Dave Holland

[Milestones]

Is anyone longing for Dave Holland to return to more compelling music?  The man is a legend, one of the great bassist leaders along with Mingus and Haden (and ahead of Ron Carter, who has been putting out sedate records for quite a long time).  Holland peaked on ECM with one of the great runs (ever!) on that label.   Most notable were the two quintets—the first with three horns, bass, and drums; the second with sax, trombone, vibes, bass, drums.  Holland really established himself as bandleader, bassist, and composer; and he gave exposure to young and veteran players (Kenny Wheeler, Steve Coleman, Robin Eubanks, Steve Nelson, Chris Potter, Kevin Eubanks, Julian Priester Billy Kilson and many more).  To my mind he created some of the best jazz of  the last two decades of the 20th century and a bit into the 21st.  He also had nice records on the Dare2 label in sextet and octet format.

But his later projects have not really engaged me.  He has worked in a lot of duos and trios, and nothing is really sticking with me. I was hoping Another Land with Kevin Eubanks would be a good one, but I found it to be pretty disappointing.  

Well, he is up and years and owes us nothing.  But this was a guy I followed closely for a long time, and that just isn’t the case anymore.

I welcome comments of any sort on Dave Holland and his usually superb music.

[Holy Ghost]

The duos with Barre Phillips🤘

[Kevin Bresnahan]

At 78 (79 in October), it's not hard to believe that he's going to slow down a bit. At least he hasn't gone the route of other aging stars like Benny Golson or Lou Donaldson, whose last 10 years or so of tours were pretty much the same show over & over. Even Johnny Griffin did it to a certain extent.

[Holy Ghost]

39 minutes ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

At 78 (79 in October), it's not hard to believe that he's going to slow down a bit. At least he hasn't gone the route of other aging stars like Benny Golson or Lou Donaldson, whose last 10 years or so of tours were pretty much the same show over & over. Even Johnny Griffin did it to a certain extent.

Just me, but I'd still go to those shows, and listen to the same playlist. Made poor choices in the past, like for example, passing on Brotz when he was in town (I was hoping more for a "Die Like A Dog" setting) but it was hardly that, and soon after, he passed. 

Agree, that I haven't really been interested in Dave Holland's music for some time, not since the mid '80's, but like others from that generation, maybe it's time to retire and enjoy life. Sonny Rollins is retired, why not legends like Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland enjoy their amazing accomplishments and patio live too.

 

Edited yesterday at 05:11 PM by Holy Ghost

[tranemonk]

1 hour ago, Milestones said:

Is anyone longing for Dave Holland to return to more compelling music?  The man is a legend, one of the great bassist leaders along with Mingus and Haden (and ahead of Ron Carter, who has been putting out sedate records for quite a long time).  Holland peaked on ECM with one of the great runs (ever!) on that label.   Most notable were the two quintets—the first with three horns, bass, and drums; the second with sax, trombone, vibes, bass, drums.  Holland really established himself as bandleader, bassist, and composer; and he gave exposure to young and veteran players (Kenny Wheeler, Steve Coleman, Robin Eubanks, Steve Nelson, Chris Potter, Kevin Eubanks, Julian Priester Billy Kilson and many more).  To my mind he created some of the best jazz of  the last two decades of the 20th century and a bit into the 21st.  He also had nice records on the Dare2 label in sextet and octet format.

But his later projects have not really engaged me.  He has worked in a lot of duos and trios, and nothing is really sticking with me. I was hoping Another Land with Kevin Eubanks would be a good one, but I found it to be pretty disappointing.  

Well, he is up and years and owes us nothing.  But this was a guy I followed closely for a long time, and that just isn’t the case anymore.

I welcome comments of any sort on Dave Holland and his usually superb music.

I would generally agree with some of what you said. I loved his band with Chris Potter. It was exceptional. I wish they had recorded more, esp. some live stuff. I probably saw that band half a dozen times. But I also agree with you and the other posters, that Father Time is kicking all of our butts. I did enjoy his new release with Lionel Louke though. 

[Aggie87]

I caught his show last year with Jaleel Shaw, Kris Davis, and Nasheet Waits, and thought it was fantastic.  I haven't listened to many of his newest releases, but think he does well live, particularly considering his age and how active he remains.

[jlhoots]

2 hours ago, Aggie87 said:

I caught his show last year with Jaleel Shaw, Kris Davis, and Nasheet Waits, and thought it was fantastic.  I haven't listened to many of his newest releases, but think he does well live, particularly considering his age and how active he remains.

So did I. Thought it was excellent.

Edited yesterday at 08:53 PM by jlhoots

[Milestones]

I certainly wouldn't mind hearing a record by that group.  

Most musicians (and not just in jazz) keep playing/touring/recording until they drop.

 

 

[mikeweil]

5 hours ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

At 78 (79 in October), it's not hard to believe that he's going to slow down a bit. At least he hasn't gone the route of other aging stars like Benny Golson or Lou Donaldson, whose last 10 years or so of tours were pretty much the same show over & over. Even Johnny Griffin did it to a certain extent.

My thoughts exactly. Most musicians play a bit more conservative music later in their career - among bassists, Ron Carter and Buster Williams come to my mind. 

[kh1958]

21 hours ago, Aggie87 said:

I caught his show last year with Jaleel Shaw, Kris Davis, and Nasheet Waits, and thought it was fantastic.  I haven't listened to many of his newest releases, but think he does well live, particularly considering his age and how active he remains.

The same group played at the 2024 Big Ears Festival. Their set was fantastic.

[Milestones]

Cool.

I did listen to some samples of Good Hope with Chris Potter and Zakir Hussain and that sounds like a fine record.  

 

 

[Pim]

I saw him with Anouar Brahem this year and it was magic. Same goes for his attributions to Brahems new album.

[kh1958]

32 minutes ago, Milestones said:

Cool.

I did listen to some samples of Good Hope with Chris Potter and Zakir Hussain and that sounds like a fine record.  

 

 

I also saw an expanded version of this group in Dallas in 2017. Also quite good.

[JSngry]

2 hours ago, Holy Ghost said:

Just me, but I'd still go to those shows, and listen to the same playlist. Made poor choices in the past, like for example, passing on Brotz when he was in town (I was hoping more for a "Die Like A Dog" setting) but it was hardly that, and soon after, he passed. 

Agree, that I haven't really been interested in Dave Holland's music for some time, not since the mid '80's, but like others from that generation, maybe it's time to retire and enjoy life. Sonny Rollins is retired, why not legends like Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland enjoy their amazing accomplishments and patio live too.

 

Sonny had retirement forced on him.

But that coul happen to anybody, so yean - carpe diem!