This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
The sophisticated jazz sounds of the Dave Holland Quintet will fill the Lafayette College’s Williams Center for the Arts auditorium at 8 p.m. Friday, February 4. The group features Holland on bass, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Nelson on vibes, Chris Potter on saxophone, and Billy Kilson on drums.
Tickets cost $15 and may be purchased by calling the Williams Center box office at 610-330-5009.
Holland was born in Wolverhampton, England, in 1946. He was drawn to music at an early age, starting with the ukulele at age four, moving on to the guitar at 10, and finally picking up the bass guitar at 13, when he formed a band and began playing at local clubs and dances. After a few years, he joined another band and decided to leave school in order to pursue a career in music.
As his career advanced, much of Holland’s jazz education took place at Ronnie Scott’s famous London club with American legends Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Joe Henderson. Miles Davis first met Holland in one of these London engagements and hired him for his exploratory ’60’s projects that produced In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. Since moving to the U.S., Holland has worked with such diverse musicians as Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock, Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, and Chick Corea. His touring engagements and ECM recordings have brought him special recognition both with long-time jazz devotees and younger audiences. Holland’s 1998 recording, Points of View, captured every industry award for musical excellence.
Eubanks has performed on several television shows and specials, including The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, the Grammy Awards and Motown at the Apollo. He also has worked on several projects for Broadway and film. He has recorded six CDs as a leader, and his groups have toured Europe and Japan. He recently was appointed assistant professor of jazz trombone at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and is on the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music and adjunct faculty at the University of Arts in Philadelphia.
After earning both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music, Nelson’s teaching activities have included a position at Princeton University. He has performed with musicians such as Kenny Barron, Bobby Watson, Mulgrew Miller, David “Fathead” Newman, Jackie McLean and Johnny Griffin. He has made three recordings as leader of his own group.
In addition to recording six CDs as a leader, Potter has played in Trio 2000 with Paul Motian and Steve Swallow, and in groups led by musicians such as Jim Hall, Billy Hart, Dave Douglas, Al Foster, John Patitucci, and Mike Manieri.
Kilson has appeared on records with such artists as Bob James, Dianne Reeves, Terence Blanchard, Greg Osby, Tim Hagens, and Billy Childs. He played on Blanchard’s soundtrack for the Spike Lee film Malcolm X. Concert appearances have included performances with Al Jarreau, Ahmed Jamal, Walter Davis Jr., Mark Whitfield, Cassandra Wilson, and Donald Byrd.
The 1999-2000 Performance Series at Lafayette College is sponsored, in part, by grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Mid Atlantic Foundation for the Arts.