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Dave Holland

 
Dave Holland

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Dave Holland



 
 
Dave Holland (born October 1, 1946) is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 bassist
Bassist

A bass player is a musician who plays a double bass, bass guitar, or another low-pitched instrument, such as keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as tuba or sousaphone....
 and composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 who is a significant representative of avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz

Avant-garde jazz is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. Avant-jazz often sounds very similar to free jazz, but differs in that, despite its distinct departure from traditional harmony, it has a predetermined structure over which improvisation may take place....
.

in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton is a City status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough of the West Midlands , England. In 2004, the local government district had an estimated population of 239,100; the wider Urban Area had a population of List of English cities by population, which makes it the 13th most populous city in England....
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked Counties of England in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Stafford. Part of the National Forest, England lies within its borders....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, Holland learned to play bass as a child, and spent three years studying the instrument at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music school and drama school which was founded in 1880 in London, England.It is a well known conservatoire and one of the leading music and drama institutions in the world....
. By 1967 he was a regular player at Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott

Ronnie Scott was an England jazz Tenor saxophone and jazz club owner....
's, the premier jazz club in London, backing visiting musicians. He was also involved in the London free improvisation
Free improvisation

Free improvisation or free music is musical improvisation without any rules beyond the taste or inclination of the musician involved; in many cases the musicians make an active effort to avoid overt references to recognizable musical genres....
 scene around the drummer John Stevens
John Stevens (drummer)

John William Stevens was an England drummer. He was one of the most significant figures in early free improvisation, and a founding member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble ....
, and performed on the Spontaneous Music Ensemble
Spontaneous Music Ensemble

The Spontaneous Music Ensemble was a loose collection of free improvising musicians convened beginning in the mid-1960s by the late South London-based jazz drummer/trumpeter John Stevens and alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Watts....
's classic 1968 album Karyobin.






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Dave Holland (born October 1, 1946) is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 bassist
Bassist

A bass player is a musician who plays a double bass, bass guitar, or another low-pitched instrument, such as keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as tuba or sousaphone....
 and composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 who is a significant representative of avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz

Avant-garde jazz is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. Avant-jazz often sounds very similar to free jazz, but differs in that, despite its distinct departure from traditional harmony, it has a predetermined structure over which improvisation may take place....
.

Biography

Born in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton is a City status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough of the West Midlands , England. In 2004, the local government district had an estimated population of 239,100; the wider Urban Area had a population of List of English cities by population, which makes it the 13th most populous city in England....
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked Counties of England in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Stafford. Part of the National Forest, England lies within its borders....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, Holland learned to play bass as a child, and spent three years studying the instrument at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music school and drama school which was founded in 1880 in London, England.It is a well known conservatoire and one of the leading music and drama institutions in the world....
. By 1967 he was a regular player at Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott

Ronnie Scott was an England jazz Tenor saxophone and jazz club owner....
's, the premier jazz club in London, backing visiting musicians. He was also involved in the London free improvisation
Free improvisation

Free improvisation or free music is musical improvisation without any rules beyond the taste or inclination of the musician involved; in many cases the musicians make an active effort to avoid overt references to recognizable musical genres....
 scene around the drummer John Stevens
John Stevens (drummer)

John William Stevens was an England drummer. He was one of the most significant figures in early free improvisation, and a founding member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble ....
, and performed on the Spontaneous Music Ensemble
Spontaneous Music Ensemble

The Spontaneous Music Ensemble was a loose collection of free improvising musicians convened beginning in the mid-1960s by the late South London-based jazz drummer/trumpeter John Stevens and alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Watts....
's classic 1968 album Karyobin. That same year, Miles Davis
Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an United States jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer.Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Davis was at the forefront of almost every major development in jazz from World War II to the 1990s: he played on various early bebop records and recorded one of the first cool jaz...
 and Philly Joe Jones
Philly Joe Jones

Joseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States of America Jazz drumming, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet....
 heard him playing at Ronnie Scott's, and Jones told Holland that Davis wanted him to join his band (replacing Ron Carter
Ron Carter

Ron Carter is an United States jazz double-bassist. His unique sound has made him a long sought after studio man. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar....
). Davis left the UK before Holland could contact him directly, and two weeks later Holland was given three days' notice to fly to New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 for an engagement at Count Basie
Count Basie

William "Count" Basie was an United States Jazz piano, organist, bandleader, and composer. Widely regarded as one of the most important jazz bandleaders of his time, Basie led his popular Count Basie Orchestra for almost 50 years....
's nightclub. He arrived the night before, staying with Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette

