Dave Holland - 1990 "Extensions"

Extensions is an album by jazz bassist Dave Holland released on the ECM label in 1990. The record is Dave Holland's eighth album to be released on the ECM label. It features two members of his previous quintet—Steve Coleman and Marvin "Smitty" Smith—alongside guitarist Kevin Eubanks, in his first appearance on a Dave Holland record. Holland reprised his tune "Processional", first recorded on this album, on his later sextet album Pass It On.

Dave Holland has commanded such respect at the very top levels of American jazz, thanks only in part to his work, beginning in the late 1960s, with Miles Davis and then Anthony Braxton, Chick Corea, and Sam Rivers. As that list suggests, the Englishman set out on his fascinating jazz voyage with some of the best, and he has managed, as a leader, always to gather instrumentalists who, while not necessarily the best-known names, have consistently been extraordinarily talented. That is sparklingly the case here. On such tracks as "Nemesis," which starts as a fairly straight-ahead, funk-vamp piece, both alto saxophonist Steve Coleman and electric guitarist Kevin Eubanks elevate the music with stunning performances. The imagination, vigor, and rhythmic variation of their work--not to mention just the sheer amount of music they generate moment to moment--at times beggars comprehension. The music seems to gush and tumble forth from the interior of such tunes. That effect is, perhaps, the Holland hallmark, and it is amply exemplified here.

For this tight and enjoyable quartet date, bassist Dave Holland spread the composing opportunities around, his sidemen accounting for four of the six pieces. Arguably, none of these musicians ever sounded better, or more adventurous, than when performing in Holland's bands. While the leader himself retreated a good deal from his more routinely avant-garde recordings of the '70s, he appeared unwilling to allow his younger compadres to simply coast, instead evoking probing and thoughtful playing from them. Altoist Steve Coleman derives particular benefit from Holland's supervision, sounding far more fluid and confident than own his own rather more stilted albums.

The pieces follow a general head-solos-head format, though with substantial elasticity and enough variation that no sense of sameness settles in. Holland, of course, is masterful throughout, and one can easily imagine simply listening exclusively to his basslines, the amazing imagination they convey, and being very satisfied. One of his better albums from this period, Extensions should please any Holland fan, and is an agreeable and non-threatening jumping in point for the curious.

Dave Holland's "Extensions" is a notable exception, delivering intelligent, upbeat, post bop jazz with real power, remaining close enough to the jazz tradition to have lasting relevance.

The band - Steve Coleman (alto sax), Kevin Eubanks (guitar), Dave Holland (bass) and Marvin "Smitty" Smith (drums) - delivers rock-inspired energy spiraling off Marvin "Smitty" Smith's upfront drumming and Kevin Eubanks' impressive guitar playing. Steve Coleman brings his deep-rooted jazz sensibility and intelligence to bear, blowing solos of real creativity. Dave Holland's base forms a solid yet agile centre around which the music can flow. Despite the ECM label, this is high octane, full-blooded jazz by any other name.

"Nemesis" and "Color Of Mind", the two Kevin Eubanks compositions, open and close the album. The Kevin Eubanks solo on "Nemesis" is worthy of special attention. "Color Of Mind" is uptempo and angular.

"Processional" and "The Oracle" are both compositions by Dave Holland. These are more introspective and provide clear space for Steve Coleman, Dave Holland and Kevin Eubanks to solo expressively. "The Oracle" makes the most concession to ECM taste with 'African-sounding' guitar effects and rhythms but this is a small price to pay for the excellence of the music throughout.

Meanwhile, Steve Coleman also provides two compositions, "Black Hole" and "101 Degrees Fahrenheit (Slow Meltdown)" that get down to the essence of jazz. "Black Hole" is bluesy, funky and lowdown while "101 Degrees Fahrenheit (Slow Meltdown)" is ballad-like and sinewy.

https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Dave+Holland

Track listing:

    "Nemesis" (Kevin Eubanks) - 11:31
    "Processional" (Dave Holland) - 7:16
    "Black Hole" (Steve Coleman) - 10:10
    "The Oracle" (Dave Holland) - 14:32
    "101° Fahrenheit (Slow Meltdown)" (Steve Coleman) - 4:50
    "Color of Mind" (Kevin Eubanks) - 10:11

Recorded September 1989, Power Station, New York

Personnel:

    Steve Coleman – alto saxophone
    Kevin Eubanks – electric guitar
    Dave Holland – double bass
    Marvin "Smitty" Smith – drums

Dave Holland - 2006 "Critical Mass"

Critical Mass is a 2006 album release by the Dave Holland Quintet, and the first to feature drummer Nate Smith. This is the first Dave Holland Quintet album to be released outside the ECM label, through which he had released all of his albums since his 1972 debut as leader, Conference of the Birds.

It's been five years since the last studio record by Dave Holland's quintet. But between touring on its own and as the core of Holland's big band, which was responsible for the outstanding Overtime (Dare2, 2005), the unit shows no sign of slowing down. Critical Mass proves that when the chemistry is right, even longstanding bands can continue to improve by introducing new elements, without forgetting what made them great in the first place.

The quintet has been together for close to a decade with only two changes. Saxophonist Chris Potter, who replaced Steve Wilson after Points of View (ECM, 1998), quickly evolved a virtually telepathic link with trombonist Robin Eubanks that has been one of the quintet's signatures. Despite the concern about drummer Billy Kilson leaving the group over two years ago, newcomer Nate Smith has already proven that while his overall approach is lighter, he's equally capable. Critical Mass is his first recording with the group, and there's been no loss of chemistry or distinct identity.

Always a democratic leader, Holland has once again encouraged everyone to contribute compositionally. The leader wrote half of the album's eight tunes, the other players one tune apiece. The group's sound has always been defined by its unique instrumentation: there isn't a sound like it anywhere else. Steve Nelson's vibes and marimba provide a chordal foundation for a trombone/saxophone front line. But even a unique textural conception can grow tiring after a number of years, and it's to these musicians' credit that this quintet remains as vital as ever.

Holland's "The Eyes Have It opens the disc on a familiar note; the bassist and drummer's inescapable groove makes even the most complicated bar shifts feel natural. Potter gets better with each passing year, employing the perfect combination of melodic invention and passionate energy. But it's after Holland's solo, where Potter empathically solos in tandem with an equally intuitive Eubanks, that we're reminded of this group's real magic.

Holland revisits the Middle Eastern vibe of Points of View's "Bedouin Trail, but "Secret Garden feels more authentic, the result of Smith's rhythmic yet textural approach, while Eubanks' "Full Circle proves that it's possible to swing in any time signature.

But the real surprise is saved for last. Nelson's own records have been decidedly mainstream efforts. On "Amator Silenti he's written an episodic composition that goes from a rubato tone poem to a lyrical ballad to angular free play, and that's something new for the quintet. After building to a fever pitch, it ultimately returns to its more melodic beginning.

Proof that it's possible to retain one's identity while breaking new ground, Critical Mass continues a streak of winning records for Holland that shows no sign of letting up.

Bassist extraordinaire Dave Holland believes that like fine wine, music shouldn't be unbottled before its time. Holland and his highly regarded quintet spent a year and a half honing and retooling the music on their new album until it reached the point he calls "critical mass, where "it has become what it's going to be.

That patience, care and commitment to getting things right is evident throughout Critical Mass. This is the work of a working band, a group with five distinct, creative personalities that's been together almost in its entirety—with the exception of new drummer Nate Smith—for nearly a decade. Under Holland's generous leadership, each member of the quintet gets plenty of room to solo and contribute his own ideas to the mix. Each also contributes an original composition, to go along with four from Holland.

The result is some of the most exciting, serious jazz around, a superbly crafted mix of the mainstream and the avant-garde, the cerebral and the swinging. From Holland's hypnotic, Middle Eastern-influenced "Secret Garden to the exploratory funk of Robin Eubanks' "Full Circle, the group exhibits impressive passion, cohesion and sense of adventure. In a band filled with stars, Chris Potter stands out for his tour de force saxophone work, weaving edgy, serpentine lines above Eubanks' steady, more laid-back trombone. Longtime Holland cohort Steve Nelson again shines on vibes and marimba; Nelson wrote the album's most challenging tune, the evocative "Amator Silenti.

This particular lineup of Dave Holland's longstanding quintet had apparently been working for eighteen months prior to recording this disc, and that simple fact oozes out of every note played. There is a level of cohesion and empathy here that arguably can come only from such longstanding associations.
Holland is anything but despotic in his leadership responsibilities, and every member of the group gets a composer's credit here. The result is a diversity of approaches that makes for rewarding listening, and there is an object lesson in this for countless other groups working in this modern mainstream field.

