Third album from one of the most popular groups in modern jazz: Dave Holland has attained a new plateau of public and critical acclaim with his current quintet. Both of the quintet's previous albums, "Points of View" and "Prime Directive", were Grammy-nominated; the band was voted #1 Acoustic Jazz Group of the Year in the Down Beat Critics' Poll, Best Combo of the Year in the Bell Atlantic jazz Awards; the Jazz Journalists Association gave its Live Performance of the Year Award and Best Small Ensemble Award to the Holland Quintet, voted "Prime Directive" Album of the Year and also gave Holland prizes as Bass Player of the Year (twice) and Musician of the Year. Holland has also been #1 Bass Player in the Down Beat Critics Poll for three consecutive years and in 2000 received an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music. In the midst of this 'awards-bonanza', quintet saxophonist Chris Potter became, at 29, the youngest musician ever to win the Danish Jazzpar prize, Europe's highest honour for a jazz player. Holland: "What I love about music is the creation of something bigger than yourself. The groups I've always admired were like Ellington's or Miles's bands - groups of strong individuals focused around a musical idea. In my band it's become clear what the character of the group is, and we can take advantage of that in the writing and presentation."
Recorded September 2000. |