Track Listing

1. The Sum of All Parts
2. Fast Track
3. Lazy Snake
4. Double Vision
5. Equality
6. Modern Times
7. Rivers Run
8. Processional
9. Pass It On

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25306 in Music
• Released on: 2008-09-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

Album Description
Pass It On features newly-realized arrangements of some potent Holland compositions from past recordings, including "Lazy Snake" and "Equality" (from 1995's Dream of the Elders), the uptempo burner "Double Vision" (from 1984's Seeds of Time), the dynamic, mood-shifting suite "Rivers Run" (written for Dave's former duets partner from the mid-'70s, saxophonist Sam Rivers, and originally appearing on 1988's Triplicate), "Processional" (from 1989's Extensions) and "Modern Times" (from the 1995 Gateway recording, Homecoming). "Some of the compositions that I've written in the past evolve in my mind a little bit over time," says Holland, who is perhaps the most prolific bassist-composer since Charles Mingus. "When we first recorded some of these pieces, they were done in more stripped-down versions with different instrumentation, and I was starting to hear them as being possible for a larger ensemble. One of the advantages of the sextet is that it's still a smaller unit than big band or octet but it also gives you a lot of options in terms of orchestrating and utilizing backgrounds, either from the three horns or if one of the horns is soloing, from the other two horns. So I thought that was a good way to fill out these old compositions and expand on them a little bit where something new could happen. And, of course, this group of people brings some new creative ideas to the pieces." In addition to reinventing those previously recorded pieces, Holland also introduces two new compositions in the buoyant swinger "Fast Track" (based on the chord changes to George Gershwin's "The Man I Love") and the spirited, gospel-tinged title track which carries the kind of jubilant, uplifting feel inherent in the music of the Brotherhood of the Breath led by the South African-born Scottish musician Chris McGregor, an important mentor for Holland in the early part of his career. Eubanks also contributes the stirring, African-flavored opening track, "The Sum of All Parts." Says Holland, "I'm a big fan of Robin's compositions. I've featured him pretty much on every CD that I've done since 1987 and he's been a great asset, not just as a trombonist but as a composer." While Holland has eschewed piano with his long-standing quintet (featuring trombonist Eubanks, saxophonist Chris Potter, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, and drummer Nate Smith), he revels in the beautiful voicings and refined touch that pianist Miller brings to the sextet on Pass It On. "Of course, I have played with a lot of pianists over the years, including Hank Jones, Herbie Hancock, and others, but in my own projects I never really conceptualized a group with piano. Mulgrew certainly is within that tradition of great accompanists as well as being a wonderfully original soloist. He is such a rich and deeply-rooted musician in the great tradition of the piano but, of course, is always forward-thinking and forward-moving in his conception. What he brings to the ensemble is something that I'm always looking for, which is that dialogue and communication and interaction between the rhythm section and the horns when they're soloing. So Mulgrew was really the ideal pianist for me. It was a very great honor for me to have him involved in this music." Harland's ability to engage in dialogue with the rest of the musicians throughout the course of a given piece comes directly out of the great tradition of such highly interactive drummers as Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, and Jack DeJohnette, all of whom Holland has played and recorded with. "What Eric does is totally in touch with what's going on in the music and in touch with what I'm playing," says Dave. "Within the group there's always a dialogue going on within the rhythm section. I love that kind of thing. I love the sparring and the back and forth. For me, that's what it's all about. It's not just about a background rhythm section that's just laying down a sort of generic pad for soloists to play on. I like it to be a true conversation where the soloists get really inside the rhythm section."

From the Artist
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."

