Dave Holland — front and center

"Miles was somebody who didn't say a lot about the music," Holland recalled. "He made a point of finding the right musicians . . . so that he didn't have to do a lot of explaining."

It was Davis' prescience as a talent scout that helped start Holland's career in the United States. Holland, whose father left home when he was an infant, grew up in a British working-class family. He took up the electric bass at 13, but switched to the acoustic bass after hearing jazz recordings featuring Ray Brown and Leroy Vinegar.

Holland dropped out of school to join a dance band playing resorts in northern England. Then, he won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and became a regular on London's jazz scene.

In July 1968, Davis walked into Ronnie Scott's club and heard the 21-year-old Holland accompanying the intermission singer. Davis was sufficiently impressed to offer Holland a plane ticket to New York and an invitation to replace Ron Carter in his quintet.

Holland admits he felt "a little overwhelmed" to arrive in the United States during the tumultuous summer of 1968 and join what many consider to be one of the all-time great jazz ensembles with saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock and drummer Tony Williams.

"I approached it with the idea that even if I'm on the plane back to England in a week, at least I will have had a week of hopefully learning something from playing in this incredible band," said Holland, who still bears traces of his northern British accent. "Miles made me feel very welcome."

The weeks turned into months, and Holland remained as Davis revamped his band and helped forge the jazz-rock fusion movement with such groundbreaking albums as "In A Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew."

The months turned into years, and Holland and pianist Chick Corea left Davis to form the acoustic avant-garde quartet Circle. Holland made his recording debut as a leader in 1972 with "Conference of the Birds," considered a new jazz masterpiece.

The years turned into decades, as Holland recorded nearly three dozen albums for the ECM label, including CDs with his own small ensembles, solo recordings on cello and bass, and sessions with the Gateway trio with guitarist John Abercrombie and drummer Jack DeJohnette.

Since 1977, home has been the farm house set among cornfields in Saugerties, about 100 miles north of New York City, a peaceful setting for practicing and composing.

Holland describes his life as an "amazing musical journey." He is open-minded about playing different kinds of music and looks for bandmates with a similar range of experiences.

Holland's live CD includes an extended version of his tune "Prime Directive" — a funky, celebratory group jam that also was the title track of a 2000 quintet album. Although the title is derived from "Star Trek," Holland has something else in mind.

"The prime directive of this band is to have fun and to enjoy the music," said Holland. "Things do get very complicated sometimes . . . and there's all kinds of pressures . . . but the actual act of making music should be a pleasurable experience. . . . We're a group of musicians who enjoy playing together and want to keep it going as long as we can."