In addition to Holland's bass, the rhythm section is rounded out by Steve Nelson, principally on vibes, though he makes some telling contributions on marimba, and drummer Nate Smith. They give the music an airy, perhaps understated quality, at times taking in earthy funk in a satisfyingly contradictory way, while Robin Eubanks' trombone takes the music in the same direction. The resulting balance is down entirely to the musical personalities of the players involved.

This is perhaps best exemplified on Holland's "Easy Did It," where for once a title is apt for all the right reasons. Chris Potter plays soprano sax here, and his work on that horn has arguably greater character than his tenor playing. While he doesn't approach the individuality of, say, Steve Lacy on the straight horn, he does have an exceptional grasp of tonal nuance.

There's an awful lot of music in this vein out there at the moment, and whilst it's always faultlessly played, it can be a little wearing having to try and identify soloists through note patterns alone. There is no such concern here, which makes this disc a rarity. The soloists have identities of their own and there's nothing in the way of the usual overstatement here. What emerges instead is the impression of a band mining a rich musical seam with skill and aplomb.

http://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=dave+Holland

Track listing:

1 "The Eyes Have It" (Dave Holland) - 7:00
2 "Easy Did It" (Dave Holland) - 11:16
3 "Vicissitudes" (Chris Potter) - 9:56
4 "The Leak" (Nate Smith) - 5:42
5 "Secret Garden" (Dave Holland) - 8:42
6 "Lucky Seven" (Dave Holland) - 8:35
7 "Full Circle" (Robin Eubanks) - 12:11
8 "Amator Silenti" (Steve Nelson) - 9:17

Personnel:

Chris Potter - tenor & soprano saxophones
Robin Eubanks - trombone
Steve Nelson - vibraphone, marimba & tambourine
Dave Holland - double bass
Nate Smith - drums

Gateway - 1975 Gateway

Gateway is the debut album by Gateway, a trio composed of John Abercrombie, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. It was recorded in 1975 and released on the ECM label in 1976.

Guitarist John Abercrombie was one of the stars of ECM in its early days. His playing on this trio set with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette is really beyond any simple categorization. Abercrombie's improvisations are sophisticated yet, because his sound is rockish and sometimes quite intense (particularly on the nearly 11-minute "Sorcery 1"), there is really no stylistic name for the music. Holland contributed four of the six originals while DeJohnette brought in the other two (one of which was co-written with Abercrombie). The interplay between the three musicians is quite impressive although listeners might find some of the music to be quite unsettling. It takes several listens for one to digest all that is going on, but it is worth the struggle.

The Gateway trio of guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Dave Holland, and drummer Jack DeJohnette made its debut in the midst of the fusion era, recording this album in 1975, but there's a flowing rhythmic ease and complex interplay that immediately distinguish the group's music from the day's electric jazz craze. Abercrombie's electrified lines scurry and wander into strange byways, especially on the extended "May Dance" and "Sorcery 1," but Holland and DeJohnette keep digging in and varying their patterns, knitting together coherent group music. Holland's own solos are models of order and invention, and the CD is also an opportunity for him to demonstrate his skills as a composer. He wrote four of the six pieces here, and the elusive "Jamala" is particularly beautiful.

Gateway really is an ECM touchstone - it comes from a time when the label produced dozens of albums that pushed the jazz envelope. In this case, you get a mix of guitar fusion, post bop, and free jazz.
The most obvious parallel is John Abercrombie's classic album Timeless, recorded the previous year, with Dave Holland replacing Jan Hammer. But Holland was a free jazzer at this time, and his presence pulls the group in different directions. Though the influences of Hendrix and McLaughlin loom large, there's a certain looseness and jazziness that was never present on the Mahavishnu Orchestra albums.
"Backwoods Song" is the obvious highlight here - a great tune and loping groove that seems like it could go on for half an hour at least. "Unshielded Desire" is a scorching duet between Abercrombie and DeJohnette, echoing Elvin and Trane on "Vigil" or "Impressions". And "Sorcery" - I guess you could call this a rock tune, except there is an avant-garde edge here that probably would scare most guitar fusion fans senseless.
The rest of the album has more subtle charms, the kind that I missed when I first picked it up as a McLaughlin/Mahavishnu fan. "May Dance" is a great freebop performance; "Waiting" is a solo feature for Dave Holland, a perfect showcase for his great sound; and "Jamala" is a short but beautiful enigma.

Track listing

    "Back-Woods Song (Dave Holland) - 7:51
    "Waiting" (Holland) - 2:10
    "May Dance" (Holland) - 11:01
    "Unshielded Desire" (Jack DeJohnette, John Abercrombie) - 4:49
    "Jamala" (Holland) - 4:47
    "Sorcery I" (DeJohnette) - 10:56

        Recorded at Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg in March, 1975

Personnel

    John Abercrombie: guitar
    Dave Holland: bass
    Jack DeJohnette: drums

Bill Frisell Elvin Jones Dave Holland - 2001 "Bill Frisell Elvin Jones Dave Holland"

With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones is the 14th album by Bill Frisell to be released on the Elektra Nonesuch label. It was released in 2001 and features performances by Frisell, Dave Holland and Elvin Jones.

Ever prolific avant-Americana guitarist Bill Frisell continues his Nonesuch odyssey with this trio that includes two jazz heavyweights: bassist Dave Holland (former Miles Davis band member and current ECM recording artist) and drum legend Elvin Jones (one-quarter of the classic John Coltrane Quartet of the '60s and still an indefatigable rhythmist). Frisell leads the threesome through a book of his own highly individual, atmospherically compelling tunes, including such recent favorites as "Strange Meeting" and "Blues Dream"; the trio also essays two vintage numbers that do a good job of bookending Frisell's own brand of rootsy lyricism - Henry Mancini's "Moon River" and Stephen Foster's "Hard Times." Hardly obvious candidates as Frisell collaborators, Holland and Jones warm well to the folk-inflected material, complementing the guitarist's offbeat charm and unerring taste with their muscular authority. Frisell fans will rejoice once again, and newcomers might find this an ideal introduction.

Bill Frisell has teamed up with two of the most revered figures in contemporary jazz, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Elvin Jones, for the first time on record. An impromptu meeting of these three unique voices resulted in instant musical chemistry, as they revisited—and often transformed—Frisell’s compositions and a pair of standards.

According to Frisell, co-producer Michael Shrieve—a former member of Santana and a highly creative drummer with whom Frisell has worked—first suggested playing with Jones. “Michael has known Elvin since he was a little kid,” Frisell explains, “and is currently writing a book about him. Out of the blue he told me that I should play with Elvin. I had met Elvin once, about 15 years ago, but I never thought I’d get a chance to play with him.”

Seeing that Shrieve was perfectly serious about the suggestion, Frisell and co-producer Lee Townsend quickly decided on the right bassist for the project. “I had played a little bit with Dave,” Frisell says, “and we’d talked about doing more work together. And Dave had worked with Elvin, so I thought he might be able to tie it all together. The whole thing was like a dream, to be able to play with these guys.”

Each of Frisell’s collaborators on the eponymously titled release can rightfully claim the tag “legendary.” British-born bassist Dave Holland was a mainstay in Miles Davis’s bands immediately prior to and during the Bitches Brew era, and also worked in more avant-garde settings with Chick Corea and Anthony Braxton. In recent years Holland has become one of the most celebrated composers and bandleaders in jazz.

Born in Pontiac and raised in Detroit as part of an enormously gifted musical family, Elvin Jones became one of the most popular and influential drummers in jazz history through his work in the John Coltrane Quartet. He, too, has been a celebrated bandleader, and numerous younger musicians— including Nicholas Payton, Javon Jackson, and Ravi Coltrane—have received their bandstand seasoning as members of his Jazz Machine.

In selecting the tunes for the session, Frisell and Townsend picked some of his most enduring compositions, which were then transformed by the band in the studio. “I wanted to bring Dave and Elvin into my world,” Frisell said. “Strange Meeting,” originally a martial tango, is recast here as a breezy bossa nova. Bluesier material and a folk ballad by Stephen Foster, “Hard Times,” were also chosen because Frisell had always heard the blues in Jones’s playing. “I wasn’t sure how he would react,” Frisell says, “but Elvin got really excited about this stuff—he said that it took him back to the music he used to listen to as a kid in Detroit, like Big Bill Broonzy. And selfishly, if someone has a tune, who wouldn’t want to hear what it would sound like if Elvin Jones played it?”

Bill Frisell's allegorical approach to storytelling draws on a wealth of sounds and styles, and is informed by a jazz attitude. His music is ideally suited to the challenges of the trio format, in which each player is exposed and naked, sharing the rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic responsibilities while trying to project the orchestral dimension of a big band.

Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones is the most down-home, folkish expression yet of the guitarist's borderless blues music. It is perhaps the most expansive, perfected vision of this trip-tych of all-star audiophile recordings, which began with Charlie Haden and Ginger Baker on the drummer's Going Back Home and continued with bassist Viktor Krauss and mandarin L.A. studio drummer Jim Keltner on Frisell's Gone, Just Like a Train.

The big difference here is Frisell's laying-on of mucho post-production touches to flesh out the music in a fascinating mélange of overdubbed acoustic and electric voices. Bassist Holland tolls away with egoless grace and power while drummer Jones plays the blues with cool, understated conviction, filling in the textural holes with his trademark sizzle-cymbal/bass-drum moan and airy, wind-driven sheets of snare precipitation on surprisingly straightforward grooves that evoke visions of Highway 61. Jones does all this so straightforwardly - as in his hypnotic time-keeping on "Coffaro's Theme" and his unadorned shuffle on "Outlaws" - that it might come as something of a shock to those who still associate him mainly with the fervent interplay and complexity of John Coltrane's quartet.

Why should we be so shocked to hear Elvin playing straight time? He sounds as if he's having the time of his life. Listen to the deliciously slow groove of "Blues Dream." But then, this album's first four tunes are fleshed out in great detail with guitar overdubs; in such elaborate orchestrations less is often more, rhythmically speaking - a big, round, evenly spaced quarter note can be just as profound as the most complex polyrhythmic layering.

In responding to Frisell's spacious brand of rhythmic/melodic invention, Holland and Jones bring things to a simmer rather than a full boil, as on "Tell Your Ma, Tell Your Pa," in which one of Jones' trademark rolling intros leads to a fattening tom-tom drone with Holland and overdubs depict a distant thunderstorm, Frisell's solo providing what lightning there is.

Sonically and spiritually, the music takes on a more or less "jazz" dimension when they play as a straight trio. This happens to glorious effect on a tenderly swinging "Moon River," in which Hones' brushwork and Holland's counterpoint flesh out Frisell's sublime acoustic guitar harmonies; on the mysterious cymbal-driven changes of "Strange Meeting"; and in the shuffling "Convict 13." But to hear these three surge together, as they do in the closing strains of "Smilin' Jones," is to recognize that perhaps this isn't a "jazz" album at all.

Whatever you call it, the wonderful bass extension and holographic textural dimension in Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones make it a definite audiophile's delight. And in its ritualistic portrayal of Americana we gain a new insight into the collective prism of the improviser's art, while Frisell's visceral orchestrations suggest still bolder swatches of color to come

Track listing

All compositions by Bill Frisell except as indicated.

    "Outlaws" – 7:55
    "Twenty Years" – 3:15
    "Coffaro's Theme" – 4:50
    "Blue's Dream" – 4:49
    "Moon River" (Mancini, Mercer) – 6:25
    "Tell Your Ma, Tell Your Pa" – 9:06
    "Strange Meeting" – 5:22
    "Convict 13" – 3:54
    "Again" – 7:32
    "Hard Times" – 3:39
    "Justice and Honor" – 4:48
    "Smilin' Jones" – 5:03

Personnel

    Bill Frisell - guitars
    Dave Holland - bass
    Elvin Jones - drums

Dave Holland - 2013 "Prism"

Prism is a studio album by English jazz bassist Dave Holland. The record was released via the Dare2 label on September 2, 2013. This album is a milestone of Dave Holland’s career as a leader—the forty year anniversary of his debut, free jazz album Conference of the Birds released in 1973

For “Prism”, Dave’s latest recording, he’s assembled a quartet of outstanding players and composers who are also leaders in their own right, Kevin Eubanks on guitar, Craig Taborn on piano and Fender Rhodes, and Eric Harland on drums. The recording is representative of the wide range of musical references that these musicians incorporate into their music and it features compositions written by each of them for the group.

The album takes the listener through many musical landscapes starting with the infectious funky groove of the Eubanks’ composition “The Watcher” followed by one of Holland’s compositions, “The Empty Chair”, a soulful blues that hints at references to the music of Jimi Hendrix. Craig Taborn’s “Spirals” creates an intriguing setting for the group that moves through a series of dramatically changing musical developments and Eric Harland’s hauntingly beautiful composition “Breathe” provides a musical space that seems to suspend time.

The groups of Dave Holland have always reflected a collaborative spirit with the goal of creating a musical context that allows the musicians to express their creative individuality. “Prism” brings together four musicians who are each forging their own musical path and together have created a unique and contemporary musical statement on this recording.

It’s a great record. Part of what makes Prism sound specifically like “fusion” is the preponderance of tunes that do not “swing” in the usual sense but are instead built on tricky riffs that interlock with a groove that is heavy on backbeat. The opener, Eubanks’ “The Watcher”, begins with a funky line from the left hand of Taborn’s Fender Rhodes electric piano, and then Eubanks doubles it before he climbs on top with a distorted but very simple melody. The sound is thick with fuzz and buzz from both Eubanks and Taborn. All of it would make for a satisfying track, but then a tricky and precise bridge section comes along for pleasing relief. Taborn’s solo is the standout here: mathematical and intriguing as it moves and reverses, surges forward and doubles-back on itself.

Bassist Dave Holland first became a leader-on-record with Conference Of The Birds (ECM, 1973), a now-classic outré quartet session. That initial leader date portrayed Holland as a restless seeker, willing and eager to explore the inner workings of group dynamics and the outer reaches of convention, and he's done little to alter that perception of himself in the intervening years. Holland has, with band after band and album after album, continually broadened his outlook, creating a vast and enviable body of work along the way. Now, he celebrates four decades of leadership by introducing another potent foursome to the world.

On Prism, Holland reunites with three musical spark plugs from his past: guitarist Kevin Eubanks, who appeared on the bassist's Extensions (ECM, 1989), drummer Eric Harland, who worked side-by-side with Holland in The Monterey Quartet and then joined him for Pass It On (Dare2 Records, 2008), and pianist/Fender Rhodes man Craig Taborn, who's shared the stage with the bassist on a number of occasions over the past few years. As individuals, these gentlemen rank high on many a critic and fan's list of players; together, they form the most exciting and awe-inspiring quartet to debut on record this year.

The music this band delivers on Prism is like a vortex, sucking in everything within earshot. Interlocking patterns, excoriating lines, killer grooves and blazing solos are par for the course. Democracy prevails in all aspects, as each band member contributes music, muscle and more along the way. "The True Meaning Of Determination" is the perfect example of this one-for-all and all-for-one philosophy. Holland draws focus with his bass introduction, melodic delivery is a joint venture between two band mates, Eubanks' guitar singes everything in sight, Taborn takes the spotlight and has a blast chopping up the time with Harland, and everybody comes together to drive it home. It's nine-plus minutes of pure, heart-pounding bliss, and it doesn't even stand above the other tracks; nearly every performance here has a similar endorphin-producing effect. The band does operate in other areas, from the bluesy and soulful ("The Empty Chair (For Clare)") to the contemplative and free floating ("Breathe"), but they retain a group identity no matter where the music takes them. They sound best when they burn, but they still sound like the same unit when they simmer or stay put.

Prism isn't simply a great album by a great band; it's as good as jazz records come. Four months may separate this album's release and the close of 2013, but this one may have already sealed it up for "Album Of The Year" honors.  

Track Listing:

01   The Watcher [6:56]

02   The Empty Chair (For Clare) [8:31]

03   Spirals [8:46]

04   Choir [4:49]
05   The Color Of Iris [7:27]
06   A New Day [7:51]
07   The True Meaning Of Determination [9:19]
08   Evolution [10:24]
09   Breathe [5:40]

Personnel:

Dave Holland, bass;
Kevin Eubanks, guitar;
Craig Taborn, piano and Fender Rhodes;
Eric Harland, drums.

Gateway - 1978 "Gateway II"

Gateway was an American jazz trio formed in 1975. The members were John Abercrombie, guitar, Dave Holland, bass, and Jack DeJohnette, drums. The group has also joined Collin Walcott on his debut album Cloud Dance (ECM 1062) recorded in 1975. The trio reunited temporarily for a performance in 2012 to mark DeJohnette's 70th birthday

Gateway 2 is the second album by Gateway, a trio composed of John Abercrombie, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. It was recorded in 1977 and released on the ECM label in 1978. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "the playing on the five group originals is generally more fiery than introspective. None of the individual selections are all that memorable but the group improvising does have plenty of surprising moments".

