Dave Holland Another Land 2LP (Color Vinyl)

TAS Rated 4.5/5 Music, 4.5/5 Sonics in the September 2021 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

Another Land is the new album from the all-star trio featuring Dave Holland, Kevin Eubanks and Obed Calvaire and a power-packed set of originals. This is a potent studio set of fluid themes developed by the band and forged in the furnace of live performance. During the live shows that preceded the recording of Another Land, Dave explains "we were doing a continuous set, once we started we very rarely stopped, we just kept going." The Guardian described the shows as a "blues-fuelled inferno summoning the spirit of Hendrix."

Throughout his career, Dave Holland has established a reputation for making his bands a proving ground for promising young instrumentalists, but his latest trio is a true all-star assemblage of jazz heavyweights, all established bandleaders and composers, each representing the world standard on their instrument.

This is a power-packed set that reunites Dave with the guitar work of Kevin Eubanks, whose searing, soulful approach was last heard on Dare 2 as part of the Prism project. Eubanks was also key to the muscular quartet that recorded Holland's seminal 1990 ECM release Extensions, and this new band is yet another example of Holland's brilliance at building ensembles that are greater than the sum of their formidable parts.

Another Land finds this trio putting forth a complex rhythmic approach to jazz harmony, chromaticism, and improvisation, while sounding loose and carefree.

The results range from raw, funky grooves like Eubanks' 'Grave Walker' to more meditative moments like Holland's 'Another Land,' 'Passing Time,' and 'Quiet Fire' to simpler, buoyant numbers like Calvaire's 'Gentle Warrior,' a showcase for the drummer's polyrhythmic flair and fierce intuition on the kit.