Biography of Dave Holland

It seems ironic that Dave Holland, one of today's most respected and virtuosic acoustic bassists, got his big break playing in Miles Davis's Bitches Brew-era electric fusion band. After backing Miles, Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton, and other boundary-extending jazzmen, Holland came out with his brilliant Conference of the Birds album. On this highly regarded debut he achieved a rare mixture of spontaneity, structure, and widely varied moods, setting the tone for his many ECM recordings to come. Over the years he has evolved as a writer and a technician, known for tricky composing in small groups which display his jaw-dropping solo talents alongside equally proficient young players. Though Holland has always kept in touch with the iconoclastic sentiments of the European free improvisers he grew up with, his music usually avoids the extremes of the avant-garde. He is at the most exploratory on his very satisfying solo albums (on bass as well as cello), and also contributed unconventional bass techniques to various small-label recordings with tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers in the '70s. But he also knows the tradition inside and out and, like Charlie Haden, has been a major contributor to the diverse offerings on the ECM label, among others. ~ Myles Boisen