In this era of tawdry sequels, it’s almost difficult to believe that John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, and Jack DeJohnette could have surpassed the profundity of 1975’s seminal Gateway. I say “almost” only because each member of this dream trio has yet to let this committed listener down and always comes to the studio bearing a basket overflowing with fresh ideas. Not only do the results of this 1978 follow-up not disappoint, they ascend into their own category.
At first we aren’t sure what to think in the carefully executed half-sleep of the 16-minute “Opening.” Amid tinkling icicles Abercrombie’s guitar wavers above the bass as it gradually forms intelligible words out of the scattered letters with which we are confronted. The process is so intensely organic that we find ourselves being lulled into its speech-like rhythms. As the snare becomes more forthcoming with its intentions, Holland fleshes out its implications with a tantalizing loop, through which Abercrombie hooks his song with a sound that is wiry yet ethereal. Just as engaging in his supportive statements, he provides ornamentation for Holland as DeJohnette rides with fierce precision into a fine solo of his own. The steam of malleted cymbals condenses into the following “Reminiscence.” Holland and Abercrombie blend into a larger instrument in this pensive track that sounds like the acoustic shadow of Pat Metheny’s “Midwestern Night Dream” (see Bright Size Life). “Sing Song” is another dose of milk-and-honey goodness. Wonderfully nuanced drumming here from DeJohnette uplifts even as it placates. Meanwhile, Abercrombie leans back into an ergonomic continuity that soon plateaus into an engaging turn from Holland, whose quintessential bass line in “Nexus” opens the band to a limber display of virtuosity. Abercrombie is again transcendent in this tower of syncopation, from which trails the Rapunzel-like strands of a limitless creative cache. DeJohnette’s piano turns “Blue” into an ending that is as bitter as it is sweet.
For those who haven’t heard this unit’s first album, I recommend doing so before settling into this one. Not because either is “better” than the other, but only because the development between the two is more readily appreciated when experienced chronologically. In any case, Gateway 2 is its own animal that thrives best in the habitat of our appreciation.

Track listing

1.    "Opening" (John Abercrombie/Dave Holland/Jack DeJohnette) - 16:17
2.    "Reminiscence" (Holland) - 4:32
3.    "Sing Song" (Abercrombie) - 6:55
4.    "Nexus" (Holland) - 7:55
5.    "Blue" (DeJohnette) - 8:14

        Recorded in July 1977 at Talent Studio, Oslo, Norway

Personnel

    John Abercrombie: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, electric mandolin
    Jack DeJohnette: drums, piano
    Dave Holland: bass

Jack Dejohnette - 1974 [1994] "Sorcery"

Sorcery is an album by Jack DeJohnette featuring Bennie Maupin, John Abercrombie, Mick Goodrick, Dave Holland and Michael Fellerman recorded in 1974 and released on the Prestige label.

A lot of rambling takes place on this interesting but erratic LP. Drummer Jack DeJohnette (doubling on keyboards) performs three songs with a group featuring bass clarinetist Bennie Maupin and the guitars of John Abercrombie and Mick Goodrick; the music shows the influence of fusion (most obviously on "The Rock Thing") and has its strong moments (much of the nearly 14-minute "Sorcery #1"). But the attempt at humor on "The Right Time" is self-indulgent. The second half of this release, with trios by DeJohnette, bassist Dave Holland, and Michael Fellerman on metaphone (whatever that is).

This CD is awesome. It's creative, soulful, got a funk-edged blues jazz and is from 1974 (need I say more?). John Abercrombie and Mick Goodrick on guitars, Dave Holland on bass. DeJohnette's got a lot going on here. His horn work in Sorcery #1 (13:51) is fantastic, but while I enjoy all the solos here, what really impresses me is the rhythms and progressions they vamp over. They're very smooth, near progressive rock pieces. Track 4, The Reverend King Suite is a 6-part suite (though at only 14:19) with such colorful titles as A) Reverend King B) Obstructions C) The Fatal Shot D) Mourning E) Unrest F) New Spirits On The Horizon. If I didn't know any better I'd say these looked more like tracks off a Wishbone Ash album. 1974 is vintage stuff whether rock or jazz and this album is no exception. I think people who enjoy long jam 70s concept rock would like this as well fans of cross-over jazz such Miles' Bitches Brew. Not that the jams here are long (the whole album is only 41 minutes) - it's just that tunes are internally diverse, often hanging or alternating somewhere between a soul-jazz and loose rock feel. With only the occasional foray into cacaphony. If this album could just get 24-bit remastered, well, that would just be the cherry.

Quite possibly the most tripped-out of all albums by Jack DeJohnette – one that really shows his roots in many streams of the free, soul, and fusion jazz scenes of the time – and which is served up with a heck of a lot of surprises in the mix! Jack himself plays both drums and keyboards on the set – plus a bit of c-melody sax – and other players include Benny Maupin on clarinet, Dave Holland on bass, John Abercrombie on guitar, and Michael Fellerman on the metaphone 1 – a great instrument that really makes the sound of the record special. The keyboards are especially nice on the set, and electrify the proceedings in a way that seems to spark even more fire in DeJohnette's drums – especially on the classic break track "Epilog" – an excellent funky number that's almost worth the price of the set! Other tracks include "Sorcery #1", "The Rock Thing", "Reverend King Suite", "Four Levels Of Joy", and "The Right Time" – which is a wild vocals-only number!

"Sorcery" isn't a Fusion album but an album of Electric Bop. And for this motive "Sorcery" is an album of Fusion. Unreservedly Jack DeJohnette able to record an album very technical and easy to read. This is because Jack has a great musical sensibility and, in a period where everyone was trying to play hard, he tries to communicate what the music can be emotion and melody. With these ingredients "Sorcery" becomes an album of POP Fusion but not an album of POP Jazz, because 100% Bop. (P.s.: I do not have other words to describe this concept... Excuse me).

The experience of "Sorcery" is a sort of trip to the dreams and shadows of an human mind and for this fact I think that "Sorcery" is a good album if magic, inventive and feelings are what we seek in music.

Track listing

    All compositions by Jack DeJohnette except as indicated

    "Sorcery, No. 1" - 13:50
    "The Right Time" - 2:21
    "The Rock Thing" - 4:14
    "The Reverend King Suite: Reverend King/Obstructions/The Fatal Shot/Mourning/Unrest/New Spirits on the Horizon" (John Coltrane/DeJohnette) - 14:19
    "Four Levels of Joy" - 3:09
    "Epilog" (DeJohnette, Dave Holland) - 3:11

        Recorded at Willow, NY in March 1974 and at Bearsville Studios, NY in May 1974

Personnel

    Jack DeJohnette: drums, keyboards, C-melody saxophone
    Bennie Maupin: bass clarinet
    John Abercrombie, Mick Goodrick: guitars
    Dave Holland: bass
    Michael Fellerman: metaphone, trombone

Dejohnette Metheny Hancock Holland - 1993 [2002] "Parallel Realities Live"

Two CD set recorded live at the Mellon Jazz Festival in Philadelphia, 1990. Features Pat Metheny (guitar), Jack DeJohnette (drums), Herbie Hancock (keyboards) and Dave Holland (bass). 10 tracks including 'Shadow Dance','Solar','Eye Of The Hurricane' and more.

What a great live album. Ive listened to it about 20 times since purchasing. This group melds together very well and play an awesome set. Herbie and Dejohnette with Dave Holland are just real joys to listen to. Pat gives an interesting dynamic to the group. A fan of most contemporary jazz fushion will really enjoy this album.

This was one of the most underrated jazz supergroup assmebled. Between the Miles davis alumnis and Pat Metheny, this is the best concert I've seen of any genre when they came through Chicago around the same time. Based largely on Jack DeJohnette's Parallel Realities album, it adds Dave Holland to the studio effort. Pat Meteny collaborated with Dave Holland on his Question and Answer album around the same time which is also excellent. If you have the DVD, no need to get the CD since it is the identical material.

I never really appreciated jazz music until I got the laserdisc of this performance back in the 90s. Just amazing musicianship! This is what it's all about folks. Maybe you are like me: have a casual interest in a couple of jazz musicians but not crazy about "jazz". I can't recommend this highly enough. There's just something magical that happens when you put 4 musical giants like these together in the same room. Play this a few times and it might make a believer out of you, too. At least it will open your ears to a vast amount of music awaiting you.

I give this CD "2 Thumbs up!" Crimhead420.

Track listing:

CD 1
1 Shadow Dance 15:30
2 Indigo Dreamscapes 7:03
3 9 Over Reggae 7:36
4 Solar 13:09
5 Silver Hollow 8:25

CD 2
1 The Good Life 6:08
2 Blue 7:03
3 Eye of the Hurricane 15:31
4 The Bat 8:25
5 Cantaloupe Island 9:42

Total length: 98:32

Personnel:

Bass – Dave Holland
Drums – Jack DeJohnette
Guitar – Pat Metheny
Keyboards – Herbie Hancock

Eric Kloss - 1972 [1998] "One, Two, Free"

One, Two, Free is the twelfth album by saxophonist Eric Kloss which was recorded in 1972 and released on the Muse label.

