Pass it on (Dare2 Records)
Dave Holland Sextet
Released September 23, 2008
Jazzwise Album of the Year 2008
Top 10 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll 2008
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kRACgPNvEdF5Dj5h-cAy0FW9TVWnVjs6o
Spotify:
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About:
There is a great and long-standing aural tradition in jazz in which elders convey the very essence of the music–those extramusical things that go well beyond the notes–to apprentices as a means of preserving the art. Indeed, that tradition of music-making goes back to the griots and drum choirs of ancient West Africa and has permeated every generation of jazz since Buddy Bolden and King Oliver “passed it on” to Louis Armstrong. On Pass It On, his latest recording as a leader, the Grammy-winning bassist-composer Dave Holland is solidly in that number. Says the perennial poll-winner of the title track of his third recording on his Dare2 imprint (distributed by Universal Music): “That’s a piece I wrote for Ed Blackwell. And the reason I called it `Pass It On’ is because Ed was a great teacher as well as a great player. He could do a wonderful workshop about the history of the drums from Baby Dodds to Jo Jones and the whole way. I always thought of him as being a great carrier of the tradition and passing that tradition on to other people. So after he passed away, I wanted to write a piece to celebrate his memory and his great work.” A remarkably interactive recording that organically melds advanced contrapuntal writing and wide open improvisation, Pass It On showcases Holland’s new sextet featuring trombonist Robin Eubanks (a longtime member of Dave’s working quintet), alto saxophonist Antonio Hart and trumpeter Alex “Sasha” Sipiagin (both members of Holland’s acclaimed big band), veteran pianist Mulgrew Miller (a former Jazz Messenger and sideman in the Woody Shaw Quintet and Tony Williams Quintet), and the in-demand young drummer Eric Harland (a former member of the Joshua Redman Trio and the Kurt Rosenwinkel Group who also currently works with Charles Lloyd’s quartet and the SF Jazz Collective).
This stellar sextet debuted at the beginning of 2006 and subsequently did a number of performances before going into the studio to document their rare chemistry. As Holland explains, “I did a week of showcase presentations at Birdland where I presented four different projects–we did the quintet, the big band, a duo with vibraphonist Steve Nelson, and we debuted the sextet at that presentation. I had played with all the horn players before but played only infrequently with Eric and Mulgrew. I recorded with Mulgrew on a couple of occasions and played with Eric on a Terence Blanchard recording [2000’s Wandering Moon]. I always wanted to do more playing with both of those wonderful players, so I saw this as an opportunity.”
It was following a performance at the Kennedy Center that Holland decided to document the sextet. “As we were leaving the stage, Eric whispered in my ear, `We gotta record this!'” Holland recalls. “I had been thinking along those lines also but that was the push I needed. So we decided to aim for a week at the Blue Note in August of 2007, then immediately go into the studio and record the band in New York. That’s how this thing came together.”
Track Listing:
1. The Sum of All Parts (Robin Eubanks) 8:11
2. Fast Track (Dave Holland) 6:30
3. Lazy Snake (Dave Holland) 10:07
4. Double Vision (Dave Holland) 8:07
5. Equality (Dave Holland) 9:09
6. Modern Times (Dave Holland) 5:58
7. Rivers Run (Dave Holland) 13:45
dedicated to multi-instrumentalist and composer Sam Rivers
8. Processional (Dave Holland) 4:33
9. Pass It On (Dave Holland) 7:56
dedicated to master percussionist Ed Blackwell
Personnel:
Dave Holland: bass
Mulgrew Miller: piano
Antonio Hart: saxophone, flute
Robin Eubanks: trombone
Sascha Spiagin: trumpet
Eric Harland: drums
Recorded August, 2007, at Avatar Studios, New York, NY
Producer: Dave Holland
Engineer: James Farber
Assistante Engineer: Brian Montgomery
Mastering: Greg Calbi
Cover Art: Niklaus Toxler
Review:
Well, this has to be my CD of the year. It is surely one of Dave Holland’s best albums in a long and distinguished career as a musician and as a composer. The best are always immediately recognisable – Ellington, Mingus, Brubeck, Ornette, Coltrane.
And Dave Holland is definitely another for that pantheon. Everything combines perfectly here, there’s nothing wasted or out of place. Performances, arrangements and compositions all make perfect sense. I’ve never been a fan of Mulgrew Miller but in this setting he’s a revelation. His introduction to ‘Equality’ is simply gorgeous. Eric Harland on drums is already one of the greats and the three horn frontline combine beautifully, especially in that interlocking, New Orleans derived counterpoint of which Holland is so fond. Listen closely and there are so many delightful touches here – like the way the trombone doubles the piano or bass line or the way woodwind or trumpet background figures comment upon or tell a different tale from the main theme. ‘Rivers Run’ – the most abstract piece here – heads off into dark and uncharted waters, while the title track closes the record in fine, funky style. This is the most honest record, emotionally and artistically, you will hear in a long time. It’s all in the groove.
Duncan Heining (Jazzwise)
