Dave Holland (born October 1, 1946) is a jazz bassist and composer.
He first became widely known in the late 1960s when he worked with Miles Davis during Davis's Bitches Brew era. An unconfirmed story tells of a young Dave Holland working at Ronny Scott's club in London in his teens. One night Miles Davis came and was sufficiently impressed by Holland's playing that he passed on the message that he wanted Holland to come to New York to work with him. After not hearing again from Davis for some period of time, Holland made a bet and bought a one-way ticket to New York, even though he did not know a single person there. He finally found Herbie Hancock, who was Davis's piano player at a time, who allowed him to stay at his apartment and eventually brought him to Miles Davis.
Holland was a sideman for many other jazz artists in the 1970s, including various formations that paired him with Chick Corea, John Abercrombie , Jack DeJohnette, Barry Altschul, Anthony Braxton, among many others. While Holland has recorded solo and duo albums, the bulk of his recording and performance work has been in small to medium sized groups.
In this era he was best known for his work with the ECM record label, in the context of the Gateway Trio with John Abercrombie and Jack DeJohnette, with whom he released two influential modern jazz albums in the 1970s. This collaboration was reprised in the early 1990s with two more albums.
The most recent incarnation of the Dave Holland Quintet, formed in 1997, has won multiple Grammy nominations and awards. The quintet includes Robin Eubanks on trombone and cowbell; Steve Nelson on marimba and vibraphone; Chris Potter on saxophones; and Billy Kilson — and more recently, Nate Smith — on drums. Holland's band invariably includes young musicians and he is known for his patronage of many young jazz musicians.
Holland's trademarks as a composer include folk song-like motives, asymmetrical rhythms, and themes in two or more voices (usually trombone and saxophone).
He currently resides in New York City, NY.
External link