Although based in the hard bop tradition, altoist Eric Kloss was always open to the influence of the avant-garde. This stimulating session features Kloss, guitarist Pat Martino, keyboardist Ron Thomas, bassist Dave Holland, and drummer Ron Krasinski really stretching out on Carole King's "It's Too Late," "Licea," and the three-part "One, Two, Free." Eric Kloss pushes himself and his sidemen throughout the date, and even if the Fender Rhodes sounds a bit dated, the high musicianship and chance-taking are still exciting to hear.

Pittsburgh native Eric Kloss (b. 1949) was one of the most distinctive, original voices to emerge on alto sax in the mid-60s. He was only 16 when the first of his eleven Prestige albums was released in 1965. These records featured the cream of the crop of New York musicians and the young Kloss more than held his own with heavyweights like Booker Ervin, Jaki Byard, Chick Corea, Cedar Walton, and most notably, guitarist Pat Martino.

Kloss switched to the Muse label in 1972 and debuted with this outstanding quartet recording, One, Two, Free ; which remains his finest achievement. In a group featuring Martino on guitar and Ron Thomas on electric piano as well as bassist Dave Holland and fellow Pittsburgher Ron Krasinski on drums, Kloss pushes and pulls his group to take chances that explore the outer edges of bop, fusion and even funky pop music.

The 18-minute, three-part title track is clearly influenced by Bitches Brew (on which bassist Holland also participated). But here, like on the surprisingly substantial funk of Carole King's "It Too Late," Kloss's arched sound and searing style move the ostinato vamp in a more avant-garde direction (the way Arthur Blythe later would). Martino gets a notable share of the solo spotlight and never ceases to amaze in his mixture of cool chordal comps and fleet runs up and down the fretboard.

Kloss's beautiful ballad, "Licea," guided by Dave Holland's moody, signature string work, is the jewel of this collection and probably deserves to be better known. Martino waxes lyrically before Kloss enters for a rueful countenance that's worth the price of admission.

32 Jazz was wise to bring One, Two, Free back into circulation - and maintain Don Schlitten's beautiful cover-art photography too. Priced well below other recent jazz reissues, One, Two, Free is a significant chapter in 1970s jazz and provides a great opportunity to discover the interesting music of Eric Kloss (who, despite no widespread releases since the early 1980s, still performs infrequently at Pittsburgh events with his vocalist wife). Even though there's 42 minutes of music here, one wishes creative interaction this good kept on going. Recommended.

An extraordinarily gifted altoist, Eric Kloss first appeared on the scene at the age of 16, when his debut record won him critical acclaim as a blind child prodigy. By the time of this recording, the 23-year-old Kloss had lived up to his early promise, growing as an open-minded musician with experience playing with such jazz heavy-weights as Jaki Byard, Booker Ervin, Jack DeJohnette, and Chick Corea.
One, Two, Free is an avant-garde album of often funky music, with its strong rhythms rooted in the driving bass lines of Miles Davis-veteran Dave Holland and the vintage Fender Rhodes sounds of Ron Thomas. Kloss and guitarist Pat Martino stretch imaginatively on the 18 minute title track (seamlessly divided into three parts), crafting a memorable original that approaches the electric intensity of Miles Davis‘ work from the same era.

Carol King’s “It’s Too Late” starts off with tongue-in-cheek straightness, but once the theme is stated, the pop-song is turned on its head and transformed into a funky vehicle for exploration. The closing track, “Licea,” is complex and cerebral, but rewards close listening. Featuring two originals and one cover tune, all over 10 minutes long, One, Two, Free is an adventurous blast from the past that still retains its freshness and is definitely worth owning. Buy it, and help rescue one of the unsung heroes of the saxophone from undeserved obscurity.

Track listing

All compositions by Eric Kloss except as indicated

1. "One, Two, Free Suite: One, Two Free/Elegy/The Wizard" (Eric Kloss, Pat Martino, Ron Thomas) - 18:03
2. "It's Too Late" (Carole King, Toni Stern) - 13:38
3. "Licea" - 10:10

Personnel

• Eric Kloss - alto saxophone
• Ron Thomas - electric piano, tambourine
• Pat Martino - guitar
• Dave Holland - bass
• Ron Krasinski - drums

Jack DeJohnette / Dave Holland - 1973 [2002] "Time & Space"

"I like to mess up the rhythm--agitate it, shake it up, transform it, morph it, do different things with it--because time is space, so we're dealing with time and space; we're taking time and making it spacious, expanding it."

Jack Dejohnette and Dave Holland's collaborative album recorded in Tokyo, 1973. Features funk and calypso tinged tracks written primarily by Dejohnette with two tracks composed by Dave Holland.

http://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Jack+Dejohnette

http://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Dave+Holland

Track listing:

1. Turned Around 6:30
2. Farah's Song 2:52
3. The Rain Forest 3:42
4. Hegwineeway 2:12
5. Lydia 6:10
6. Papa Daddy Revisited 13:45
7. Stride Vibes 2:48
8. Outside - Inside Blues 3:46
9. Time & Space 3:26

Personnel:

Jack DeJohnette - Piano, Electric Piano, Organ [Electric], Melodica, Marimba, Voice, Drums, Percussion
Dave Holland - Bass, Electric Bass, Voice, Percussion

John Mclaughlin - 1971 [1993] "Where Fortune Smiles"

Where Fortune Smiles is a jazz fusion LP credited to John McLaughlin, John Surman, Dave Holland, Karl Berger, and Stu Martin on Dawn Records DNLS ASD 3018, which was recorded in 1970 and released in 1971 in a stereo format.

The truth be told, Where Fortune Smiles was not originally released under the leadership of John McLaughlin. Its reissue on CD with McLaughlin as leader seems to exist for marketing purposes only. The reissue notes indicate a 1971 recording date, but my memories of its original release on PYE Records suggest that it was recorded a year earlier. (However, memories can fade.) The other members of the quintet—bassist Dave Holland, saxophonist John Surman (also on Extrapolation ), vibraphonist Karl Berger, and drummer Stu Martin—each contribute equally to this outing.

The compositions, all by McLaughlin and Surman, have strong head arrangements that are not directly quoted in the free improvisations that follow. Fortune does not even hint at rock or fusion. Do not expect any of the usual clear themes, call and response playing, or unison lines. These differences, which may confound many McLaughlin fans, are also its greatest strengths.

Free jazz is what this release is all about. For listeners who don't normally immerse themselves in this sort of thing, it's a record that can be enjoyed only about once a year. But it remains a must-listen. Whoa! Listen...is that a quote which will later turn into "One Word" from Birds Of Fire ? Listen to McLaughlin's far-out guitar. Listen to Holland's resonating bass. Listen to Surman as he reveals things to come. Listen for a historical perspective on music which McLaughlin would later deliver.

Jazz critic Scott Yanow wrote: “McLaughlin's raw sound was starting to take shape by this time and his impeccable chops are on full display. So too are those of the underrated vibraphonist Karl Berger and, of course, soprano saxophonist Surman. The foundation is held loosely in place by bassist Dave Holland and drummer Stu Martin. It's a challenging but interesting listen, especially given McLaughlin's later success and popularity.

Track listing

1. "Glancing Backwards (for Junior)" – 8:54 - Surman
2. "Earth Bound Hearts" – 4:15 - McLaughlin
3. "Where Fortune Smiles" – 4:01 - Surman
4. "New Place, Old Place" – 10:24 - McLaughlin
5. "Hope" – 7:19 - McLaughlin

Personnel

• John McLaughlin - guitars
• John Surman – soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
• Dave Holland - upright bass
• Karl Berger – vibraphone
• Stu Martin – drums

Michael Brecker - 1996 "Tales from the Hudson"

Tales from the Hudson is Michael Brecker's fourth album as a leader. It was recorded at the Power Station in New York City. It was recorded in 1996. The album also won Brecker two Grammy awards for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo (for his solo on "Cabin Fever") and Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group.

Michael Brecker, a major influence on today's young saxophonists, shows off his own influences a bit throughout this fine modern straight-ahead set. Brecker sounds surprisingly like Stanley Turrentine on parts of "Midnight Voyage," and otherwise displays his roots in Ernie Watts and John Coltrane. With the exception of Don Grolnick's "Willie T.," the music on the CD is comprised of group originals (five by the leader) and falls into the 1990s mainstream of jazz. While the tenor saxophonist has plenty of blowing space (really letting loose on the exciting closer, "Cabin Fever"), Pat Metheny is mostly pretty restrained (in a Jim Hall bag) except for his wild solo on guitar synth during "Song for Bilbao." Pianist Joey Calderazzo starts out sounding a bit like McCoy Tyner on "Slings and Arrows" before his own musical personality is revealed. When Tyner himself plays on "Song for Bilbao" (one of two guest appearances), one can certainly tell the difference between master and pupil. All of Michael Brecker's recordings as a leader (as opposed to his cameos as a sideman on pop records) are easily recommended and show why he is considered a giant by many listeners.

