Jazz Articles about Dave Holland

Alan Pasqua: Milagro

by Glenn Astarita
March 1, 2000

Milagro is pianist Alan Pasqua's first date as a leader and a mighty impressive one at that! - Pasqua is an accomplished and much in demand jazz pianist who also shines as a composer on this gem while receiving first-rate support from the all-star rhythm section of bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette.

Pasqua's “Acoma" commences in the classic piano trio format, as the pianist exhibits his penchant for simply stated melodies along with spurts of ambrosial romanticism augmented ...

Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Ray Haynes, Dave Holland: Like Minds

by Dave Hughes
December 1, 1999

This recording is simply sheer brilliance. All five players are in the top echelon in their genre. It's not just the individual virtuosity, it's also the group interplay that makes this CD so wondrous. The choice of material (all compositions by Metheny, Corea, or Burton, plus one Gershwin tune) also suits the collective personnel well; all tunes provide the framework for intricate interplay during the melody lines as well as inspired improvizations and sensitive comping. The program features ...

Alan Pasqua: Dedications

by Glenn Astarita
September 1, 1999

Originally released in 1995 on the Postcards label, now owned by Arkadia Records, Dedications is pianist-composer Alan Pasqua's second release for the label which followed the critically acclaimed Milagro. On Dedications, Pasqua reaps the benefits of an all-star supporting cast which includes the mighty rhythm section of drummer Paul Motian and bassist Dave Holland. Pasqua, along with the talented horns of Randy Brecker, Michael Brecker and Gary Bartz, offers a generous mix whether performing in piano trio mode or utilizing ...

Charles Lloyd: Voice in the Night

by Larry Koenigsberg
May 1, 1999

Although Voice in the Night marks Charles Lloyd's return after over three decades to recording with guitar rather than piano as the chordal instrument, the most notable feature of his new CD is his return to form, as opposed to merely a return to format. He sounds the best he has since he left his Big Sur retreat to perform and record for ECM with Michel Petrucciani and Bobo Stenson. Indeed, the whole band sounds on, in this sequence of ...

Charles Lloyd: Voice In The Night

by Douglas Payne
April 1, 1999

Voice in the Night is a welcome homecoming for reedman Charles Lloyd. He hasn't recorded in a guitar-based group since his two tremendously underrated (and rockish) albums for A&M in 1972-73. Here, he also pleasingly revisits a good deal of his earlier (and still his most personable) material: “Forest Flower," from the famed quartet days of the late 60s, “Voice in the Night" and in the “Pocket Full of Blues" medley, “Island Blues" and “Little Sister's Dance."With the ...

Dave Holland: Points of View

by Douglas Payne
December 1, 1998

British bassist and jazz veteran Dave Holland (b. 1946) has refashioned his ever iconoclastic quintet to feature Steve Wilson's sax and Robin Eubank's trombone interacting with former Quintet partner Steve Nelson's pianistic vibes and Billy Kilson's aggressively sensitive drumming.Holland cites the guiding influence of Duke Ellington in his Points of View. And while there is something starkly modern -- even unique -- in the bassist/composer's conceptions, there really is evidence that the great Ellington has inspired ...

Dave Holland: Points of View

by Larry Koenigsberg
December 1, 1998

The eight compositions which make up Points of View are so varied that this in itself becomes a hallmark of Dave Holland's style here. Consistency instead comes from the interaction of the players, whom Holland's arrangements give ensemble roles during each other's solos; from the unusual instrumentation, used both for frank exoticism ("Bedouin Trail", “Serenade") and to leaven more traditional compositions with surprise. The soloists are imaginative, and swinging on those tunes where swing is part of the picture. Holland ...