John Scofield and Dave Holland, Memories of Home, ECM

“Memory believes before knowing remembers.”

Twice as nice

Stirring sounds send me there. I think of what William Faulkner wrote in his classic southern gothic modernistic 1932 novel Light in August. Memory. Belief. Instinctiveness – that incredible wisdom Faulkner wrote about. “Memory believes before knowing remembers.”

It’s all here. A summertime studio album recorded in Catskill, New York state last year. Most of the tunes are around 5 or 6 minutes long. Never mind the width, feel the quality.

The longest is an 8 minute plus absorbing treatment of Sco’s ‘Easy For You’ but it’s an album you pick up key moments to linger and long over virtually on every track.

Tunes from the American and British musicians, both of whom developed associations with Miles Davis – Holland is on classic jazz rock fusion albums In a Silent Way and daddy of them all Bitches Brew, Sco is on 1980s Miles albums comeback period gems Star People, Decoy and You’re Under Arrest – on this upcoming release include John Scofield’s Combo 66 piece ‘Icons at the Fair’. Miles is one of the tune’s eponymous icons.

Both players are in their seventies – Sco is now 73, Dave 79. What they do is rarely other than textbook and life affirming and shock they are true to form on this upcoming album which is out in late-November.

Both are models of excellence and inspirational on their chosen instruments. Check them live together in the footage above playing in Rotterdam last year. Together it’s a meeting of minds, talents, approach, mindset and means of expression that values being in the moment.

Sco’s This Meets That 2007 album track ‘Memorette’ is also recalled. That album had Bill Frisell, Steve Swallow and Bill Stewart on it and included a version of ‘The House of the Rising Sun.’

Among the portion of Holland tracks are the album title track and a treatment of ‘You I Love’ a piece that was on the bassist’s 1980s quintet album Jumpin’ In that had Kenny Wheeler and Steve Coleman on it.

Holland is great in duo contexts – recall for instance his 5-star work with Kenny Barron, The Art of Conversation from more than a decade ago.

Also notable: There’s a new version of a tribute to Holland’s fellow bassist Ray Brown. ‘Mr B’ appeared on Holland’s late-1990s album Points of View. That version had superb drumming from Billy Kilson on it. (Check Kilson on Paul Dunlea and Trevor Mires’ Silfra recently out.)

Love this record: it would not only be rude but crazy to express dissent in opposition to its obvious charms – these include the fizzing bluesiness from Sco on Holland’s ‘Not For Nothin” and the way Holland responds to the guitarist’s exposition and earthiness. No wonder Sco is a big influence on generations of guitarists since including the very fine Derby jazzer Phil Robson.

The stuff of dreams for anyone hearing this immaculate duo for the first time who might then aspire to somehow emulate what they do suitably won over in the future. They’re on the right track baby – they were born to play. And that Faulkner piece of wisdom again ricochets around. Typing it out is twice as nice on this home run. “Memory believes before knowing remembers.”

Title track ‘Memories of Home’ from the album is streaming ahead of the album’s full release. Read a marlbank interview called ‘Leroy Lives’ with Dave Holland conducted in 2019 circa his album Good Hope. Holland is also on a track we reckon that is the best of 2025. It is led by oudist Anouar Brahem entitled ‘After the Last Sky‘ and also features Holland’s fellow Englishman Django Bates and the superb German classical and jazz cellist Anja Lechner.