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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZHOLLAND, Dave(b 1 October 1946, Wolverhampton, England) Bass, other instruments. Studied at Guildhall School of Music; played with Ronnie Scott, Tubby Hayes, John Surman, Humphrey Lyttelton, Kenny Wheeler etc and was hired by Miles Davis at age 20 to play in one of the best rhythm sections ever. One of the brighter stars of his generation, his technique impeccable and his contemporary jazz always highly praised. LPs with Davis '68-71; with Circle (Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton, Barry Altschul) '71-2, Stan Getz '73-4, Sam Rivers; also began playing cello. His onw albums included Town Hall '72 with Braxton on Trio; on ECM with Corea, Rivers, Kenny Wheeler etc; trio Gateway 2 with John Abercrombie and Jack DeJohnette; own LPs on ECM: Improvisations For Guitar And Cello with Derek Bailey '71, Conference Of The Birds '72 with Braxton, Rivers and Altschul (down beat: 'If you've found new music lacking in swing, cohesion and variety ... don't miss this one'), Emerald Tears '77 (solo bass), Life Cycle '82 (solo cello). He formed a quintet: Jumpin' In '83 with Wheeler, Julian Priester on trombone, Steve Coleman on alto sax, Steve Ellington on drums; Seeds Of Time '85 with Marvin Smith replacing Ellington, The Razor's Edge '87 with Robin Eubanks replacing Priester. Later albums included Dream Of The Elders with Cassandra Wilson and others and Triplicate with Coleman and DeJohnette; as a highly sought-after collaborator his many projects included albums with vibist Karl Berger (b 30 March 1935, Heidelberg) and with Steve Coleman in Five Elements. One's All on Intuition '96 was a second Holland solo set on bass, and his technique on what sounds like an enormous guitar still had all the other bassists sweating: a superb musician 30 years earlier, he was somehow still improving. He produced his own quintet album Prime Directive '98 on ECM, with Eubanks, Chris Potter on reeds, Steve Nelson on vibes and marimba, and Billy Kilson on drums. He has continued to round up ace collaborators, and his music has continued to grow in artistic and intellectual concept through too many projects to list here, leading us into Uncharted Territories, a 2-CD set on Dare-2 Records in 2017, with Evan Parker on tenor sax, Craig Taborn on piano, Ches Smith on drums. It must be all that creativity that keeps him young. |