Customer Reviews

Pathways

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Dave Holland is one of my favorite musicians and has never failed to intrigue me with his ability to consistently release strong material. His compositions are excellent, his artistic canvas is rich and very colorful, and his ability to extract the best work from his band members is exceptional. In 2003, Dave took his Quintet to Birdland and recorded one of the best live concerts I have ever heard. "Extended Play" has since become my modern-day benchmark for gauging live performances. That high-energy recording was filled with some of the best Jazz improvisation my ears have ever experienced.

On "Pathways", Dave returns to Birdland to record his new Octet in a live environment with good results. The compositions are solid and provide an excellent platform for some great solos from each of the musicians including a few excellent nuggets from Holland's nimble fingers. I enjoyed the addition of the new brass instruments to thicken the sound and could hear a brief hint of Charles Mingus and Maria Schneider throughout the recording.

After several enjoyable listings, I found myself craving more of those engaging musical conversations created when two or more soloists dialoged with each other to push the music to another level. There are great moments when this happens on "Ebb and Flow" and especially "Shadow Dancing". These interactions and exchanges allows the band to soar into the stratosphere and leave the listener breathless. These two standout tracks are filled with the same dynamic musical interactions that caused me to fall in love with Dave's music way back in the 70's with "Conference of the Birds." The other five tracks offer an enjoyable listening experience but not at the same level of excitement that leaves me aching for more. I recommend this recording because it is another solid effort from Dave Holland. I am looking forward to his next recording project. Maybe he will pullout some of the "Gateway" material and run it through this new Octet format. Keep dreaming! Peace!

You know that old break up line, "It's not you, it's me." Nine trainwrecks of ten, it's bull. But it is 100% true when I use it to explain why am very very slightly disappointed in this album

As a jazz fan, I of course knew for years about Dave Holland. He played on a good deal of the classic electric Miles albums before moving on to even more out there spaces with Anthony Braxton and a drummer named Barry Ashtul.

That, of course, was lifetimes ago: Dave REALLY got on my top tier radar when he put out two absolutely classic big band albums, Overtime and What Goes Around. These bookends were just packed with winding compositions: masterstrokes that played with freedom and control, and changed a rule or three about how songs are structured and paced. If you want to see my almost unending enthusiasm for Dave Holland, particularlly in our era, check both my reviews .

Big band with Dave means big dynamics, almost infinate dynamics, and for me--and this is where the subjectivity comes---this is what has had me transfixed on the big band albums for at least four years--1000 cds a year, no time for me to hear more than a fraction of the new music I promise I will put older material aside for. Yet I can't stop listening again and again to Dave's big band

Here, the music is just as well composed and played, yet, and again, my hang up, not quite as compelling. This octet live set has some of the same great players, and writing of the highest calabre.

But fewer layers, and hence less of a draw. I can listen to this stuff all day, and I will for a long long time: but this does not have my magic of being sucked into Dave Hollands big band massive vortex of sound.......(at least not yet)

Break up line or not, I'm keepin' the CDs.

"Pathways" is a recording of a Dave Holland's octet. He has a good band - Antonio Hart, Chris Potter, and Gary Smulyan on saxes, Alex Sipiagin on trumpet, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Nelson on vibes, and Nate Smith on drums are all great players. Though the songs are mostly Holland originals, a bunch are from older albums. Sipiagin's "Wind Dance" is perhaps the best composition, and also sounded good when Sipiagin first recorded it in 2008. An octet can be a little tricky to get the most out of - roles are more easily defined in a small group, and big band has more power. Though this is a good CD, it's weakness is that the octet is a little inconsistant. The title track and Potter's "Sea of Marmara" could use some improvement. The moments where the octet is working together are very good. This is still a pretty good mainstream jazz disc, and is recommended for Holland fans.

3 1/2


Holland's big-band incarnation, like anything else he virtually touches, never shies away from arrangement ambitions, even if the overall compositions and chemistry cannot approach the ignition of his exploratory quintet work.