Dave Holland (bass/bass guitar);. Kevin Eubanks (guitar); Obed Calvaire (drums)
If you were to stack all the albums that Dave Holland has appeared on as leader or sideman on top of each other, you’d need to put a flashing light on top as a warning to low flying aircraft. Holland is one of the two most significant British branches on the Miles Davis family tree and is, by any measure, a national treasure. At an age when a national treasure is entitled to the tartan rug, comfy slippers and Ovaltine he continues to develop, to seek, to challenge and adapt and his productivity is as high as it ever was.
He set up the
Dare2 label for his work in 2005 but was so impressed with Edition Records when
they released Good Hope, Holland’s
2019 album with Zakir Hussain and Chris Potter, that he has released this in a
collaboration between the two labels.
Another Land feels like a cousin of Prism, the Holland
quartet date from 2013 and, if you liked that album, (and why would you not?)
you’ll be pushing your pointy elbows out to get to the front of the queue for
this one.
This is Dave
Holland’s power trio album. Obed Calvaire is a new name to me but he has played
with Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Lizz Wright, the SF Jazz Collective and a
host of others. Holland has worked with
Eubanks before, most notably on Extensions
(1990) and Prism, both of which were
quartet albums. Any suspicion that this might be thin gruel by comparison are
dashed after a couple of bars of the opener, Grave Walker, when the guitar crashes in on top of the dirty drum
and bass funk opening. They don’t hit the ground running so much as trampling.
This is a grungy wall of sound, a snap and swing where the rolling funk meets a
ZZ Top snap and swing, the rhythm section as tight as two in a three legged
race.
By contrast the
title track is all space, both drums and guitar the background to Holland’s
bass solo, providing only occasional fills for much of the tune; a different
type of intensity, close focused.
Gentle Warrior’s urban groove lifts the spirits before
the rolling, punchy drums of 20 20’s opening
explorations develops into an extended rock out that provides propulsive
support to Eubanks long notes, Calvaire back seat driving with vigour. Quiet Fire is a Eubanks solo of delicate
Metheny-esque lines and is followed by Mashup gives Eubanks the opportunity to
show off all of his chops as the guitar riffs, scrabbles and curves before
Calvaire solos, explosively covering the kit to maintain the mood. Comparisons
with Cream are not inappropriate.
Passing Time opens with a heavy, dark riff, like it’s
going to be a blues-rock from the Savoy Brown stable before it steps down into
a Eubanks guitar run and a dancing bass solo. The Village follows a similar model of heavy opening leading into a
bass guitar solo from which Eubanks’ guitar lifts off in a series of loud long notes
and frantic scrapples and into thunderous drums, with which the guitar keeps
pace as the volume rises and then falls into a three way conversation. After all
of the blues and boogie, closer Bring It
Back Home has a more chilled groove behind Eubanks’ shuffling boogie guitar
probings. And that’s your visit to Another
Land over.
So what have we
learned? Dave Holland still has it by the bucketful, I need more albums that
feature Kevin Eubanks and I’ll look out for Obed Calvaire in the supporting
cast next time I’m allowed in a record shop by the nice man from the credit
card company.
Dave Sayer
Grave
Walker, Another Land, Gentle Warrior, 20 20, Quiet Fire, Mashup, Passing Time,
The Village, Bring It Back Home
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