ASAD #11 Dave Holland Quintet
Chicago Jazz Festival 2000
One of the things I’ve talked the most about, as we start this long journey through my archive of live bootlegs, is the sense memory aspect of hearing this music again after so many years. Equally important to me though are the moments like this where you hear a bootleg and remember being excited about how clean the sound of a particular musician is from a transcription standpoint.
The sax solo on this is not only at a great tempo to be able to absorb linear vocabulary in real time, but the sound is so clear and helped my transcription in a big way. I think this is probably a board mix that was perhaps intended for radio broadcast? I’m not sure. Either way, we win!
It’s a little tougher to hear the exact harmony from the vibes as the sax is so forward in the mix, but Dave is also very prominent so picking out the root motion of the tune is much easier.
Remember, these bootlegs aren’t just awesome listening, they’re what formed my process of learning harmony, melody, improvisation, composition, and ultimately informed my sensibilities as a live performer massively.
Improvisation is an aural tradition, and music is learnt in real time. Always listen more than you think you need to, and never slow things down to transcribe.
Personnel:
Dave Holland - Bass
Steve Nelson - Vibes
Billy Kilson - Drums
Robin Eubanks - Trombone
Chris Potter - Sax
Enjoy,
Janek