Customer Reviews

The Bill Holman Band Live

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yet again Holman comes through with a unique set of compositions and arrangements that are fresh, but have his stamp right on them. My three favorites are Donna Lee, Blue Daniel and Press One. I went so far as to order the arrangements from his publisher Sierra Music to study the scores.

Donna Lee has Mr. Holman's classic counterpoint and motifs that seem to flow right from the bebop melody itself. And he makes the melody unique with the subtlest of touches in doubling it at odd intervals off and on. And the ending leaves the listener saying 'Wow, what just happened?!'

In Blue Daniel, Holman's ability to keep the integrity of a song while making it his own shines forth. The counterlines and development are simple and subtle, just like the tune itself. From the rim shot kicking off the immediate statement of the melody, to the straight forward ending (with an added major seven on the last note to add that Holman 'quirk') this tune just flows.

Press One seems to me to capture the humor and joy in Homan's music that I absolutely love. It invokes the mechanical impersonal nature of automated call service from the dialing of the touch tones to the swaying lounge music you hear when you're put on hold. Just a great Holman original.

The solo performances are superb as they always are from his band. One of my favorites aspects of this cd is that you get Holman himself giving intros to each of the numbers.

It's a must for any jazz fan.

...wasted on the young. I love this Bill Holman guy. I've been listening to him for many years, like 50, without even knowing who he was. He's the guy behind the best of all big band arrangements. He's like the Duke. Now that I'm getting up there too it's hard to express how fortunate my indebtedness is to such a marvelous and great talent. Hey I've been saving this up so give me a little room to praise the best of the best. No pandering here, I don't even know him but I got his picture on the cd cover and he looks like an old fart like me. Thanks Bill. The album is tight, fit and smart with virtuoso talent. A day in the life. bob smith vashon,wa.

Exciting charts from Bill Holman -- all original, and done with the brilliance of his band, made up of the best jazz/studio musicians in southern California. The charts are near impossible to just read... like many of the big band arrangements by Gil Evans for Miles Davis. Holman and Evans are thousands of miles ahead of any other big band writers.

Not only is this CD Bill Holman live, it could have been entitled "Fresh and Swinging." Holman, from his compositions and arrangements with the Kenton and Herman bands in the 1950s, has evolved himself as THE MAN who captures the essence of a big band. Lush, fresh and swinging, at every turn. Individual tunes aside, the whole performance is not "then" but "now." Any big band fan will more than enjoy this CD more than once.

Tony Agostinelli

Bill Holman is a living classic and this CD captures the distinctive sound of his crack arranging in the context of a live performance. The volume doesn't blast your toupee off as a Buddy Rich might-- no performance enhancing substances injected in the chops of the best sidemen in LA, but you marvel at the extent of each guy's abilities.

Holman rehearses with different groups of local 47's best and prepares his set list carefully, telling a story through musical poetry. Bill's the boss.

This Band is one of the best I have heard of late! I remember Bill Holman working in the 90's with the WDR Big Band (the Radio Big Band of Cologne/Germany). Musicians and audience were raving about his scores.

My favorite is 'Donna Lee', but also 'Zoot 'n' Al' sure is a great tune. Altogether a must CD with great players and music.

Bill Holman did an album with another German Big Band, the SWR Big Band/Germany in 2001: 'Jazz In Concert (Live)'.

There's no question that Bill Holman is a master writer and a living legend. But I was disappointed that the recording quality didn't nearly measure up to Brilliant Corners: The Music Of Thelonious Monk or A View From the Side, each of which exemplify how a big band should be mixed.

BILL HOLMAN IS A LEGEND AMONG JAZZ MUSICIANS AND THOSE WHO APPRECIATE THE MUSIC. THIS CD IS PROBABLY THE BEST I'VE HEARD IN A LENGTH OF TIME. MUSICIANS IN THE BAND ARE TOP DRAWER AND SOLO WORK IS SPIRTED AND INFUSED WITH THE SPARK THAT HOLMAN SONGS ALWAYS SEEM TO GENERATE. THIS IS CONTEMPORY BIG BAND JAZZ AT ITS ZENITH.

Bill holman has been an idle of mine for years and this is just another great example of great playing and great writing. I know Bill and many of his sidemen and it's always a pleasure sharing their sounds.