Dave Holland > Music Works International

Dave Holland is a bassist, composer, bandleader whose passion for musical expression of all styles, and dedication to creating consistently innovative music ensembles have propelled a professional career of more than 50 years and earned him top honors in his field including multiple Grammy® Awards and the title of NEA Jazz Master in 2017. Holland stands as a guiding light on acoustic and electric bass, having grown up in an age when musical genres—jazz, rock, funk, avant-garde, folk, electronic music, and others—blended freely together to create new musical pathways. He was a leading member of a generation that helped usher jazz bass playing from its swing and post-bop legacy to the vibrancy and multidiscipline excitement of the modern era, extending the instrument’s melodic, expressive capabilities. Holland’s virtuosic technique and rhythmic feel, informed by an open-eared respect of a formidable spread of styles and sounds, is widely revered and remains much in demand. To date, his playing can be heard on hundreds of recordings, with more than thirty as a leader under his own name.

Aziza

Aziza is the worldly modern-jazz supergroup — the critically acclaimed collective of Dave created with the saxophonist Chris Potter, the guitarist Lionel Loueke and the drummer Eric Harland. The four toured widely before recording their self-titled debut. The album, and their live performances, has every granite-carved rhythmic vamp accruing many subtleties of texture and inflection, and any solo heroics (of which there’s no shortage) are absorbed into a larger flow.

Cross Currents

Under the collective group name of Cross Currents, Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain, and Chris Potter released Good Hope, a monumental and exceptional album that inspired and excited a global audience with its formidable display of virtuosity, brilliance, and sophisticated musical language.

Featuring giants of American and Indian music, Good Hope is an album built on deep mutual respect, a shared love of the music, and a dedication to musical and cultural integration. Masterfully crafted around eight compositions, with contributions from each member of the trio, Good Hope’s brilliance, musical vision, and execution are world-class.