In the crowded field of excellent tenor players, Michael Brecker rises to the top of my list. I think the thing that gives Brecker an edge over the others is the fact that he is a master of so many genres of jazz. Many people are no doubt familiar with the electric, funky side of Michael Brecker as the co-leader of the Brecker Brothers and former member of Steps Ahead. He has done significant pop dates with Paul Simon, Carly Simon, and Joni Mitchell. One could easily fill a CD collection with albums on which he has performed as a sideman in many jazz contexts.

Yet this is only his fourth CD as a leader. All of them have been in the modern, progressive, straight-ahead jazz vein. This one is, to my ears, his most successful outing yet. I think the difference is that this one is a little less "progressive" or "outside." The melodies here are a little more accessible and memorable, yet the soloing is just as creative and adventuresome as we have come to expect from Brecker and the other jazz luminaries on this CD. The top-notch team of sidemen here are Pat Metheny on guitar, Jack DeJohnette on drums, Dave Holland on bass, and Joey Calderazzo on piano. Pianist McCoy Tyner and percussionist Don Alias are added on two tunes.

Six of the nine compositions are Brecker's. They are varied, thoughtful, and provide great vehicles for improvisation. Metheny contributes "Bilbao" from his Travels album, Calderazzo contributes a medium tempo swinger, and "Willie T." comes from the late pianist Don Grolnick, who produced Brecker's first two solo albums and performed with Brecker frequently.

I would especially recommend this album to those who have come to jazz through the "new adult comtemporary" door and are ready to take the next step towards discovering what real jazz is all about.

Brecker, whose tenor saxophone has graced pop performances by James Taylor and Paul Simon as well as plenty of straight-ahead jazz sessions, can be as exciting as any jazzman alive. His solos have a way of rising to a quick boil and catching you up in their immediacy. This happens several times on this album, an all-star date with guitarist Pat Metheny, pianist Joey Calderazzo or McCoy Tyner, bassist Dave Holland, drummer Jack DeJohnette and guest percussionist Don Alias. It happens on Metheny’s “Song for Bilboa,” where Brecker chomps at the chord changes in a manner reminiscent of John Coltrane on “Out of This World” (from the album, Coltrane). It happens on “Willie T.” as he sweeps up to a swirling, raspy-toned climax with the drums knocking heatedly underneath. And it happens on “Cabin Fever,” an uptempo tour de force with Brecker cruising like a high-speed steamroller.

The tenor man’s estimable sidemen are in aggressive jazz form. They, too, seem caught up in the electric

https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Michael+Brecker

Track listing:
All tracks composed by Michael Brecker; except where indicated

01 "Slings and Arrows" – 6:19
02 "Midnight Voyage" (Joey Calderazzo) – 7:17
03 "Song for Bilbao" (Pat Metheny) – 5:44
04 "Beau Rivage" – 7:38
05 "African Skies" – 8:12
06 "Introduction to Naked Soul" (Michael Brecker, Dave Holland) – 1:14
07 "Naked Soul" – 8:43
08 "Willie T." (Don Grolnick) – 8:13
09 "Cabin Fever" – 6:59

Personnel:

Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone
Pat Metheny – guitar, guitar synthesizer
Joey Calderazzo – piano
Dave Holland – double bass
Jack DeJohnette – drums
McCoy Tyner – piano (tracks 3 and 5)
Don Alias – percussion (tracks 3 and 5)

Chris Potter - 1997 "Unspoken"

Twenty-seven year old reed man Chris Potter made a big splash on his 1992 debut as a leader for Criss Cross. He showed remarkable promise not only in tenor sax work, but also on alto, soprano, bass clarinet and alto flute. On this one he sticks to tenor and soprano, but his playing is no less fluent and capable. An all-star lineup joins the former Steely Dan and Joe Henderson sideman for this date: John Scofield on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. All four are in top form for this album, which manages to be warm, smooth, inviting, and adventurous all in one package.
Potter shows that he's been doing his homework. "Wistful," the opening track, veers perilously close to Coltrane Imitator Wasteland, but Potter skirts the edge of homage without lapsing into slavish regurgitation. "Hieroglyph" recalls Coltrane on soprano, complete with a tasty proto-world music ostinato from Holland, but again, Potter's playing is fresh and involving. "Seven Eleven," on the other hand, makes you wonder if Chris was digging into his Ornette collection. Then "Amsterdam Blues" starts with an unaccompanied tenor of such quality that I became sure I'd find some of the works of Mr. Sonny Rollins over at Chris's house. Still and all, Potter is a player of enormous talent who is already far along in synthesizing these and other influences. This is a fine album, but I'll bet I'll like his release of 2007 even better.
The highlight here is "Et Tu, Brute?", the album's most striking track. Scofield contributes some scalding guitar licks to a rhythmically complex workout requiring some careful listening by the quartet. Of course, these guys are old hands, and they come through. With no loss of energy, the lovely title track follows, featuring some tasty arco by Holland and passionate playing by everyone. "Time Zone" is as far out as this one gets, with some remarkable variations of mood and tempo a free section of great vigor. Potter is clearly the star here, proving he's worthy of the company he keeps.
The legendary trumpeter Red Rodney loved this "kid:" "This kid is exactly what I like to hear in a kid. He sucked up everything like a sponge, but his sound is original; his articulation is different from anybody; his harmonic knowledge is profound." Red was right. The kid has a great tone, great chops, and by the way, he wrote all the tunes. While this is relatively common these days, Potter's tunes show a wealth of good sense, imagination, and care. He's paid attention to architectonics, and it shows.
Unspoken is a solid album from start to finish. The sidemen are top-notch throughout, and the leader doesn't disappoint. I'll be interested to check out Chris Potter's future work.

Working with drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Dave Holland, and guitarist John Scofield, saxophonist Chris Potter recorded his most adventurous record to date with Unspoken. Although his powerhouse rhythm section sometimes overwhelms him, Potter flexes more creative muscle throughout Unspoken, resulting in an engaging, frequently provocative listen.

 Tracklist

1     Wistful     7:45
2     Seven Eleven     9:08
3     Hieroglyph     6:00
4     Amsterdam Blues     7:50
5     Et Tu, Bruté?     7:12
6     Unspoken     5:41
7     No Cigar     5:18
8     Time Zone     8:55
9     New Vision     7:11

Personnel:

Chris Potter     Composer, Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
Jack DeJohnette Drums
Dave Holland     Bass
John Scofield     Guitar

Eric Kloss - 1970 "Consciousness"

Consciousness! is the tenth album by saxophonist Eric Kloss which was recorded in 1970 and released on the Prestige label.

One common feature of every Miles Davis group is the stellar rhythm section -- whether it's Garland/Chambers/Jones, Kelly/Chambers/Cobb, or Hancock/Carter/Williams. Yet one of the best Miles rhythm sections, Corea/Holland/DeJohnette, didn't make much of an impact in the studio; while they were absolutely scorching in concert (as any of the Fillmore concerts will attest to), this 2-on-1 CD gives a good idea of what they could do in the studio.
Eric Kloss was (and supposedly still is) an edgy post-bop altoist, obviously aware of Coltrane's innovations but with a very distinct, individual sound. On some of the tracks he plays tenor. Anyway, he definitely deserves mention alongside Jackie McLean and Gary Bartz.

The first album, To Hear Is To See (tracks 1-5), is relatively more "inside" and it's interesting to hear the rhythm trio swinging in a more conventional setting (one month later they'd be recording Bitches Brew). Like a lot of other jazz cerca 1969-70, there's a definite rock influence both in the rhythms and in Corea's use of the electric piano (he also plays acoustic). Consciousness! (tracks 6-10) was recorded in January 1970, and sounds a lot more like the intense Fillmore recordings. Pat Martino, who joins the band on guitar, is an explosive presence.

This is highly recommended to any fan of Corea, Holland, or DeJohnette as well as to anyone who likes the sound of late 60s post-bop jazz. And besides, you will never hear a funkier version of "Sunshine Superman" in your life. 

