReadingDave Holland Octet: Pathways
by Alain Londes
With bassist Dave Holland setting up the foundation for the band, during the live taping of Pathways at New York's Birdland in 2009, the rest of the octet paves the way for baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan to develop the title track in the similar vein to his earlier big band recording What Goes Around (ECM, 2002).
At first it's possible to imagine listening to the entire big band due to the fullness of the sound. Some of its core musicians ...
Continue ReadingDave Holland Quintet at Birdland, April 20, 2010
by David Miller
Dave Holland QuintetBirdlandNew York, NYApril 20, 2010The Dave Holland Quintet (DHQ) is one of those rarest of things in jazz--a working group. These days, due to a number of factors (cough$$cough), jazz musicians are spread very thin in terms of the number of projects they participate in. They jump fluidly from project to project, sideman gig to leader, studio to club. Frequently they don't even have time to rehearse before a gig with musicians whom ...
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