Jack DeJohnette is an United States jazz drummer, Piano, and composer. DeJohnette was born in Chicago, Illinois, Illinois. Besides the drums, he studied the piano, which he plays on several recordings....
, a previous acquaintance. The following day Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is a jazz pianist and composer. He embraces elements of rock and roll and soul music while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz....
 took him to the club, and his two years with Davis began. This was also Hancock's last gig as Davis's pianist, as he left afterwards for a honeymoon in Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
 and was replaced by Chick Corea
Chick Corea

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is a multiple Grammy Award winning American jazz pianist, keyboardist, drummer, and composer.He is known for his work during the 1970s in the genre of jazz fusion....
 when he couldn't return for an engagement due to illness. Holland's first recordings with Davis were in September 1968, for half of the album Filles de Kilimanjaro
Filles de Kilimanjaro

Filles de Kilimanjaro is a jazz album by Miles Davis. It was recorded in June and September 1968, and Columbia Records released the album in 1969 in music....
 (with Davis, Corea, Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter is an United States jazz composer and saxophone, commonly regarded as one of the most important American jazz saxophonists and composers since the 1960s....
 and Tony Williams
Tony Williams

Anthony Tillmon "Tony" Williams was an United States Jazz drumming.Widely regarded as one of the most important and influential jazz drummers to come to prominence in the 1960s, Williams first gained fame in the band of trumpeter Miles Davis, and was a pioneer of jazz fusion....
).

Holland was a member of Davis's rhythm section through the summer of 1970; he appears on the albums In a Silent Way
In a Silent Way

In a Silent Way is a 1969 album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Although previous Davis records and live performances had already begun the shift to jazz fusion, In a Silent Way featured a full-blown electric approach....
 and Bitches' Brew. All three of his studio recordings with Davis were instrumental in the evolution of jazz fusion
Jazz fusion

Fusion or, more specifically, jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a musical genre that merges jazz with elements of other styles of music, particularly funk, Rock and roll, R&B, electronic music, and world music, but also pop music, classical music, and folk music, or sometimes even Heavy metal music, reggae, ska, country music, hip hop...
. In the first year of his tenure with Davis, Holland played primarily acoustic bass. By the end of 1969, he played electric bass guitar (often treated with wah-wah and other electronic effects) with increasing frequency as Davis's music became increasingly electronic, vamp-based and funky. Holland was also a member of Davis's working group during this time, unlike many of the musicians who would appear on the trumpeter's studio recordings. The so-called "lost quintet" of Davis, Shorter, Corea, Holland and Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette

Jack DeJohnette is an United States jazz drummer, Piano, and composer. DeJohnette was born in Chicago, Illinois, Illinois. Besides the drums, he studied the piano, which he plays on several recordings....
 was active in 1969 but never made any studio recordings as a quintet. A 1970 live recording of this group plus percussionist Airto Moreira
Airto Moreira

Airto Moreira is a Brazilian Jazz drummer, percussionist and musician. Airto is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer....
, It's About That Time, was issued in 2001. (Steve Grossman
Steve Grossman

Steve Grossman is a jazz saxophonist who started in jazz fusion, but is most known for hard bop.He began with alto saxophone at eight, added soprano saxophone at 15, and by age 16 could also play tenor....
 replaced Shorter in early 1970; Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett

Keith Jarrett is an United States pianist, composer and jazz icon.His career started with Art Blakey, Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in both classical music and jazz, as a group leader and a solo performer....
 joined the group as a second keyboardist thereafter, and Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz

Gary Bartz is an United States alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist....
 replaced Grossman during the summer of 1970.)

After leaving Davis's group, Holland briefly joined the avant-garde jazz group Circle
Circle (jazz band)

Circle was an avant garde jazz ensemble active in 1970 and 1971. Its core members were Chick Corea, piano; Dave Holland, bass; Barry Altschul, drums and percussion....
 with Chick Corea
Chick Corea

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is a multiple Grammy Award winning American jazz pianist, keyboardist, drummer, and composer.He is known for his work during the 1970s in the genre of jazz fusion....
, Barry Altschul
Barry Altschul

Barry Altschul is a drummer who gained fame in the late 1960s with the pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea, playing in the "outside" style of jazz that had been evolving steadily since the innovations of Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane....
 and Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton

Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophone, clarinettist, flute, piano, and philosopher. He has created a large body of highly complex work....
. This started a long association with the ECM
ECM (record label)

ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. ECM is best known for jazz music, but has released a wide variety of recordings, the artists associated with it often refusing to acknowledge boundaries between genres....
 record label. After recording few albums with Circle, the group soon disbanded when Corea was replaced with Sam Rivers
Sam Rivers

Samuel Carthorne Rivers is an United States jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
. 1972 saw the recording of Conference of the Birds
Conference of the Birds (Dave Holland album)

Conference of the Birds is a 1973 album by jazz bassist Dave Holland. It is Holland's second collaboration with composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton, as well as his second album on ECM Records....
, with Sam Rivers
Sam Rivers

Samuel Carthorne Rivers is an United States jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
, Altschul and Braxton – Holland's first recording as a leader, and the beginning of a long musical relationship with Rivers. The album itself is often mentioned being among the most important avant-garde jazz recordings. The title of the album is also the title of a 4,500 line epic poem by Persian Sufist writer, Farid al-Din Attar.

