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Conference Of The Birds Original recording reissued

Dave Holland Format: Audio CD
4.8 out of 5 stars 28 customer reviews
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$15.15 & FREE Shipping on orders over $49. Details Only 4 left in stock (more on the way). Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

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  • Includes FREE MP3 version of this album Here's how (restrictions apply)
  • Sample this album Artist (Sample)
1
30
Four Winds
6:34
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2
30
Q & A
8:37
Album Only
3
30
Conference Of The Birds
4:37
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4
30
Interception
8:29
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5
30
Now Here (Nowhere)
4:35
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6
30
See-Saw
6:44
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Product Details

  • Audio CD (April 11, 2000)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: Original recording reissued
  • Label: ECM
  • ASIN: B000026156
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,160 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThe Rosetta Stone of free jazz.
By Jeffrey Osier on October 14, 1998
Format: Audio CD
I originally bought the LP of this in early 1974, having heard Holland, Altschul, and Braxton in Chick Corea's band Circle, and of course knowing Holland's work on some highly conspicuous Miles Davis recordings (In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew...). I bought CotB under the impression that I knew what I was getting myself into. I'd been wrestling with atonality for awhile -- late Coltrane, Schoenberg, whatever I could find that seemed reasonably "important." I was not getting it. I had the youthful faith that there was something worthwhile happening inside all that cacophony, but I needed a Rosetta Stone to make sense of it. "Conference of the Birds" was my Rosetta Stone. From the opening bars of "Four Winds" I was completely captivated. It swings hard, the improvisations are always coherent -- no matter how frenzied and dissonant they sound, and Holland's compositions are outstanding. The title song is a beautiful folk ballad that makes a perfect breather amid the fiery uptempo rants and cryptic, avant garde soundscapes. This record was the best education my ears ever had. Even though I now have it on CD, I still have my battered vinyl copy of CotB, and hold onto it for purely sentimental reasons.
Holland is without question one of the greatest living jazz artists, and no bassist except Charles Mingus has ever matched his all-around musicianship. I think Holland's output on ECM has been very consistent over the quarter-century he's been recording for them, so it might seem unfair to call this the best recording to ever come out under his name, but he's never really topped this. Check out all of them, but if you like CotB in particular you should also listen to the Dave Holland/Sam Rivers duet records, particularly Volume One.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsIn Search of Excellence
By A. Stan Davis on February 6, 2001
Format: Audio CD
After watching the Ken Burns Jazz Series last month, I went back to the period that came up short in the programming - the 70's - 80's. The series ran a theme that Jazz had died in the 70's. As a teenager who discovered "Conference of The Birds" during this time, I had to disagree with the critics. Jazz did not die, it evolved. This recording is a beautiful classic example of that evolution. That evolution is still going on today, in 2001. Listen to this CD and then follow it by playing Holland's latest recording "Prime Directive." Dave is still evolving and spinning out classics. No other Bassist/Composer that I have heard in the last 25 years spins out more intriguing music than Holland. His Bass playing is crystal clear and very strong, while his compositions are structually complete. He always works with first-rate artists who are continuously challenged, and they respond in kind by taking the compositions to their highest level. "Conference of The Birds" is one of the most beautiful compositions that I have ever heard. From the 70's to 2001 - Holland is still evolving as an artist. Keep up the excellent work Dave. As long as Cats like you are around, Jazz is in good hands.
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5.0 out of 5 starsExquisite, delicate, shimmering with austere beauty
By Ricard Giner (cootie@cootiesjazz.com) on August 27, 2001
Format: Audio CD
This is not an ordinary record in any respect. Free jazz and the 1960s avant-garde had ironically generated its own conventions. Conference of the Birds ignores them and sets up its own outstanding performance standards for both individual voices and ensemble. The compositions are all Holland's, inspired by the dawn chorus outside his flat in London in the early summer mornings. The first theme, "Four Winds" is a delightful opener, marked by Holland's characteristic firm, precise fingering. The bass immediately sets the atmosphere of the record: a light, free dance of notes. Holland's bouncing fingering sharply contrasts with Barry Altschul's fizzing cymbals. Sam Rivers and Anthony Braxton converse almost indistinguishably, politely exchanging commentary. On "Q & A" Altschul converses with himself, quietly alerting his companions, who gradually make their appearance with little interjections. These fragments progressively accumulate to form a kind of dance of free individuals, like birds pecking at grain, each jumping according to its own whim, chasing its morsel. Then, the title-tune, "Conference of the Birds". It's one of the great compositions of jazz, perhaps the most distinctive and memorable 1970s original (in retrospect, an accolade it should probably share with Weather Report's "Birdland", released four years later). It is a delicate, contemplative song to beauty and quietude, both melancholy and uplifting, evocative of both aching loneliness and the intimacy of companionship. Holland's double bass figure must be one of his most celebrated. Altschul's marimba is divine in its simplicity, accompanied by the plain, unadorned flutes of Braxton and Rivers.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsAn All-Time Classic
By Steve Silberman on November 26, 1999
Format: Audio CD
Definitely one of the three or four best albums in the ECM catalog and one of the great jazz records ever. It's very OUT playing, but it always swings home, and how many avant-garde units could come up with something as fragile and lovely as the title track? A great jazz tribute to freedom and the imagination.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThis a landmark Dave Holland album, one of his ...

This a landmark Dave Holland album, one of his first as a band leader. It is short but completely satisfying. Read more

Published 8 days ago by Steven P. Lynn
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

excellent

Published 2 months ago by John C. Mackenbach
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

An early Dave Holland classic.

Published 7 months ago by Tim Nyborg
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

great musicians making interesting music

Published 11 months ago by wj
5.0 out of 5 starsFOUR GREAT MUSICIANS AT THE PEAK OF THEIR POWER, TURNED ON BY PLAYING...

DH, b, comp; Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, reeds; Barry Altschul, perc, marimba.

It’s difficult to decide where to start talking about this album, it’s so good. Read more

Published 13 months ago by David Keymer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great jazz music

Published 13 months ago by Ricky Ang
5.0 out of 5 starsFor those who like CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS, another album FIVE PIECES...

The following is for people who like CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS, and want more of the same type of music. Read more

Published on February 21, 2010 by Tom Brody
3.0 out of 5 starsPowerful to the point of overbearing

Let's face it: if you put Tony Braxton on your jazz CD, you're going to end up with some kind of musical ruckus, and Dave Holland certainly has that with his "Conference of the... Read more

Published on December 30, 2009 by Eric Sedensky
5.0 out of 5 starsClassic

This is 1973 free jazz, which may have been more risky than doing this in the 60s. A few die-hards expanded the genre while most hopped the fusion bus. Read more

Published on December 25, 2009 by Bill Your 'Free Form FM Print DJ
4.0 out of 5 starsHow many other 1973 albums still sound this fresh?

"Conference Of The Birds" starts with a blast -- "Four Winds" gets straight to the point with a fast, lively melody and fast, lively playing by the band. Read more

Published on September 4, 2008 by Anthony Cooper

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