Milt Holland
Encyclopedia
Milt Holland was an American drummer
, percussionist, ethnic musicologist, and writer
in the Los Angeles
music scene who pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian percussion styles in jazz, pop and film music, traveling extensively on those continents to collect instruments and to learn the musical styles of playing them.
Milt was born Milton Olshansky in Chicago
, Illinois
, where he attended the Theodore Roosevelt High School (Chicago)
.
His first instrument was violin
.
Milt moved into his passion of percussion, playing in clubs and shows as well as on CBS Radio in Chicago. At twelve years old he was playing speak-easys for the likes of Al Capone.
In the early 1940s he toured and recorded with The Raymond Scott Orchestra.
He is survived by his wife Mildred Holland, his sons, Richard Holland and Robert Holland and his grand children, Damien and Chloe.
He studied Tabla at UCLA and with Ramnad Easwaran and in India studied with Tabla
master Chatur Lal
beginning in 1963. He traveled through India extensively in the early '60s and '70s, then spent many years in Africa studying tribal rhythms. He was inspirational in introducing the exotic instruments to western recording.
After moving to Los Angeles
, he played on countless jazz and pop albums, film and TV scores. A tiny sampling of artists he worked with includes Frank Sinatra
, Bing Crosby
, The Beatles
, The Rolling Stones
, Chaka Khan
, John Williams
, Leonard Bernstein
, Elmer Bernstein
, Quincy Jones
, Nat King Cole
, "Hank" Mancini
, Loggins and Messina
, James Taylor
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Laurindo Almeida
, Ry Cooder
and Joni Mitchell
. He played Pandeiro
and Triangle
on Mitchell's hit Big Yellow Taxi and Congas and Percussion on Light My Fire with José Feliciano
.
Milton was part of the famous so called "Wrecking Crew
" because the studio musicians who belonged to this elite group got all the work and wrecked it for the rest. He has won countless gold and platinum records for his contributions but shied away from any publicity. The thing he was perhaps most proud of was being instrumental in desegregating the Los Angeles Musicians Union.
Eventually he became the first choice for exotic percussion among Los Angeles free-lance session musician
s.
In films, Milt can be heard playing bongos
on soundtracks for West Side Story
, timpani on Silent Running
, to name only a tiny fraction of his output. He was featured along with seven illustrious percussionists on John Wayne
's Hatari!
(1962) which included Shelly Manne
, Jack Sperling
, and Larry Bunker
playing African instruments on The Sounds of Hatari and title track as well as in the soundtrack for the TV mini-series Roots, the nose tinkle on Bewitched and Tinker Bell in the Disney cartoon "Peter Pan"..
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, percussionist, ethnic musicologist, and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
music scene who pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian percussion styles in jazz, pop and film music, traveling extensively on those continents to collect instruments and to learn the musical styles of playing them.
Milt was born Milton Olshansky in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, where he attended the Theodore Roosevelt High School (Chicago)
Theodore Roosevelt High School (Chicago)
Theodore Roosevelt High School is a public secondary school in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The school began existence in 1922 as William G...
.
His first instrument was violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
.
Milt moved into his passion of percussion, playing in clubs and shows as well as on CBS Radio in Chicago. At twelve years old he was playing speak-easys for the likes of Al Capone.
In the early 1940s he toured and recorded with The Raymond Scott Orchestra.
He is survived by his wife Mildred Holland, his sons, Richard Holland and Robert Holland and his grand children, Damien and Chloe.
He studied Tabla at UCLA and with Ramnad Easwaran and in India studied with Tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
master Chatur Lal
Chatur Lal
Chatur Lal , was an Indian tabla player. Lal toured with Ravi Shankar, Aashish Khan, Vasant Rai, and Ali Akbar Khan in the 1950s and early 60s and helped popularize the tabla in Western countries. Chatur Lal was born 1925 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Lal died October 1965...
beginning in 1963. He traveled through India extensively in the early '60s and '70s, then spent many years in Africa studying tribal rhythms. He was inspirational in introducing the exotic instruments to western recording.