Eric Kloss is a world renowned alto and tenor saxophonist, a multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, composer, clinician, educator, and television personality. Blind from birth music became his vision. A true child prodigy he performed with his mentor Sonny Stitt at age 12. Backed by jazz guitarist Pat Martino, his recording career began at age 16 with the release of “Introducing Eric Kloss”. Blending hard bob, be-bop, pop, rock, funk, free jazz, classical and world music, he went on to release 22 critically acclaimed recordings on the Prestige and Muse labels. A who’s who of jazz masters appeared as sidemen on his albums including Gerald Veasley, Barry Miles, Don Patterson, Jaki Byard, Gil Goldstein, Richard Davis, Alan Dawson, Cedar Walton, Jimmy Owens, Kenny Barron, Booker Ervin, Leroy Vinnegar, Billy Higgins, Kenny Barron, Bob Cranshaw, and Alan Dawson. His most acclaimed album, Eric Kloss and the Rhythm Section, features the Miles Davis rhythm section of Corea, DeJohnette, and Dave Holland. Kloss toured the USA and Europe for 25 years wowing audiences with his technical brilliance and wild improvisations.

Eric was a frequent guest on the PBS TV show Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, second only to pianist Johnny Costa for most appearances by any musician. In 1989 he became a spokesman for Yahoo Music promoting and performing with the sax-like MX-11 wind synthesizer. In the 1990s he began teaching at Duquesne University and went on to become head of the jazz department at Carnegie Mellon University. As an educator and clinician he mentored a new generation of jazz performers and instructors. The Fantasy Jazz label has reissued several of his recordings: First Class, About Time, the 2 CD box set Eric Kloss & the Rhythm Section/Love and All That Jazz, and the 2 CD box set Sky Shadows/In the Land of the Giants. Eric withdrew from teaching and performing in 2001 when he became seriously ill. He continues to write and plans to perform and record if his health improves. The unreleased work Cosmic Adventures demonstrates his musical mastery.

An excellent album from Eric Kloss that again teams him with the Miles Davis rhythm section of the period (Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and Jack DeJohnette) plus guitarist Pat Martino, who was really stretching out at this time. The resultant electric grooves are way different than Kloss' earlier work, yet still much tighter and more soulful than his later stuff -- with some slight bits of funk and soul jazz to keep things real. All tracks are fairly long, and the record features versions of "Sunshine Superman" and "Songs To Aging Children" -- plus the tunes "Consciousness" and "Outward Wisdom". Track listing

All compositions by Eric Kloss except as indicated

    "Sunshine Superman" (Donovan) - 10:14
    "Kay" - 10:24
    "Outward Wisdom" (Pat Martino) - 6:05
    "Songs to Aging Children" (Joni Mitchell) - 6:58
    "Consciousness" (Danny DePaola, Eric Kloss) - 8:36

Personnel

    Eric Kloss - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
    Chick Corea - piano, electric piano
    Pat Martino - guitar
    Dave Holland - bass
    Jack DeJohnette - drums

Miles Davis - 1976 [2002] "Water Babies"

Water Babies is a studio album by Miles Davis. Released during Miles Davis's retirement in the second half of the seventies, it is a collection of stylistically diverse "leftovers" spanning eighteen months, from the Nefertiti sessions with the Miles Davis Quintet (1967) to the experimental, transitional period between Filles de Kilimanjaro and In a Silent Way (late 1968).
Due to these recordings being released years after they were recorded, the three Wayne Shorter compositions recorded during the 1967 session had made their first appearance in 1969 on Shorter's album Super Nova in a much more free jazz, avant-garde style.
Side 1 features the second great quintet of Davis, Shorter, Hancock, Williams and Carter. On Side 2, Ron Carter is replaced by Dave Holland and Chick Corea doubles with Hancock on electric piano; this line-up is very similar to the one that recorded In a Silent Way, tracks 4 to 6 being from those sessions. Shorter would switch from tenor to soprano saxophone after this session.

This studio LP was first released almost a decade after it was recorded. The first half features the 1967 Quintet (with Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams) performing three otherwise unknown Shorter compositions. The flip side finds Davis in 1968 leading the same group (with possibly Chick Corea and Dave Holland replacing Hancock and Carter) on two early fusion jams that look a bit toward Bitches Brew. Although not an essential set, this album fills in some gaps during Davis's transitional period from adventurous acoustic playing to early electric performances. 

Side one contains three Shorter compositions recorded on Wayne's 1969 Super Nova (Blue Note); comparisons between the performances confirm Hancock's 1969 comment that "Miles ... shapes all the tunes that come into his band." He shaped his accompanists as well, editing and muting their more extroverted tendencies — at least Shorter, Hancock and Williams sound quite different on their own Blue Note albums of the time. Yet the drummer's simple cymbal dance behind Davis' gentle "Water Babies" solo, and his melodic accompaniment for Shorter on the same piece, are still overwhelming. Carter also gets a chance to dance around Hancock's chorded spot.

The smoking "Capricorn" bears Miles' mark in the use of piano — Hancock lays out through most of the track and solos only with his right hand. Miles harks back to 1956 in his solo, but Carter and Williams boil and evaporate behind him in more contemporary fashion. The way Shorter's thoughts unravel, growing denser and more complex yet still referring to the theme, is marvelous. "Sweet Pea" (dedicated to composer and Ellington collaborator Billy Strayhorn) has a mysterious, floating theme statement. The intensely shaped sorrow in Miles' tone is buoyed by Spanish tinges in the rhythm section, Shorter's sound offers a beautiful complement, and Hancock offers homage to 1959 Bill Evans.

Both tracks on side two feature Hancock and Chick Corea on subdued electric pianos, with the keyboard on left speaker (probably Hancock) dominating throughout. Shorter's "Two Faced" sounds like a dry run for the In a Silent Way sessions; I find it more successful. Williams, Carter and the pianists converse with great spirit, and Shorter plays off the rolling keyboards brilliantly. The long Davis solo is a sustained sigh with more acute hurt occasionally cracking through. "Dual Mr. Tillman Anthony" is credited to one "W. Process" (Tillman is the first name of Anthony Williams' father); it's a funky, syncopated riff, 14 measures long, repeated for 13 minutes by Corea, Carter and bassist Dave Holland while the others cook. Miles is magnificent here, gliding over the line at his own internal, slower tempo while Hancock and Williams bubble around him. Shorter swaggers, recalling the tenor's historical lineage, and Williams takes the piece out.

Time has revealed this band to be as daring and fascinating as any in the long Davis career, and Water Babies contains some of its best music. There is simply so much happening here; hear it.

In 1976, when Miles’ withdrawal from the scene seemed to go on forever, Columbia released an album bringing together two different periods on each side of a single LP.  Side A featured three sublime pieces composed by Wayne Shorter in the spring of 1967. The opening waltz inspired each member of the quintet to such heights that one doesn’t  know who to listen to first—even if the major part was nothing but a concerto grosso of cymbals that accompanied the improbable score of nuances modulating the regular beat of the Charleston cymbal. In “Capricorn,” Herbie Hancock doesn’t come in at all until his right hand solo, but on “Sweet Pea,” his two hands join with those of Ron Carter and Tony Williams in a collective improvisation that the rhythm section maintains throughout Shorter’s homage to Billy Strayhorn. Side B offers two strange constructions from November 11 and 12, 1968. The electric piano’s swabs of color and the unison of the piano and double bass continued the shift that had begun with Filles De Kilimanjaro, leading to In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew the following year.

Track listing

All songs composed by Wayne Shorter except as noted.

1.    "Water Babies" – 5:06
2.    "Capricorn" – 8:26
3.    "Sweet Pea" – 7:59
4.    "Two Faced" – 18:00
5.    "Dual Mr. Anthony Tillmon Williams Process" (Miles Davis, Tony Williams) – 13:20
6.    "Splash" (Miles Davis) – 10:05

Personnel:

Tracks 1-3

    Miles Davis – trumpet
    Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
    Herbie Hancock – piano
    Ron Carter – bass
    Tony Williams – drums

Tracks 4-6

    Miles Davis – trumpet
    Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
    Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock – electric piano
    Dave Holland – bass
    Tony Williams – drums

Miles Davis - 1972 [1991] "Live Evil" [Japan Import]

Live-Evil is an album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released on November 17, 1971, by Columbia Records. Parts of the album comprise live recordings of Davis' 1970 performance at the Cellar Door, which producer Teo Macero subsequently pieced together in production. It also features his recordings at Columbia's Studio B, with different personnel, on February 6 and June 3–4, 1970. Though all compositions were originally credited to Miles Davis, the studio recordings "Little Church" ("Igrejinha"), "Nem Um Talvez" ("Not Even a Maybe") and "Selim" are by Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal, who also played with the Davis band on these tracks. "Inamorata" means "A Female Lover".
A number of famous jazz musicians feature on the album, including Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette. One of the key musicians on the album, John McLaughlin, was not a regular member of Miles Davis's band during the time of recording. McLaughlin joined the band for one of the four nights at the Cellar Door, rather like a session player; this is not the case for other Davis albums that he worked on.
Davis had originally intended the album to be a spiritual successor to Bitches Brew, but this idea was abandoned when it became obvious that Live-Evil was "something completely different".

