March 1, 2012

Last Friday the dave Holland Overtone Quartet played the palace of Fine Arts Theatre as part of SF Jazz Spring Season.  It is a marvelous example of mature and young musicians inspiring each other.  Holland roomed with John McLaughlin in London, and introduced Tony Williams to John via a tape.  Dave played on Bitches Brew with Miles, and is on the Miles dvd at The Isle of Wight concert.  He has been at the forefront of new music all his professional life.  His 1972 recording, Conference of the Birds, with Sam Rivers, Anthony Braxton, and Barry Altschul, set new directions for acoustic explorations.  Last year he recorded Hands, with Pepe Habechuela, among the most soulful of flamenco guitarists.  Joining Dave for this concert were Chris Potter, one of the leading tenor players of his generation, Jason Moran, and the brilliant Eric Harland.  They each compose for the quartet, and while Dave is the leader and senior artist, it is a truly a collaborative effort. 

Number 47 July 6, 2010

Collaborations are a wonderful, and unpredictable thing.  Consider the new recording by Pepe Habichuela featuring Dave Holland.  Both are legends, from completely different backgrounds.  Pepe, a leader in flamenco guitar for 40 years, and Holland at the forefront of jazz since the '60s, including Silent Way    and Conference of the Birds.  Both artists are fantastic listeners, the most important thing for a musician. I had forgotten that Pepe had collaborated with Don Cherry many years ago, and has experimented with Indian music and the Bollywood Strings.  The recording is named Hands, and is highly recommended.