Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette at Ronnie Scott’s, 2 November 1969
Happy Birthday Ronnie Scott’s, 60 today
Anthony Braxton and Dave Holland
themaninthegreenshirt reblogged
Miles Davis, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, 1968
Dave Holland
Miles Davis, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, 1968
I had almost forgotten about this album, played it a lot when it was released but haven’t heard it for around 10 years, until tonight - well worth checking out!
Combining the talents of tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, guitarist John Scofield, bassist Dave Holland, and drummer Al Foster, there is an uncredited fifth member on jazz super-group Scolohofo’s début recording, Oh! - Miles Davis. Every one of these musicians, except for Lovano, gained their first real success with the legendary trumpeter - an experience that informs their careers to the present. The aesthetic on Oh! is resolutely Milesian - impressionistic, spare, soft, funky, progressive, but always with an ear to the blues. Scolohofoda? His sound is almost literally present, an “implied tone” whenever Scofield’s dissonant chord clusters and Lovano’s whispery throat tones collide. These guys played with Davis in his later fusion period during the ‘70’s and ‘80’s when Davis’ “group” aesthetic came to the fore and became perhaps even more important than his individual contribution. And, while everyone gets their featured solo spot, the overall effect is one of intensely soft and layered patches of sound. Scofield’s trademark “chicken scratch” lines match perfectly with Lovano’s fuzzy spittle tone and the rhythm section of Holland and Foster offers its own wryly propulsive counterpoint. Musically, the goal is resolutely post-bop, but with an acoustic, folky underpinning that allows for some interestingly arranged melodic moments. This contrasts nicely with the free-flowing, loose improvisation informed by ‘60’s free jazz, fusion, and modern progressive styles. Long time fans of the work of these individual musicians will find much to enjoy here, but there is the sense of new or at least rediscovery on Oh! - another Davis trademark - which bodes well for future collaborations - but don’t hold your breath! [Matt Collar]
themaninthegreenshirt reblogged
By the time he was 19, Dave Holland was playing in the house band at Ronnie Scott's, where he got to play with Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins.
One night in 1968 in walks Miles Davis and Philly Joe Jones and saw Holland playing in a combo opening for the Bill Evans Trio. Jones told Holland that Miles wanted him to join his band (replacing Ron Carter).
Miles left the UK before Holland could contact him directly, and two weeks later Holland was given three days' notice to fly to New York for an engagement at Count Basie's nightclub. He arrived the night before, staying with Jack DeJohnette.
The following day Herbie Hancock took him to the club, and his two years with Miles began. This was also Hancock's last gig as Davis's pianist, as he left afterwards for a honeymoon in Brazil and was replaced by Chick Corea when he could not return for an engagement due to illness.
Hollands recollections of that first gig - "So I get up on the bandstand and Miles goes to the microphone and [sings opening notes from 'Agitation'], and the music takes off like a tidal wave," Holland says. "That was the beginning of it all. I just tried to fit in." It took Holland a little while to figure out that he needed to be himself; to tell his own stories. "It was only when I started to dig my heels in that I started to realize that's what I needed to do - that nobody was going to open the door for me, that I had to make some space," Holland says. "I was reading a book at that time, and the passage said, 'Plant your banner firmly in the desert sand.' And I took that to mean that, even if you're in the middle of a desert, that you have to make your identity clear. That night, I went back to the gig and I said, 'It's not about them inviting me; it's about me showing who I am."
Album Of The Day
Miles Davis - In a Silent Way [Columbia] 1969
Miles Davis - trumpet
Wayne Shorter - soprano saxophone
John McLaughlin - electric guitar
Chick Corea - electric piano
Herbie Hancock - electric piano
Joe Zawinul - organ
Dave Holland - double bass
Tony Williams - drums
dave holland