Dave Holland

Dave Holland is a British jazz bassist and composer from Wolverhampton, England, born in 1946. He learns the bass as a child and studies the instrument for three years at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His work spans avant-garde jazz, jazz fusion, post-bop and free jazz, and he is closely associated with ECM and, later, his own Dare2 and LoJac Music labels.

Early career in London

By 1967 Holland is a regular bassist at Ronnie Scott's in London, where he backs visiting musicians. He is also part of the London free improvisation scene around drummer John Stevens, and he appears on the Spontaneous Music Ensemble's 1968 album Karyobin. That period places him within the development of British free jazz and improvised music.

With Miles Davis

In 1968 Miles Davis hears Holland play at Ronnie Scott's and invites him to join his band, replacing Ron Carter. Holland begins working with Davis in New York and stays in the trumpeter's rhythm section until the summer of 1970. He appears on Filles de Kilimanjaro, In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, recordings that help shape jazz fusion. During his first year with Davis he mainly plays acoustic bass, then increasingly switches to electric bass guitar as Davis's music becomes more electronic, vamp-based and funk-oriented. He is also part of Davis's working group, including the so-called lost quintet with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea and Jack DeJohnette, which performs live in 1969 without making studio recordings as a quintet.

Circle, Sam Rivers and ECM

After leaving Davis, Holland joins Circle with Chick Corea, Barry Altschul and Anthony Braxton, beginning a long relationship with ECM. The group soon ends when Corea is replaced by Sam Rivers. In 1972 Holland records Conference of the Birds with Rivers, Altschul and Braxton; it is his first recording as a leader and one of the important avant-garde jazz recordings. He then works through the 1970s as both leader and sideman with artists including Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton and Sam Rivers.

Gateway and later group work

Holland also plays in the Gateway trio with guitarist John Abercrombie and drummer Jack DeJohnette. The trio releases two influential modern jazz albums in 1975 and 1977, then reforms in 1994 and records two more albums. Across his career he also records solo and duo projects, but most of his work is in small and medium-sized ensembles.

Quintets, big band and other groups

In the 1980s Holland leaves Sam Rivers's group and forms a range of quartets and quintets while continuing occasional sideman work with Herbie Hancock and others. His Dave Holland Quintet, formed in 1997, includes Robin Eubanks, Steve Nelson, Chris Potter and Billy Kilson, later with Nate Smith on drums. The group wins multiple Grammy nominations and awards. Holland also records with the Dave Holland Big Band, which adds eight brass and saxophone players; its second recording, Overtime, appears on his Dare2 label. Other ensembles associated with him include the Dave Holland Trio, Dave Holland Quartet, Dave Holland Sextet, Dave Holland Octet, Aziza, Scolohofo, Crosscurrents Trio, Group Everything Everything Everything, Brahem / Surman / Holland, The Monterey Quartet, Joe Farrell Quartet, Karl Berger Company, Kenny Werner Trio, Paul Bley & Scorpio, Roland Hanna Trio, The Don Thompson Quartet, The Nick Brignola Sextet, The Sam Rivers Quartet, and Kenny Wheeler Quintet.

Composition and style

As a composer, Holland uses folk-song-like motifs, asymmetrical rhythms and themes written in two or more voices, especially for trombone and saxophone. His bands often feature younger musicians, and he is known for supporting emerging jazz players. He lives in upstate New York and follows Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.