Dave Holland Octet
Pathways

LA RECENSIONE

Dave Holland is undoubtedly one of the prominent figures in the contemporary jazz scene, and he reaffirms this in this work. He indeed incorporates all his musical background gathered over the years, starting from his involvement in the "electric" works of Miles Davis, moving through the ECM phase, and finally to the composition and arrangement work centered around the quintet that also appears on this record.

One of the first aspects that strikes about this recording (performed live during a week-long engagement at the Village Vanguard in New York) is the cohesiveness of the core ensemble of this group. Chris Potter on tenor and soprano sax, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Nelson on vibraphone, Nate Smith on drums, along with Holland himself on double bass, convey the feeling of a stable, well-rehearsed band capable of navigating blindfolded through both more rhythmic and more reflective pieces. To this core ensemble, Holland adds three elements from his Big Band (Antonio Hart on alto sax, Alex Sipiagin on trumpet, and Gary Smulyan on baritone sax) creating a medium-sized formation on which he can experiment optimally, exploiting the agility of a small combo but with the sound palette offered by such a wide instrumental spectrum (and here, how can one not think of the small Ellingtonian formations or Mingus's bands?).

The repertoire is based on original pieces (five of them by Holland, one by Potter, and one by Sipiagin) with pleasantly varied atmospheres that can smoothly guide the listener from the beginning to the end of the album (not always an easy feat these days!).
It seems redundant to highlight the great quality of the solo performances by great musicians, who are increasingly recognized as leaders.