DAVE HOLLAND – LIONEL LOUEKE Duo

One of the pillars of the double bass from the late 1960s onward and one of the most personal and innovative guitarists to appear on the jazz scene in recent decades: the meeting between Dave Holland and Lionel Loueke, already documented by the album United released by English Edition, transcends simple collaboration, embodying the dialogue between the sensibilities of two musicians from different backgrounds, able to listen to each other, to fuse their respective instrumental voices into something unique. A dialogue that began as an improvised moment during a soundcheck and blossomed into an album that reflects the spirit of two artists dedicated to pushing boundaries and exploring new horizons. On the one hand there is Holland’s absolute jazz mastery, on the other the West African heritage present in his partner’s style.
Born in 1946, Dave Holland has experienced firsthand varied jazz happenings, from the electric jazz of Miles Davis at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s to dynamic post-free evolutions with Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, while also leading his own groups and recording numerous albums as a leader. One above all: Conference of The Birds (1973). Originally from Benin, Lionel Loueke rose to international notoriety through his collaboration with Herbie Hancock, to whom he dedicated the album HH in 2020, soloing some of the famous keyboardist’s compositions. On the stage of the Donizetti, Holland and Loueke have already climbed several times: the English double bassist in 1971 with Chick Corea’s Circle and then in 1998 with Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz and Bill Frisell and in 2000 as a duo with Jim Hall, but many still remember when in 1976 he performed at the Palazzetto dello Sport with Sam Rivers’ trio; the guitarist, on the other hand, in 2015 and 2021, respectively involved in projects by Jeff Ballard and Michael League.

______________________________________________

DANILOPÉREZ, JOHN PATITUCCI, BRIAN BLADE
“Legacy of Wayne Shorter“
special guest RAVI COLTRANE

Bergamo Jazz 2025 hosts a superquartet in the name of one of the greatest saxophonists and composers jazz has ever expressed in its entire history: Wayne Shorter. A legendary figure who went through crucial phases of jazz, collaborating with Art Blakey and Miles Davis and then giving birth, along with Joe Zawinul and Miroslav Vitous, to Weather Report, leaving behind a legacy of inestimable value both as a saxophonist and as a composer and leader.

Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade were able to touch the stature, including human stature, of such a strong and charismatic personality. It goes without saying, therefore, that the three musicians are now the most entitled to pay tribute to Shorter, by virtue of nearly 25 years of artistic association. The not easy task of completing the group falls to Ravi Coltrane, a mature soloist who has managed to make both his father’s and Shorter’s musical influences his own, without, however, slavishly following his models.
Born in Panama, Danilo Pérez is one of the most prominent pianists in jazz today: influences from South America and Africa find an ideal meeting point in his music, filtered through a complete mastery of the keyboard.
John Patitucci was born in Brooklyn in 1959 and began playing electric bass at age 10, later trying his hand at double bass and piano. He first gained notoriety through his collaboration with Chick Corea, during the years of the Elektric Band and the Akoustic Band. Later, he frequented different stylistic realms, both acoustic and electric, recording numerous records under his own name, then joining Shorter’s quartet.
Brian Blade is among the most versatile drummers around: in addition to Wayne Shorter, he has played with Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Joshua Redman, Kenny Garrett and others. In 1997 he founded The Fellowship Band, with which he has recorded several albums.
Born in 1965, a little less than two years before the passing of his famous father, Ravi Coltrane, the second son of John and Alice Coltrane, has been a major player since the mid-1980s in a respectable musical career, first as a sideman and then as an increasingly influential leader. Today Ravi presides over the Coltrane Home, an organization that keeps alive the artistic memory and life lessons of both illustrious parents.

Playbill