Record Reviews
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  | DAVE HOLLAND ~ AZIZA
DARE2 009 (Barcode: 634457738324) ~ UK ~ Jazz-World Fusion
Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016
This is an album by British bassist / composer / bandleader Dave HollandFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with American musicians: saxophonist Chris PotterFind albums by this artist, guitarist Lionel LouekeFind albums by this artist and drummer Eric HarlandFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, two composed by each member of the quartet, which emphasizes the fact that Holland sees this quartet as an equal partnership between himself and the rest of the quartet members. The album was released on the Dare2Find albums on this label label, owned by Holland.
The music is strongly influenced by a variety of World Music influences, both melodically and rhythmically, including African, Latin and others. It is therefore quite unexpected and offers a fresh and unfamiliar facet of three members of the quartet, except for Loueke of course, whose African roots were always strongly present in his music.
As such, the album is truly a delightful surprise, and proves again that Holland is definitely one of the most versatile and open-minded musical geniuses, whose extensive recording legacy covers some of the most important moments of modern Jazz in all of its exposures.
Overall, this is a delightful and quite unusual album, which offers modern Jazz-World Fusion treated in many different facets and dimensions, perfectly performed by these stellar musicians and surprisingly different from most other recordings by Holland. Wholeheartedly recommended!
| | Updated: 23/06/2025Posted: 23/06/2025 | CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend |
  | DAVE HOLLAND ~ UNCHARTED TERRITORIES
DARE2 010 (Barcode: 634457860728) ~ UK ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music
Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017
This is a brilliant 2CD album by legendary British Jazz bassist / composer Dave HollandFind albums by this artist released on his own Dare2Find albums on this label label. He invited another British veteran, saxophonist Evan ParkerFind albums by this artist and two much younger American Jazz players, pianist Craig TabornFind albums by this artist and drummer Ches SmithFind albums by this artist to take part in a spontaneous two-day recording session, which resulted in six hours or recorded music, of which twenty-three tracks appearing here were selected. Only three of the tracks were composed, two by Smith and one by Holland, and the rest are spontaneously improvised pieces.
As expected, the performances are all stellar, and contrary to the fears and reservations many people might hold against Free Jazz / Improvised Music, the result is completely audible and even likeable by most Jazz listeners, with just a bit of openness and slack / patience require to absorb this complex, but completely coherent music. Both the veterans and the “youngsters” display phenomenal improvising skills, mutual respect and telepathic communication with the other players, which is immediately apparent from the very first notes played.
As usual in these circumstances, the four musicians create all possible variations of solo, duo, trio and quartet involvement, which change constantly, and create streams of musical passages, that sound very melodic, even if no solid melody is actually present.
Overall, this is brilliant example of what Free Jazz / Improvised Music should sound like, which in reality happens extremely rarely. There is no one moment of cacophony or chaos on this album, in contrast to so many other albums in this genre, and as such it is truly exemplary and outstanding. Even if Improvising Music is not your cup of tea, do yourself a favor and try this one, which should be able to convince anybody of the true nature of the beast. Absolutely not to be missed!
| | Updated: 09/10/2022Posted: 09/10/2022 | CD 2 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend |
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