Dave Holland

An excellent evening of classic and experimental jazz from two of the greats. Both are playing with long time friends are are showing the audience why they are the most respected at what they do. A show for any fan of music, not just jazz :-)

We went to see John Scofield, but both John Scofield Uberjam and Dave Holland Prism were most impressive. They wowed us with some seriously advanced musicianship and we enjoyed every note. Royce Hall at UCLA is quite a prestigious venue, not to mention architecturally magnificent.

Like a fine wine John Scofield gets better and better.

5 Stars for Scofield and UberJam. This latest incarnation is huge winner. 1 Star for Dave Holland's band as a whole unfortunately, 5 for the ridiculously good Craig Taborn when Kevin Eubanks was NOT playing. What the hell happened to that guy (Eubanks), and what is Maestro Holland hearing in him that I am not? He ruined the whole thing for me and my colleagues with what amounted to rock posturing - Holland and Taborn were inaudible 95% of the time he was playing. We sat about 8 seats away from the house sound man, who was obviously clueless.

Excellent show by amazing musicians. Blown away by it all.

John Scofield's Uberjam band sounded great, but whoever was mixing sound for Dave Holland's band should be fired and never allowed to mix live sound again. Most of the microphones on the drums weren't even in the mix! No bass drum, no floor toms, just hi-hat and snare and overheads. The mix was brutally unbalanced to say the least. On top of this, there was no definition between the piano, bass and guitar, so everything was just a big mess. The fact that Scofield's sound was fine tells me that Dave's soundman was out of his element. I was so looking forward to this show too. I had been listening to the Prism record for a number of weeks.

It was a high-spirited, generous show. Dave Holland took only one extended solo, which was masterful, a star turn but not an occasion for showing off technique. He was there as the leader of a group, giving each member opportunities to shine. Each piece was an extended essay; it was challenging music, mostly uptempo, usually involving several voices at once, pushing the envelope. I was especially interested in Chris Potter, having heard him in different contexts in recordings, never in person. Steve Nelson on vibes and the drummer, Nate Smith, were outstanding -- individual voices and contributors to the group's intensity. Alex Sipiagin on trumpet was consistently interesting, but sometimes I wished for fewer notes and more clearly defined lines.

Having seen the quintet over and over the past years in various venues including the great performance for the iaje in NY (or was it Toronto... ha), I just have nothing but the greatest praise. i've enjoyed Billy Kilson many times and now I see how Nate Smith has become an integral part of the group... hadn't seen the trumpet player either... very nice work and I am priviledged to have had another night with them...

This band is out of this world! The addition of Alex Sipiagin to the quintet was brilliant.