In the new Philadelphia Weekly:
Dave Holland Big Band
Sat., Dec. 11, 7 & 9pm. $25. Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. 215.925.9914 www.paintedbride.org
A major force in jazz since his late ’60s apprenticeship with electric-era Miles Davis, bassist Dave Holland has devoted much of the last decade to his fiery quintet. But on What Goes Around (2002) and Overtime (2005), Holland expanded to a big band format, keeping the quintet lineup intact while increasing the sound mass with horns galore. This week the Bride hosts the big band’s Philly debut. The music is a stew of stripped-down harmony and off-centered rhythmic attack, with stormy bass-driven vamps and supple grooves courtesy of drummer and aspiring bandleader Nate Smith. The soloists, including saxophonists Chris Potter and Antonio Hart and trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, do not make a habit of holding back. — David R. Adler
Mario Pavone’s Orange Double Tenor
Sun., Dec. 12, 8pm. $12. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215.895.6546 www.arsnovaworkshop.org
At 70, Mario Pavone continues to blaze the path he embarked on in the late ’60s, bridging the dissonant, structurally open world of the avant-garde and the swinging accessibility of jazz tradition. Like Dave Holland, he’s a prolific leader and composer and a monster bassist, with a raft of recent standouts on the Playscape label to his credit. The latest, Arc Suite T/Pi T/Po, seems to merge the quintet from 2003’s Orange with the twinned tenor sax lineup of 2008’s Ancestors (hence “Orange Double Tenor”). The results are punchy, furious at times, yet finely calibrated at the core. Watch for Pavone’s secret weapon, the underrated pianist Peter Madsen, whose advanced harmony does wonders for these wry, twisted compositions. — David R. Adler
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