Holland worked as a leader and as a sideman with many other jazz artists in the 1970s, including Stan Getz
Stan Getz

Stanley Gayetzky or Stanley Gayetsky , usually known by his stage name Stan Getz, was an American jazz saxophone player. Known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, Getz's prime influence was the wispy, mellow tone of his idol, Lester Young....
, Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, and the Gateway Trio with John Abercrombie and Jack DeJohnette. The Gateway trio released two influential modern jazz albums in 1975 and 1977, and reformed in 1994 for a recording session which yielded another two albums. While Holland has recorded solo and duo albums, the bulk of his recording and performance work has been in small- and medium-sized groups.

In the 1980s Holland left Rivers's group, and formed a variety of quartets and quintets, while continuing to occasionally work as a sideman for Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is a jazz pianist and composer. He embraces elements of rock and roll and soul music while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz....
 and others.

The most recent incarnation of the Dave Holland Quintet, formed in 1997, has won multiple Grammy nominations and awards. The quintet includes Robin Eubanks
Robin Eubanks

Robin Eubanks is an United States jazz slide Trombone.The brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks, Robin first appeared on the jazz scene in 1980, playing with Slide Hampton, Sun Ra, and Stevie Wonder....
 on trombone
Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass instrument family. Like all brass instruments, it is a lip-reed aerophone: sound is produced when the player?s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate....
 and cowbell; Steve Nelson
Steve Nelson (vibraphonist)

Steve Nelson born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an United States vibraphonist, and has been a member of Dave Holland's Quintet and Big Band for over a decade....
 on marimba
Marimba

The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion instrument family. Keys or bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys to aid the performer both visually and physically....
 and vibraphone
Vibraphone

The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion instrument family....
; Chris Potter
Chris Potter (jazz saxophonist)

Chris Potter is an United States jazz saxophone, composer, and multi-instrumentalist.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Potter spent most of his childhood in Columbia, South Carolina where his mother taught psychology at the University of South Carolina....
; and Billy Kilson
Billy Kilson

William Earl "Billy" Kilson is an American jazz drummer.Kilson was born in Washington, D.C.. He started on trumpet at ten, switched to trombone at 11, then to drums at 16....
 — and more recently, Nate Smith — on drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
. Holland's band invariably includes young musicians and he is known for his patronage of many young jazz musicians. The quintet has also recorded as the Dave Holland Big Band, augmented by eight brass and saxophone players. The second Big Band recording, Overtime (2004) was released on Holland's own Dare2 record label.

Holland's trademarks as a composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 include folk song-like motives, asymmetrical rhythms, and themes in two or more voices (usually trombone and saxophone).

Holland currently resides in upstate New York
Upstate New York

Upstate New York is the region of New York north of the core of the New York metropolitan area. It has a population of 7,121,911 out of New York State's total 18,976,457....
. He is an avid fan of his home town football team Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Discography

Major albums:
  • Music from Two Basses (with Barre Phillips
    Barre Phillips

    Barre Phillips is a jazz and free improvisation double bass. A professional musician since 1960, he migrated to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967....
    ) - 1971 - ECM
  • Conference of the Birds - 1972 - ECM
  • Cloud Dance - 1975 - ECM
  • Sam Rivers
    Sam Rivers

    Samuel Carthorne Rivers is an United States jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
    /Dave Holland, Vol. 1
    - 1976 - Improvising Artists
  • Sam Rivers/Dave Holland, Vol. 2 - 1976 - Improvising Artists
  • Emerald Tears - 1977 - ECM
  • Life Cycle - 1982 - ECM
  • Jumpin' In - 1983 - ECM
  • Seeds of Time - 1984 - ECM
  • The Razor's Edge
    The Razor's Edge (album)

    The Razor's Edge is an album by jazz bassist Dave Holland, released in 1987....
     - 1987 - ECM
  • Triplicate - 1988 - ECM
  • Extensions - 1989 - ECM
  • Question and Answer - 1990 - collaboration with Pat Metheny and Roy Haynes
  • Ones All - 1993 - Intuition
  • Dream of the Elders - 1995 - ECM
  • Points of View - 1998 - ECM
  • Prime Directive - 2000 - ECM
  • Not for Nothin - 2001 - ECM
  • What Goes Around - 2002 - ECM
  • Extended Play: Live at Birdland
    Extended play: live at Birdland