About the Artist
One of the most respected figures in jazz today, Dave Holland has amassed an amazing list of credits over the past 40 years, including classic recordings with Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, and Santana-Alice Coltrane, as well as memorable sessions with such great artists as Joe Farrell, Colin Walcott, Lee Konitz, Kenny Wheeler, Hank Jones, Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, Bill Frisell, Geri Allen, and Roy Haynes. As a leader in his own right, he debuted in 1972 with the avant-garde classic Conference of the Birds, which featured both Sam Rivers and Anthony Braxton on saxophones. In 1983, Holland formed his first working quintet featuring alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, trombonist Julian Priester and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith and debuted that year with Jumpin' In on ECM Records. That quintet followed up in 1984 with Seeds of Time and then in 1987 trombonist Robin Eubanks replaced Priester in the lineup for The Razor's Edge. He continued touring and recording with a quintet through the 1990s and in 2001 premiered his Grammy Award-winning big band. Holland consistently ranks among the top bassists, composers, and bandleaders in the Down Beat, Jazz Times, and Jazziz critics' and readers' polls and has been recognized for his various achievements in recent years by the Jazz Journalists Association. He was the recipient of the prestigious Miles Davis Award at the Montreal Jazz Festival and has been nominated numerous times for Grammy Awards in the Best Jazz Instrumental Performance category with his quintet, including 1998 for Points of View, 2000 for Prime Directive, 2001 for Not for Nothin', and 2003 for Extended Play. He's won three Grammy Awards: 1999's Best Instrumental Jazz Performance for Gary Burton's Like Minds, 2002's Best Large Jazz Ensemble for What Goes Around, and 2005's Best Large Jazz Ensemble for Overtime. Born on October 1, 1946 in Wolverhampton, W. Midlands, England, Holland took up bass at age 13, influenced by such iconic walking bassists as Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar as well as such bass innovators as Charles Mingus, Jimmy Garrison, Scott LaFaro, and Gary Peacock. He later studied at the Guildhall School of Music in London and by the mid-'60s began collaborating with a pool of creative musicians around London, including saxophonists John Surman and Evan Parker, pianist John Taylor, and guitarist John McLaughlin. Holland played London clubs with England's top jazz musicians, as well as backing visiting dignitaries like Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Joe Henderson. In July of 1968, Miles Davis heard him at Ronnie Scott's playing with the Pat Smythe Trio, which opened for the Bill Evans Trio featuring Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette. Duly impressed with Dave's playing, Miles asked him to join his band. Within a month, Holland promptly relocated to New York and was playing his first gig with Miles Davis at Count Basie's nightclub in Harlem. He subsequently participated in the making of several classic Davis recordings, including In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. In 1970, Holland co-founded (with Anthony Braxton, Chick Corea, and Barry Altschul) the free-jazz quartet Circle, which disbanded after one year. In the early '70s, he played with Stan Getz and briefly with Thelonious Monk before forming the Gateway Trio in 1975 with drummer Jack DeJohnette and guitarist John Abercrombie (Gateway continued to regroup for sporadic recordings and tours over the next 25 years). Through the remainder of the '70s, Holland worked in a variety of settings with the adventurous saxophonist-composer Sam Rivers. In 1983, Holland organized his own working band, a quintet with trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, trombonist Julian Priester, alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, and drummer Steve Ellington. Later editions of the Holland quintet would include drummers Marvin "Smitty" Smith, Billy Kilson, and Nate Smith, trombonist Robin Eubanks, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, and saxophonist Chris Potter. Another key highlight of this period was Holland's work with vocalist Betty Carter. "There's a long list of players who were started by Betty and have gone on to do great things, including Jason Moran, Curtis Lundy, Eric Harland, and many others. I was fortunate enough to be one of her players back in the mid-'80s. I played with Betty for over a year and had a wonderful experience. If you listened and if you took what she had to say and worked with it, you came out of it a better musician and a better player, and certainly a better accompanist. She also gave me a lot of guidance when I was starting a group at the beginning of the '80s. She not only became an important adviser but also a good friend."In the '80s and '90s, Holland worked as an educator, heading the summer jazz workshop at the Banff School in Banff, Alberta, Canada, from 1983 until 1990. From 1987 until 1990 he was a faculty member at the New England Conservatory of Music. In recent years, he has collaborated in two of the top jazz collectives of the decade--the ScoLoHoFo quartet comprised of Holland, guitarist John Scofield, saxophonist Joe Lovano and drummer Al Foster and the Herbie Hancock-piloted all-star quartet including saxophonist Wayne Shorter and drummer Brian Blade. Holland, who this past summer has been a part of Herbie Hancock's "The River of Possibilities Tour," plans to play some select dates with the sextet through the remainder of 2008 while also continuing to perform with his celebrated quintet. He also has exciting plans for his Dare2 Records in 2009. "One of the things that I've been trying to do with the label is to present a variety of projects," says Holland. "We started with the big band CD Overtime, then we had a quintet record after that, Critical Mass, now this sextet project, Pass It On. We're doing an octet record in January, which is essentially the quintet plus three--Gary Smulyan on baritone sax, Sasha Sipiagin on trumpet, and Antonio Hart on alto sax. Then the other project we're going to do is a flamenco recording with some Spanish gypsy flamenco players, including the very celebrated flamenco guitarist, Pepe Habichuela. We're also recording a lot of live gigs which we plan to make available for electronic downloads on our web site. So it's a busy time for the label."