Live-Evil is one of Miles Davis' most confusing and illuminating documents. As a double album, it features very different settings of his band -- and indeed two very different bands. The double-LP CD package is an amalgam of a December 19, 1970, gig at the Cellar Door, which featured a band comprised of Miles, bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Jack DeJohnette, guitarist John McLaughlin, saxophonist Gary Bartz, Keith Jarrett on organ, and percussionist Airto. These tunes show a septet that grooved hard and fast, touching on the great funkiness that would come on later. But they are also misleading in that McLaughlin only joined the band for this night of a four-night stand; he wasn't really a member of the band at this time. Therefore, as fine and deeply lyrically grooved-out as these tracks are, they feel just a bit stiff -- check any edition of this band without him and hear the difference. The other band on these discs was recorded in Columbia's Studio B and subbed Ron Carter or Dave Holland on bass, added Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock on electric pianos, dropped the guitar on "Selim" and "Nem Um Talvez," and subbed Steve Grossman over Gary Bartz while adding Hermeto Pascoal on percussion and drums in one place ("Selim"). In fact, these sessions were recorded earlier than the live dates, the previous June in fact, when the three-keyboard band was beginning to fall apart. Why the discs were not issued separately or as a live disc and a studio disc has more to do with Miles' mind than anything else. As for the performances, the live material is wonderfully immediate and fiery: "Sivad," "Funky Tonk," and "What I Say" all cream with enthusiasm, even if they are a tad unsure of how to accommodate McLaughlin. Of the studio tracks, only "Little Red Church" comes up to that level of excitement, but the other tracks, particularly "Gemini/Double Image," have a winding, whirring kind of dynamic to them that seems to turn them back in on themselves, as if the band was really pushing in a free direction that Miles was trying to rein in. It's an awesome record, but it's because of its flaws rather than in spite of them. This is the sound of transition and complexity, and somehow it still grooves wonderfully.

This is where Miles Davis turned funk into jazz, rock into soul, and chaos into Beauty. With a rotating cast of bands featuring keyboardists Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea, guitarist John McLaughlin, percussionist Airto Moreira, saxophonists Gary Bartz and Wayne Shorter, and myriad other explorers, Davis kept up with the times...and surpassed them. He rocked harder than Sly, got funkier than J.B., and turned jazz inside out, slicing the music open till blood spilled on to the floor. More focused than Bitches Brew, which is all the more surprising since it's actually a piecemeal recording from various dates and venues--some in the studio, some on stage, but all very much l-i-v-e.

There was a certain style of extended riffing that became known as "fusion" ... other artists such as the original Soft Machine were able to fuse rock and jazz in entirely different ways ... Miles and his band did it in an entirely different way from anyone else on this release.
The bulk of this album (85 minutes or so) was recorded at the Cellar Door in D.C., in late 1970. The band is tight. Jack deJohnette is kicking up dust in all directions, Keith Jarrett is at his most pointed and soulful, and guest star John McLaughlin is playing the type of brilliant solos that Miles was presumably hoping for.
"Sivad" is a killer groove piece, but "What I Say" is even more impressive. It's 20+ minutes of rolling groove placed on top of a highly aggressive beat. It's timeless energy music and Miles does some of his best soloing on top of it. Sides 3 and 4 are more deliberately formless, they're big rolling jams that don't go anywhere in particular. But Side 1 and 2 make this must-have.

Live-Evil is one of the deepest and darkest albums Miles Davis (or anyone else) has recorded. Recorded either live in the studio or on stage at the Cellar Door in Washington, D.C., Mr. Davis and his band are in a wicked state of mind. The title is a palindrome and the song titles "Selim" and "Savid" are Miles Davis backwards. That is appropriate as Mr. Davis turns his fusion work inside out. Mr. Davis gets underneath the grooves and turns them inside out, exposing their underbelly. "What I Say" is a great example of him mining for sounds undreneath the surface. A truly complex and ambitious piece of work that you will find yourself putting on and on again.

Miles' touted "Fillmore Band" didn't sound much like a band to me. In an area of music where individual virtuosity is the rule rather than the exception, give-and-take between players becomes all important. And only occasionally did the Fillmore crew get down to taking care of business as a unit. There was lots of individual brilliance of course, just like there is lots of individual brilliance on Live-Evil. But this is no collection of isolated geniuses; it's a band, and it's going to take the top of your head clean off.
The band that performs "Sivad," "What I Say." "Funky Tonk," and "Innamorata." which are the extended, "blowing" tracks on the album, is Keith Jarrett, keyboards (he has never sounded better); John McLaughlin, guitar (taking more chances than usual); Gary Bartz, saxophone (occasionally stiff, usually exciting and committed, finally the right reed player for Miles' new conception); Jack DeJohnette, drums (absolutely uncanny, and irreplaceable); and Airto, percussion (his rapport with Miles is telepathic by this time). I've saved the new bassist, Michael Henderson, for last, because he's the only really new member, and because his concept is so different from that of his predecessor. Dave Holland. Henderson plays Fender, and he doesn't play very many notes at all. His solidity, and his simplicity, have reduced the "busy" textures of the ensemble to a point where everything sounds clear, clean, and direct. Everybody is just playing away, there aren't any weak links, and there isn't any congestion to speak of. Miles reacts to this happy situation by playing his ass off, too. Inspiration is catching, especially when everybody listens. For all you technology buffs, Miles has the wah-wah pedal mastered, but he steps up to the open mike very once in a while to remind you that he doesn't need it; he just digs it.
"Little Church," "Nem Um Talvez," and "Selim" are what used to be called "ballads." They feature larger groups but there aren't any solos. Just stunning, bittersweet lines, often voiced by Miles, vocalist Hermeto Pascoal, and either Steve Grossman or Wayne Shorter on saxophone, in unison. Each of these tracks is under four minutes, and they are all things of great beauty.
This sounds like what Miles had in mind when he first got into electric music and freer structures and rock rhythms. He's been refining it in public, but they used to accuse Coltrane of practicing his scales in public. So What. In both cases, practice made perfect.

Corea and Holland had just formed the quartet Circle with Anthony Braxton, who was involved in the revival of the free jazz movement. Alone on the keyboard, Keith Jarrett developed a taste for the combination of the Rhodes piano, the Contempo organ, and the wah-wah pedal. His playing—at times more rhythmical, closer to the effects of the funk guitar or of soul-gospel trances, at times hyper-lyrical or free—brightened the sound of the group. Miles was fascinated by Jarrett’s ability to improvise from nothing and offered him interludes like the one included here in “Funky Tonk” (17’21), where Jarrett turned a shortcoming of the Rhodes to his advantage. Michael Henderson had replaced Dave Holland, and added to the latter’s flexibility a rhythmic foundation learned from Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Recording at the Cellar Door in Washington from December 16-19, Miles called in John McLaughlin on the last day to bring more dynamism to the group. Teo Macero added to the tapes of the 19th some unreleased material from June 1970 sessions with the Brazilian composer/multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal. The pastoral atmosphere of this music echoed the moods of some of Joe Zawinul’s pieces.

Track listing:

DISC 1

1. Sivad [a]
2. Little Church [b]
3. Medley: Gemini/Double Image [c]
4. What I Say [d]
5. Nem Um Talvez [e]

 DISC 2

1. Selim [a]
2. Funky Tonk [b]
3. Inamorata [c]

 Dates & Personnel:

February 6, 1970 (a): Miles Davis (tpt); Wayne Shorter (ss); John McLaughlin (el-g); Chick Corea (el-p); Joe Zawinul (el-p); Dave Holland (b); Khalil Balakrishna (el-sitar); Jack DeJohnette (d); Billy Cobham (d); Airto Moreira (perc)
Columbia Studio B, NYC

June 3, 1970 (b): Miles Davis (tpt); Steve Grossman (ss); Chick Corea (el-p); Herbie Hancock (el-p); Keith Jarrett (org); Ron Carter (b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Airto Moreira (perc); Hermeto Pascoal (d, voc)
Columbia Studio B, NYC

June 4, 1970 (c): Miles Davis (tpt); Steve Grossman (ss); John McLaughlin (el-g); Herbie Hancock (el-p); Chick Corea (el-p); Keith Jarrett (org); Dave Holland (b, el-b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Airto Moreira (perc); Hermeto Pascoal (d, voc, whistling, el-p)
Columbia Studio B, NYC

December 19, 1970 (d): Miles Davis (tpt); Gary Bartz (ss, as); John McLaughlin (el-g); Keith Jarrett (el-p, org); Michael Henderson (el-b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Airto Moreira (perc, voc); Conrad Roberts (narr)
The Cellar Door, Washington, D.C.