Hands

Over the course of a career that dates back to the ‘60s, jazz bassist Dave Holland has played in numerous settings including Miles Davis’s groundbreaking electric group and the avant outfit Circle. In recent years, his music making is more straight-ahead than it once was, but he’s still exploring, and on Hands, he teams up with the flamenco guitarist Pepe Habichuela to create rooted but expansive flamenco. The album isn’t a superficial fusion; Holland enters a new musical world and finds a place for himself. On “Subi la Cuesta,” his wonderfully intoned bass lines mesh with the guitars, percussion, and handclaps, and he also turns in a fine solo. “Camaron’ is a riveting back-and-forth exchange between bass and guitar; one is reminded of bassist Charlie Haden’s work with Spanish-flavored material. There are two Holland originals that move away from flamenco: “The Whirling Dervish” and “Joyride.” The former track has a breezy Latin-jazz quality and some nice percussion workouts, while the latter features an Afro-Cuban groove and another solo by Holland. Hands closes with “My Friend Dave,” a solo instrumental solea that honors the bass player.