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Stuff!
Man, have I been enjoying this CD! The front line of trombone, trumpet, and alto sax just sounds so different after listening to Dave's usual quintet lineup over the years. I also enjoy the addition of Mulgrew Miller on piano. The tunes are uniformly excellent. Even though this music sounds more tightly orchestrated compared to Holland's past quintet offerings, it is still extremely enjoyable. The interplay between the musicians is great and everyone gets the chance to stretch out over the course of the CD. When the disc ends, I just want to hear it again. It's not leaving my CD player anytime soon!

Really, dont pass it on
This album is just stellar, and I really mean stellar. It could not have turned out better. Long time fans of Dave will not in any way be disapointed. Newcomers will find deep and interesting while still being wholly accessible. Just great.

This is a slightly different band from last time round. Trombonist Robin Eubanks is still there (and just as smoking as always. Really, how does he do that stuff?), but most everyone else is different. Instead of Steve Nelson on Vibes with the jazz giant Mulgrew Miller who is in fine form. Drum prodigy Eric Garland takes over for Nate Smith (Eric as well is just spectacular in general) and Alto saxophone player takes over for the (primarily) tenor player Chris Potter. This was one area that worried me somewhat when I first heard of this album. Chris Potter was a staple of all of Holland's bands, big and small, for many years, and he is by far one of the most gifted sax players on the scene today. The thought of a Holland album without him seemed like almost like blasphemy to me. That having been said, although I may still prefer Potter in general, Hart is a monster of a player and I would struggle to find fault with his laying anywhere here. Just great. Augment the band is trumpet player Alex "Sasha" Sipiagin. The new band works great together. I particular approve of the addition of Mulgrew Miller. Although the vibraphone quintet setup worked for Holland in the past, its really hard to make up for what Miller brings to the mix.

I have written a few reviews before and usually I use a paragraph to talk about a few songs that I particularly liked on the album. I'm not going to do that here, because I cant think of what songs to talk about. Holland (who wrote all of the songs except for the first track) has really hit a groove in terms of writing it seems. Whereas in "Critical Mass" (his last album) I found one or two tracks easily stood above the rest, this album does not have any weak points. The tracks are varied in style, but all incredibly solid. Although some of them sound a bit more standard than last time round, they are perfect vehicles for improvisation on the part of the band members and never sound out of place. Some are more upbeat, some more somber, but they are all excellent and taken as a whole, the result is spectacular.

I cannot recommend this album enough to fans of modern hard-bop. This is probably the best example we will get this year. In overall quality I think it is only surpassed by Charles Lloyd's "Rabo de Nube" for best of this year, though I might classify them slightly differently. Either way, you will not be disappointed by this.

Instant Classic
Dave Holland's Quintet has been one of the best working jazz bands over the last decade, plus. They have contributed classics like EXTENDED PLAY:LIVE AT BIRDLAND (one of the all time great live jazz recordings), PRIME DIRECTIVE and CRITICLA MASS. Here Holland mixes things up and comes back with a sextet that changes up the lineup, without sacrificing his high standard of quality. As usual the interplay between musicians is on a high plain. It's interesting hearing Mulgrew Miller's fine piano in place of Steve Nelson's always inventive vibes. Lone holdover from the Quintet, Robin Eubanks, shines as always on trombone. Standout tracks include THE SUM OF ALL PARTS, LAZY SNAKE and PASS IT ON. Very highly recommended to music lovers, jazz fans and especially fans of Holland's previous work.