Dave Holland Discovers the Bass

THE BASS AND A NEW DIRECTION [:90]

RUFFIN: NOW A JAZZ MOMENT

AS A KID, DAVE HOLLAND’S GRANDFATHER INTRODUCED HIM TO THE BASS IN HIS HOMETOWN OF WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND.

Dave Holland: He sat me down and said, “Listen to this. This is a bass.” Bass up, under And it made a big impression on me. So that was my earliest memory of actually being aware of what a bass was and where it was in the music.

SOON AFTER, HOLLAND OPENED A COPY OF DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE AND HIS EYES LANDED ON THE NAME RAY BROWN—A BASSIST AND 1995 NEA JAZZ MASTER.

Dave Holland: And it happened to be the poll winner magazine, and Ray Brown’s name was at the top of it. Not knowing who he was, I went to the record store and found two records with Ray on it, with Oscar Peterson, I took these records home and put them on the record player, and that was it. How High the Moon up, under Excerpt of “How High the Moon” composed by Morgan Lewis and performed by from the album The Oscar Peterson Trio at Zardi’s, used courtesy of the Concord Music Group and by permission of Warner Chappell Music Co. [ASCAP]