    Extended play: Live at Birdland is a live contemporary jazz album recorded at the famous New York city jazz club Birdland in 2001, by the Dave Holland....
    - 2003 - ECM
  • Overtime - 2005 - Dare2
  • Critical Mass - 2006 - Dare2
  • Pass It On - 2008 - Dare2


Compilation:
  • Rarum, Vol. 10: Selected Recordings - 2004 - ECM

In groups or as sideman

  • Miles Davis
    Miles Davis

    Miles Dewey Davis III was an United States jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer.Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Davis was at the forefront of almost every major development in jazz from World War II to the 1990s: he played on various early bebop records and recorded one of the first cool jaz...
    ,
    Filles de Kilimanjaro
    Filles de Kilimanjaro

    Filles de Kilimanjaro is a jazz album by Miles Davis. It was recorded in June and September 1968, and Columbia Records released the album in 1969 in music....
    (1968)
  • Miles Davis, In a Silent Way
    In a Silent Way

    In a Silent Way is a 1969 album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Although previous Davis records and live performances had already begun the shift to jazz fusion, In a Silent Way featured a full-blown electric approach....
    (1969)
  • Miles Davis, 1969 Miles - Festiva De Juan Pins (1969)
  • Miles Davis, Bitches Brew
    Bitches Brew

    Bitches Brew is a Studio album double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in June of 1970 on Columbia Records. Recording sessions took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio over the course of three days in August of 1969....
    (1969)
  • Miles Davis, Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time (1970)
  • Miles Davis, Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East
    Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East

    At Fillmore, nowadays, for disambiguation purposes, also known as Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East is a 1970 live album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and band, recorded at the Fillmore East, New York City on four consecutive days, June 17 through June 20 1970, originally released as a Double album Gramophone re...
    (1970)
  • Circle
    Circle (jazz band)

    Circle was an avant garde jazz ensemble active in 1970 and 1971. Its core members were Chick Corea, piano; Dave Holland, bass; Barry Altschul, drums and percussion....
    ,
    A.R.C. (1970) ECM
  • Circle
    Circle (jazz band)

    Circle was an avant garde jazz ensemble active in 1970 and 1971. Its core members were Chick Corea, piano; Dave Holland, bass; Barry Altschul, drums and percussion....
    ,
    Paris Concert (1971) ECM
  • Anthony Braxton
    Anthony Braxton

    Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophone, clarinettist, flute, piano, and philosopher. He has created a large body of highly complex work....
    ,
    New York, Fall 1974 (1974) Arista
  • Anthony Braxton, Five Pieces (1975) (1975) Arista
  • Anthony Braxton, Anthony Braxton Live (1975) Arista
  • Anthony Braxton, The Montreux/Berlin Concerts [live] (1975) Arista
  • Anthony Braxton, Quartet (Dortmund) [live] (1976) HatART
  • Kenny Wheeler
    Kenny Wheeler

    Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, Order of Canada, is a Canada composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s.Most of his output is rooted in jazz, but he has also been active in free improvisation and has occasionally contributed to rock music recordings....
    ,
    Gnu High (1975) ECM
  • Kenny Wheeler
    Kenny Wheeler

    Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, Order of Canada, is a Canada composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s.Most of his output is rooted in jazz, but he has also been active in free improvisation and has occasionally contributed to rock music recordings....
    ,
    Deer Wan (1977) ECM
  • Gateway, Gateway (1975) ECM
  • Gateway, Gateway 2 (1977) ECM
  • Gateway, Homecoming (1994) ECM
  • Gateway, In the Moment (1994) ECM
  • Kenny Wheeler
    Kenny Wheeler

    Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, Order of Canada, is a Canada composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s.Most of his output is rooted in jazz, but he has also been active in free improvisation and has occasionally contributed to rock music recordings....
    ,
    Angel Song (1997) ECM
  • Bill Frisell, Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones (2001) Nonesuch
  • Scolohofo, Oh!
    Oh! (ScoLoHoFo album)

    Oh! is an album by jazz super group ScoLoHoFo....
    (2003) Blue Note Records
    Blue Note Records

    Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards....
  • Tomasz Stanko
    Tomasz Stanko

    Tomasz Stanko is a Polish people trumpeter, composer and improviser.Often recording for ECM , Stanko is strongly associated with free jazz and the avante-garde....
    ,
    Balladyna (1976) ECM
    ECM (record label)

    ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. ECM is best known for jazz music, but has released a wide variety of recordings, the artists associated with it often refusing to acknowledge boundaries between genres....
     1071


External links

  • with Dave Holland