Biography Dave Holland

1 biography

1.1 miles davis
1.2 ecm , 1970s
1.3 1980s
1.4 1990s , 2000s

biography

born in wolverhampton, england, holland taught himself how play stringed instruments, beginning @ 4 on ukulele, graduating guitar , later bass guitar. quit school @ age of 15 pursue profession in top 40 band, gravitated jazz. after seeing issue of down beat ray brown had won critics poll best bass player, holland went record store, , bought couple of lps featuring brown backing pianist oscar peterson. bought 2 leroy vinnegar albums (leroy walks! , leroy walks again) because bassist posed instrument on cover. within week, holland traded in bass guitar acoustic bass , began practicing records. in addition brown , vinnegar, holland drawn bassists charles mingus , jimmy garrison.

after moving london in 1964, holland played acoustic bass in small venues , studied james edward merrett, principal bassist of philharmonia orchestra and, later, bbc symphony orchestra. merrett trained him sight read , recommended apply guildhall school of music , drama. holland received full-time scholarship three-year program. @ 20, holland keeping busy schedule in school, studios , ronnie scott s jazz club, london s premier jazz club, played in bands supported such touring american jazz saxophonists coleman hawkins, ben webster , joe henderson. linked other british jazz musicians, including guitarist john mclaughlin, saxophonist evan parker, reedsman john surman, south africa-born london-based pianist chris mcgregor, , drummer john stevens, , performed on spontaneous music ensemble s 1968 album karyobin. began working relationship canada-born, england-based trumpeter kenny wheeler continued until wheeler s death in 2014.

with miles davis

in 1968, miles davis , philly joe jones heard him @ ronnie scott s jazz club, playing in combo opened bill evans trio. jones told holland davis wanted him join band (replacing ron carter). davis left uk before holland contact him directly, , 2 weeks later holland given 3 days notice fly new york engagement @ count basie s nightclub. arrived night before, staying jack dejohnette, previous acquaintance. following day herbie hancock took him club, , 2 years davis began. hancock s last gig davis s pianist, left afterwards honeymoon in brazil , replaced chick corea when not return engagement due illness. holland s first recordings davis in september 1968, , appears on half of album filles de kilimanjaro (with davis, corea, wayne shorter , tony williams).

holland member of davis s rhythm section through summer of 1970; appears on albums in silent way , bitches brew. 3 of studio recordings davis important in evolution of jazz fusion. in first year of tenure davis, holland played upright bass. end of 1969, played electric bass guitar (often treated wah-wah pedal , other electronic effects) greater frequency davis moved away acoustic jazz.

holland member of davis s working group during time, unlike many of musicians appeared on trumpeter s studio recordings. so-called lost quintet of davis, shorter, corea, holland , dejohnette active in 1969 never made studio recordings quintet. 1970 live recording of group plus percussionist airto moreira, live @ fillmore east, march 7, 1970: s time, issued in 2001. steve grossman replaced shorter in 1970; keith jarrett joined group second keyboardist thereafter, , gary bartz replaced grossman during summer of 1970. end of summer, rhythm , blues bass guitarist michael henderson had replaced holland.

ecm , 1970s

after leaving davis s group, holland briefly joined avant-garde jazz group circle, corea, barry altschul , reed player anthony braxton. started decades-long association ecm record label. after recording few albums, circle disbanded when corea departed. 1972 saw recording of conference of birds, sam rivers, altschul , braxton – holland s first recording leader, , beginning of long musical relationship rivers. title of album taken of 4,500-line epic poem persian sufist writer, farid al-din attar.

holland worked leader , sideman many other jazz artists in 1970s. on june 15, 1972 played thelonious monk @ village vanguard 1 of monk s last concerts. holland recorded several important albums anthony braxton between 1972 , 1976 – including new york, fall 1974 (1974) , 5 pieces (1975) – released on arista records. holland recorded duo sessions saxophonist sam rivers , fellow bassist barre phillips, , solo bass album emerald tears. in 1970s appeared performers including stan getz , gateway trio john abercrombie , dejohnette. gateway trio released 2 influential modern jazz albums in 1975 , 1977, , reformed in 1994 recording session yielded 2 albums. sideman, holland appeared on rock , pop recordings well, working singer bonnie raitt on 1972 album give up.

the 1980s

holland formed first working quintet in 1983, , on next 4 years released jumpin in, seeds of time, , razor s edge, featuring alto saxophonist steve coleman, trumpeter wheeler , trombonist julian priester (or robin eubanks). subsequently, formed dave holland trio (with coleman , dejohnette) 1988 album triplicate, , teamed coleman, electric guitarist kevin eubanks , drummer marvin smitty smith extensions. recorded life cycle, album of compositions played on solo cello.

the bassist continued collaborate peers, connecting figures previous generation of jazz icons. in 1989, holland teamed drummer billy higgins , pianist hank jones record oracle, , joined drummer roy haynes , guitarist pat metheny in 1989 record question , answer.

the 1990s , 2000s

during 1990s, holland renewed affiliation, begun in 1970s, joe henderson, joining tenor saxophonist on near (so far), tribute miles davis, , porgy & bess. holland reunited vocalist betty carter, touring , recording live album feed fire (1993). fellow davis alumnus herbie hancock invited holland tour him in 1992, subsequently recording new standard. holland joined hancock s band again in 1996. part of sessions river: joni letters, winner of 2008 grammy award album of year.

as leader, holland formed third quartet , released dream of elders (1995), introduced vibraphonist steve nelson ensembles. holland formed quintet includes tenor saxophonist chris potter, trombonist robin eubanks and, more recent addition, drummer nate smith. recordings include points of view, prime directive, not nothin, extended play: live @ birdland , critical mass. in addition releasing 4 quintet albums on ecm, holland debuted big band, released goes around in 2002. album won holland first grammy leader, in best large jazz ensemble album category. second big band recording, overtime (2005), again won grammy in best large jazz ensemble album category; released on holland s dare2 label, formed year.

in 2009, holland co-founder of all-star group called overtone quartet. group consisted of holland on bass, chris potter on tenor saxophone, jason moran on piano, , eric harland on drums. group toured extensively throughout united states , europe.