After moving to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, he played on countless jazz and pop albums, film and TV scores. A tiny sampling of artists he worked with includes Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
, Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
, Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, "Hank" Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
, Loggins and Messina
Loggins and Messina
Loggins and Messina are an American rock-pop duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina who achieved their success in the early to mid 1970s...
, James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Laurindo Almeida
Laurindo Almeida
Laurindo Almeida was a Brazilian virtuoso guitaristand composer who made many recordings of enduring impact in classical, jazz and Latin genres...
, Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
and Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
. He played Pandeiro
Pandeiro
The pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum.There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes...
and Triangle
Triangle
A triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted ....
on Mitchell's hit Big Yellow Taxi and Congas and Percussion on Light My Fire with José Feliciano
José Feliciano
José Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer, virtuoso guitarist and composer known for many international hits including the 1970 holiday single "Feliz Navidad".-Childhood:...
.
Milton was part of the famous so called "Wrecking Crew
The Wrecking Crew (music)
The Wrecking Crew was a nickname coined by the drummer Hal Blaine after the fact for a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. They backed dozens of popular singers, and were one of the most successful "groups" of studio musicians in music history...
" because the studio musicians who belonged to this elite group got all the work and wrecked it for the rest. He has won countless gold and platinum records for his contributions but shied away from any publicity. The thing he was perhaps most proud of was being instrumental in desegregating the Los Angeles Musicians Union.
Eventually he became the first choice for exotic percussion among Los Angeles free-lance session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s.
In films, Milt can be heard playing bongos
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
on soundtracks for West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
, timpani on Silent Running
Silent Running
Silent Running is a 1972 environmentally themed science fiction film starring Bruce Dern and directed by Douglas Trumbull, who had previously worked as a special effects supervisor on such science fiction films as 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Andromeda Strain.-Plot summary:Silent Running depicts a...
, to name only a tiny fraction of his output. He was featured along with seven illustrious percussionists on John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
's Hatari!
Hatari!
Hatari! is a 1962 American film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne. The title means "danger" in Swahili, which was mentioned in the film as well...
(1962) which included Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
, Jack Sperling
Jack Sperling
Jack Sperling was an American Big Band, television and studio drummer. He was a recording artist, versatile jazz combo and dynamic Dixieland musician.-Career:In 1941 he played with trumpeter Bunny Berigan...
, and Larry Bunker
Larry Bunker
Lawrence Benjamin "Larry" Bunker was an American jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and percussionist. He also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra.-Biography:...
playing African instruments on The Sounds of Hatari and title track as well as in the soundtrack for the TV mini-series Roots, the nose tinkle on Bewitched and Tinker Bell in the Disney cartoon "Peter Pan"..
Soundtracks
- Peter PanPeter Pan (1953 film)Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. It is the fourteenth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and was originally released on February 5, 1953 by RKO Pictures...
(1953) (Tinker Bell's Twinkle) - Man With The Golden Arm (1955)
- Around The World In 80 Days (1956)
- The King And IThe King and IThe King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
(1956) - Hot Rod Girls (1956)
- I Want to Live!I Want to Live!I Want to Live! is a 1958 film noir produced by Walter Wanger and directed by Robert Wise which tells the heavily fictionalized story of a woman, Barbara Graham, convicted of murder and facing execution. It stars Susan Hayward as Graham, and also features Simon Oakland, Stafford Repp, and Theodore...
(1958) - Johnny StaccatoJohnny StaccatoJohnny Staccato is an American private detective series which ran for 27 episodes on NBC from September 10, 1959 through March 24, 1960.-Synopsis:...
