Far more than one of the jazz’s greatest bassists, Dave Holland has inhabited the music’s adventurous edge ever since Miles Davis hired him to anchor his band in 1968 as it rapidly morphed from an acoustic powerhouse to a pioneering fusion combo. After spending years exploring the outer reaches with Anthony Braxton and Sam Rivers, the British-born bassist started leading his own ensembles, which have served as a proving ground for a legion of celebrated improvisers. His SFJAZZ Center residency offers a chance to experience Holland in an array of settings, both alone and with a dauntingly talented cast of collaborators.
The bassist finishes his run with the Bay Area premiere of his aptly-named Prism project featuring the ingenious keyboardist Craig Taborn, former SFJAZZ Collective drummer Eric Harland and Kevin Eubanks, a brilliant guitarist who is resurfacing after a 15-year run leading the Tonight Show Band. Combining the celebrated virtuosity of Taborn on electric and acoustic pianos and the soulful scorch of Eubanks in the front line with Harland’s matchless finesse and expressiveness, this decidedly plugged-in quartet is an explosive outlet for Holland at his unbridled best.
