Dave Holland (Miles Davis, John Abercrombie )
An acclaimed and prolific composer, bandleader, recording artist, collaborator, and sideman, British born Dave Holland was the bassist who anchored one of the greatest eras in modern music and jazz when he joined Miles Davis in 1968 at age 22.
His rhythmic and harmonic passages, rendered on upright and electric on such seminal Miles sides including In A Silent Way (1969), Bitches Brew (1969), and Miles at The Fillmore East (1970) among several archival releases, brilliantly tethered the artistry of Davis and his band; Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Joe Zawinul, and Herbie Hancock.
Holland’s upright grooves in tandem with electric bassist Harvey Brooks on “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down,” “Spanish Key,” and “Pharaoh’s Dance” complete each other’s musical forays into the unknown. The Gateway trio, with Holland, guitarist John Abercrombie and drummer Jack DeJohnette waxed several essential releases from 1975 through 1995.
His resume as a sideman is astounding – spanning Bonnie Raitt, Sir Roland Hanna, Joe Henderson, Sam Rivers, Joe Farrell, Dave Leibman, Barry Altschul, Billy Hart, Nick Brignola, Joe Lovano, and Kevin Eubanks to cite a very, very select few!
An indisputable jazz icon, Dave Holland’s solo canon spans over twenty albums, mostly on the ECM imprint, and runs the voodoo down from solo bass to big band!
Photos courtesy of Dave Holland Com