(1959) (Actor - role ″Musician″ Episode title ″The Parents ″) - Westside StoryWest Side Story (film)West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
(1961) (Bongo soloist) - Breakfast at Tiffany'sBreakfast at Tiffany's: Music from the Motion PictureBreakfast at Tiffany's: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack from the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's starring Audrey Hepburn. The tracks were composed and conducted by Henry Mancini, except for "Moon River" and "Moon River Cha Cha," which were also composed by Johnny Mercer...
(1961) - To Kill A MockingbirdTo Kill a Mockingbird (film)To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film adaptation of Harper Lee's novel of the same name directed by Robert Mulligan. It stars Mary Badham in the role of Scout and Gregory Peck in the role of Atticus Finch....
(1962) - Hatari!Hatari!Hatari! is a 1962 American film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne. The title means "danger" in Swahili, which was mentioned in the film as well...
(1962) (Featured African Drum Ensemble) - BonanzaBonanzaBonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
(1962) - BewitchedBewitchedBewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
(1964) (Samatha's Nose Twitch) - PartyParty (film)Party in film, may refer to:* Party , a 1984 Hindi film by Govind Nihalani* Party , a Portuguese film directed by Manoel de Oliveira* Party , an Iranian film starring Hedieh Tehrani...
(1968) - Paradise, Hawaiian StyleParadise, Hawaiian StyleParadise, Hawaiian Style is a 1966 musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. It was the third and final motion picture that Presley filmed in Hawaii. The film reached #40 on the Variety weekly box office chart, earning $2.5 million in theaters....
(1966) - Mission Impossible (1968)
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
(1964) - HELP!Help! (film)Help! is a 1965 film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Help! was the second feature film made by the Beatles and is a...
(1965) - CharlyCharlyCharly is a 1968 American film directed by Ralph Nelson. The drama stars Cliff Robertson , Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney and Dick Van Patten and tells the story of a mentally retarded bakery worker who is the subject of an experiment to increase human intelligence...
(1968) - PerformancePerformanceA performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
(1970) - Dollars (1972)
- The Hot RockThe Hot Rock (film)The Hot Rock is a 1972 comic caper film written by William Goldman and directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Redford, George Segal and Moses Gunn. The film was based upon Donald E...
(1972) - RootsRoots (TV miniseries)Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...
(1977) - The Long RidersThe Long RidersThe Long Riders is a 1980 western film directed by Walter Hill. It was produced by James Keach, Stacy Keach and Tim Zinnemann and featured an original soundtrack by Ry Cooder. Cooder won the Best Music award in 1980 from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for this soundtrack...
(1980) - Southern ComfortSouthern Comfort (film)Southern Comfort is an American action/thriller film directed by Walter Hill, working from a script by Hill, longtime collaborator David Giler, and Michael Kane. It featured Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Alan Autry, Les Lannom, Peter Coyote, T. K...
(1981) - Blue CollarBlue collarBlue collar can refer to:*Blue-collar worker, a traditional designation of the working class*Blue-collar crime, the types of crimes typically associated with the working class*A census designation...
(1995) - Kissing Jessica SteinKissing Jessica SteinKissing Jessica Stein is a 2001 independent romantic comedy film, written and co-produced by the film's stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film also stars Tovah Feldshuh and is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld...
(2002) - Honey WestHoney WestHoney West is a fictional character created by Gloria and Forest Fickling under the pseudonym "G.G. Fickling", and appearing in eleven mystery novels by the duo.The character is notable as being one of the first female private detectives in popular fiction...
(2005) - CBS Studio Orchestra (1941–1946)
External links
- 2001 video of Milt at home showing his instrument collection to Peter LangstonPeter LangstonPeter Langston is a computer programmer who wrote and distributed for free several games for Unix systems in the 1970s, including the original version of Empire and the program "Oracle" upon which the later net-wide Oracle was modeled. He is also an experienced jazz, rock, and folk musician.In...
and Dave Yost (posted 2007-09-27) - Verve Records bio page
- Rhythm Section Session Players listing by Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews (partial list of recordings)
- Disogs.com discography (partial list of recordings)