Where do I go after the obvious Conference of the Birds? I sampled his current quintet on Not for Nothin' and found it actually boring. Just can't accept marimba to that extent or something. Anyway, what else should I look for?

"Conference" is the only one I kept. If you wanna stretch to the solo disc that's fine with me. His recent bands/recordings do "zip" for me.

I think you are on the money as they say.

I still like nearly all of his discs from the 80's, meaning all of the one's with Steve Coleman. Many have Kenny Wheeler as well, but if I remember right, Coleman is the common link between all of them.

Basically everything from 1983's "Jumpin' In" to 1989's "Extensions" is worth owning, IMHO. That's five discs in total. Take your pick, based on the various line-ups. (They're all reviewed on the AMG.)

While I wouldn't say "zip," his band albums have been greatly overrated in mho. I do like the more recent line-up (with the marimbas ) more than his early 80's albums, however. If you really want to dig up something grand, seek out the duet albums he did with Sam Rivers for Improvising Artists.

As mentioned, his 1980s recordings on ECM are really good. "Jumpin' In" with Kenny Wheeler and Steve Coleman is really hot, as is "The Razor's Edge". I've also heard great things about "Triplicate", which is a trio with Holland, Coleman, and Jack DeJohnette.

I can understand why people would think poorly of Dave's new band based on the ECM studio albums. While I really like them, I can see how they are not to everyone's taste. But to anyone who thinks these guys are no good, I challenge you to go see the Dave Holland Quintet live in a club setting, and come out with the same opinion. The energy of the band is incredible.

Check out his sideman work w/Braxton; mainly from the 1970's.

FWIW, I think some of Steve Coleman's very best work, of his entire career, is in the various configurations of Dave Holland's groups in the 80's.

I greatly enjoyed Extended Play- Live at Bird Land. Very fine recording. I have always appreciated Holland’s playing. He is an outstanding bassist. I enjoyed the Steve Coleman recordings also. However, Conference of the Birds is extremely difficult to replicate. I recall when if first came out. I nearly lost my mind! Outstanding recording! But I've enjoyed many of Hollands ECM recordings also.

This album might as well be thought of as a co-leader session (IMHO), but technically it's a Steve Coleman album.



Phase Space (DIW Japan, early 90's)

It's just Steve and Dave, but man -- the forward momentum these two can create (just the two of them!!) is hard to believe. It's as if there was a full quintet playing, but you just don't hear any of the other players. Seriously - in my mind's eye (my mind's ear, really), I can imagine drums, and maybe other horn players too. Never have I heard two musicians, all by themselves, create music with so much 'snap' to it.

Maybe Jack deJohnette's Sorcery on Prestige is something for you - recorded a few years earlier. Rather loose and informal, like (or probably) recorded at deJohnette's home, but nice, with fine Bennie Maupin.
But I agree - Conference of the Birds is unique, in Holland's or anybodys discography.
There were Rivers Trio recordings with Holland as well, IIRC - of course they are somewhat more "out".

There was another thread where a similar discussion occurred a while back, you may want to do a search to dredge it up.

Short answer - CONFERENCE is a timeless masterpiece, the "one" to have.

Of later Holland, certainly I haven't heard it all - all the stuff from the 80's/early 90's I've yet to check out - but for his more recent bag, I really feel POINTS OF VIEW is stellar, not quite up there with CONFERENCE but then again it's very different music. Everyone digs in hard on POINTS - Robin Eubanks puts on a trombone tour de force - and I much preferred the configuration of this group with Steve Wilson to the more recent one with Chris Potter, whose playing does very little for me.

Partly for that reason and because it sounded compositionally like a retread, the follow-up to POINTS, PRIME DIRECTIVE, was a major, major disappointment to me and I've basically stopped following the group. I understand from some that the big band material is worthwhile but on listening to snippets in record stores I'm not convinced yet.

Holland with Braxton: Five Pieces 1975, Montreaux/Berlin, Town Hall Concert are a few others that come to mind. The Circle records are nice, especially those Japanese ones.

His newer groups aren't that interesting to me, either, and after interviewing him last year, I came away with the feeling that he was an asshole with too many awards to his ego...