Running with Holland's intuition and imagination are four musicians who deserve star status in their own right:

Chris Potter (sax): A prodigy who won the IAJE Young Talent Award at 12, Chris Potter was the youngest-ever winner of the Danish Jazzpar Prize at 29. Now 33, having established his reputation through his work with the Dave Douglas Quintet as well as his collaboration with Dave Holland, his work with his own quartet and other projects speaks volumes about his virtuosity on a variety of reeds and his individuality as a composer. With some echoes of Sonny Rollins and self-identified influences of Coltrane, Parker, Shorter, and Ornette Coleman, Potter's style is his own, creative yet accessible, richly complex yet artfully emotional, highly original yet conceptually linked to 20^th century roots.

Robin Eubanks (trombone): A graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Robin Eubanks' credits include Music Director for Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers; arranging, composing and performing for McCoy Tyner's Big Band; and performing with Slide Hampton's Jazz Masters, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, and Barbra Streisand's historic 1994 tour. Current projects include leading his own band (Mental Images) and his recent appointment as Assistant Professor of Jazz Trombone at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. Noted Jazz Times, "Live, as on record, Eubanks makes it all work artfully, like tiles in an intricate, logical yet intuitive, and slightly surreal mosaic....[he is] one of the finest jazz trombonists alive..."

Steve Nelson (vibes and marimba): Pittsburgh native Steve Nelson graduated from Rutgers University with Master's and Bachelor's degrees in music. He has performed and/or recorded with Kenny Barron, Bobby Watson, Mulgrew Miller, David Fathead Newman, Johnny Griffin, and Jackie McLean, and has three recordings himself as a leader. Recently he has toured with Buster Williams in addition to his work with Dave Holland's Quintet and Big Band. Of his recent appearance at the Dakota with Buster Williams, this reviewer noted that Nelson was "a true magician, in his hands mallets transform into feathery streaks of light." And of his role in Dave Holland's ensembles, Martin Longley (Jazzreview) offered that "Steve Nelson plays an important role throughout, his tingly-spine sparks acting as a piano alternative, establishing a unique form of punctuation for the whole band..."

Nate Smith (drums): The most recent addition to the Dave Holland Quintet, Nate Smith is also half of the synth rock duo, Shy Child with Pete Cafarella, described by Andrew Womack "as bold, gorgeous music that transports the listener through stark landscapes, all the while being so comforting with its overwhelmingly natural, seemingly unprocessed sound." Smith first met Holland while attending Virginia Commonwealth University, and again while involved with Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead program. After the two worked together a few times, Smith was Holland's first choice to replace Billy Kilson. Lately Smith has also played with Chris Potter's Quartet, wowing the crowds at the 2004 Toronto Jazz Festival.

The piano-less quintet is a somewhat unusual instrumentation in modern jazz. Says Holland (Portfolio Weekly), "I wanted a two-horn front line for the band because compositionally that leads to more possibilities and gives the ensemble a particular sound, especially when we're doing a kind of ensemble improvisation where everybody's improvising at the same time, I guess in the style of the New Orleans bands... And the possibilities of combining the trombone with saxophones, there's a lot of variety of sound you can get because of the range and the timbre of the instruments. And the vibraphone and marimba has the percussion family connection with the drums as well as providing harmony and chords. It creates an opportunity for lots of different textures and orchestrations in the music."

As the leader not only of his quintet but also of a highly acclaimed big band, and serving both as composer, arranger and producer while fitting in teaching along the way, Holland is one of the busiest musicians today. He is also one of the most humble, much like the big instrument whose sound he has perfected and interpreted. Noted Dan Ouellette in Down Beat, "His demeanor is similar to his stage presence. Holland quietly lead his bands--with a steady bass pulse in sets of swinging originals that display a flawless balance of form and freedom--relaxed, unhurried, assured."

The Dave Holland Quintet will be in Minneapolis at the Dakota on October 18-19, and at Birdland in New York City, October 20-23. After a few stops in Europe, the Holland Quintet (with Antonio Hart) will be at the Painted Bridge Art Center in Philadelphia, November 19 (215-925-9914), and at Wellin Hall of Hamilton College in Clinton, NY on November 20 (315-859-4350).