About the Artist
One of the most respected figures in jazz today, Dave Holland has amassed an amazing list of credits over the past 40 years, including classic recordings with Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, and Santana-Alice Coltrane, as well as memorable sessions with such great artists as Joe Farrell, Colin Walcott, Lee Konitz, Kenny Wheeler, Hank Jones, Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, Bill Frisell, Geri Allen, and Roy Haynes. As a leader in his own right, he debuted in 1972 with the avant-garde classic Conference of the Birds, which featured both Sam Rivers and Anthony Braxton on saxophones. In 1983, Holland formed his first working quintet featuring alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, trombonist Julian Priester and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith and debuted that year with Jumpin' In on ECM Records. That quintet followed up in 1984 with Seeds of Time and then in 1987 trombonist Robin Eubanks replaced Priester in the lineup for The Razor's Edge. He continued touring and recording with a quintet through the 1990s and in 2001 premiered his Grammy Award-winning big band. Holland consistently ranks among the top bassists, composers, and bandleaders in the Down Beat, Jazz Times, and Jazziz critics' and readers' polls and has been recognized for his various achievements in recent years by the Jazz Journalists Association. He was the recipient of the prestigious Miles Davis Award at the Montreal Jazz Festival and has been nominated numerous times for Grammy Awards in the Best Jazz Instrumental Performance category with his quintet, including 1998 for Points of View, 2000 for Prime Directive, 2001 for Not for Nothin', and 2003 for Extended Play. He's won three Grammy Awards: 1999's Best Instrumental Jazz Performance for Gary Burton's Like Minds, 2002's Best Large Jazz Ensemble for What Goes Around, and 2005's Best Large Jazz Ensemble for Overtime. Born on October 1, 1946 in Wolverhampton, W. Midlands, England, Holland took up bass at age 13, influenced by such iconic walking bassists as Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar as well as such bass innovators as Charles Mingus, Jimmy Garrison, Scott LaFaro, and Gary Peacock. He later studied at the Guildhall School of Music in London and by the mid-'60s began collaborating with a pool of creative musicians around London, including saxophonists John Surman and Evan Parker, pianist John Taylor, and guitarist John McLaughlin. Holland played London clubs with England's top jazz musicians, as well as backing visiting dignitaries like Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Joe Henderson. In July of 1968, Miles Davis heard him at Ronnie Scott's playing with the Pat Smythe Trio, which opened for the Bill Evans Trio featuring Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette. Duly impressed with Dave's playing, Miles asked him to join his band. Within a month, Holland promptly relocated to New York and was playing his first gig with Miles Davis at Count Basie's nightclub in Harlem. He subsequently participated in the making of several classic Davis recordings, including In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. In 1970, Holland co-founded (with Anthony Braxton, Chick Corea, and Barry Altschul) the free-jazz quartet Circle, which disbanded after one year. In the early '70s, he played with Stan Getz and briefly with Thelonious Monk before forming the Gateway Trio in 1975 with drummer Jack DeJohnette and guitarist John Abercrombie (Gateway continued to regroup for sporadic recordings and tours over the next 25 years). Through the remainder of the '70s, Holland worked in a variety of settings with the adventurous saxophonist-composer Sam Rivers. In 1983, Holland organized his own working band, a quintet with trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, trombonist Julian Priester, alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, and drummer Steve Ellington. Later editions of the Holland quintet would include drummers Marvin "Smitty" Smith, Billy Kilson, and Nate Smith, trombonist Robin Eubanks, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, and saxophonist Chris Potter. Another key highlight of this period was Holland's work with vocalist Betty Carter. "There's a long list of players who were started by Betty and have gone on to do great things, including Jason Moran, Curtis Lundy, Eric Harland, and many others. I was fortunate enough to be one of her players back in the mid-'80s. I played with Betty for over a year and had a wonderful experience. If you listened and if you took what she had to say and worked with it, you came out of it a better musician and a better player, and certainly a better accompanist. She also gave me a lot of guidance when I was starting a group at the beginning of the '80s. She not only became an important adviser but also a good friend."In the '80s and '90s, Holland worked as an educator, heading the summer jazz workshop at the Banff School in Banff, Alberta, Canada, from 1983 until 1990. From 1987 until 1990 he was a faculty member at the New England Conservatory of Music. In recent years, he has collaborated in two of the top jazz collectives of the decade--the ScoLoHoFo quartet comprised of Holland, guitarist John Scofield, saxophonist Joe Lovano and drummer Al Foster and the Herbie Hancock-piloted all-star quartet including saxophonist Wayne Shorter and drummer Brian Blade. Holland, who this past summer has been a part of Herbie Hancock's "The River of Possibilities Tour," plans to play some select dates with the sextet through the remainder of 2008 while also continuing to perform with his celebrated quintet. He also has exciting plans for his Dare2 Records in 2009. "One of the things that I've been trying to do with the label is to present a variety of projects," says Holland. "We started with the big band CD Overtime, then we had a quintet record after that, Critical Mass, now this sextet project, Pass It On. We're doing an octet record in January, which is essentially the quintet plus three--Gary Smulyan on baritone sax, Sasha Sipiagin on trumpet, and Antonio Hart on alto sax. Then the other project we're going to do is a flamenco recording with some Spanish gypsy flamenco players, including the very celebrated flamenco guitarist, Pepe Habichuela. We're also recording a lot of live gigs which we plan to make available for electronic downloads on our web site. So it's a busy time for the label."
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