Snarky Puppy's Michael League Picks His Favorite Dave Holland Recordings

February 27, 2018 | by Michael League

Many don't know that Snarky Puppy bassist and bandleader Michael League is a big fan of Dave Holland. With Holland returning to SFJAZZ on June 16 with Zakir Hussain and Chris Potter, we revisit League's favorite Dave Holland recordings.

Dave's actually my favorite double bassist, alongside Ray Brown. I did a research project on him in college in which I transcribed various solos and bass lines, and he was kind enough to allow me to interview him. I was 20 and he had no reason to be so generous with his time. That really blew my mind. My favorite live solo of his is this one with Herbie Hancock and Jack DeJohnette. Pat Metheny's trio album with Dave and Roy Haynes, Question and Answer, was the second jazz album I fell in love with (the first was Oscar Peterson's Live at the Blue Note). His quintet changed the way I thought about composition, and I modeled much of Snarky Puppy after it in the early years. As for my favorite tracks, I wanted to reflect not just his work as a bandleader and composer, but also as a collaborator and instrumentalist.

"Question and Answer" w/ Pat Metheny & Roy Haynes