Ten years after releasing their debut album, Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Lionel Loueke and Eric Harland are back together for an Australian tour that includes a one-night Sydney performance.
In 1968, Miles Davis heard a 21-year-old Dave Holland playing bass at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London. Three weeks later, Davis's manager called and asked Holland to join his band in New York.
Holland would go on to play on In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, two albums that helped change the direction of jazz.
Now 80, the British bassist is returning to Australia with Aziza, a quartet featuring saxophonist Chris Potter, guitarist Lionel Loueke and drummer Eric Harland. They'll perform at Sydney's City Recital Hall on October 28, celebrating ten years since the release of their self-titled debut.
It's a lineup with plenty of history behind it. Potter spent years playing in Holland's acclaimed quintet, while Loueke and Harland previously worked together in trumpeter Terence Blanchard's band. Holland, Potter and Loueke had also crossed paths touring with Herbie Hancock.
Those connections would eventually lead to Aziza.
How Aziza Came Together
The idea began in 2014, when Holland and Potter started discussing a new project. They eventually invited Loueke and Harland to complete the lineup, bringing together four musicians who knew each other's work but had never performed as this particular quartet.
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In a 2017 interview with Vortex Music Magazine, Holland recalled how each member brought compositions into rehearsals before the group headed out on tour in 2015.
The music developed through those live performances, and the quartet decided to record an album.
They booked two days at New York's Sear Sound studio, with each musician contributing two compositions.
The resulting eight-track album, Aziza, was released through Holland's Dare2 Records label on October 14, 2016.
The music drew on the musicians' different backgrounds, incorporating contemporary jazz, funk, African rhythms and Caribbean influences.
Loueke's 'Aziza Dance', which opens the record, is a good example.
Speaking to Premier Guitar in 2017, Loueke explained how he used guitar effects, including pitch-shifting and ring modulation, to imitate the sound of a talking drum.
The track also gave the band its name. Holland recalled asking Loueke about the word during their first tour and learning that Aziza was associated with inspiration in Dahomey mythology from Benin.
Letting the Music Develop
A central part of Aziza's approach was leaving room for improvisation.
The compositions provided a starting point, but the musicians were free to interpret and develop the material as they performed it.
In the Premier Guitar interview, Holland explained:
"The less you write, the more opportunity you offer for the creative power of the group to come through."
He traced that approach back to his time with Miles Davis, who often provided relatively little written material and trusted the musicians to develop their own ideas.
Holland brought a similar philosophy to Aziza.
The album received strong reviews on release, with JazzTimes ranking it 11th among its Top 50 Releases of 2016.
Writing for The Guardian, critic John Fordham highlighted the quartet's mix of African, Latin and Caribbean influences. His review drew particular attention to Harland's drumming on 'Aziza Dance', the Caribbean feel of Potter's 'Summer 15' and the extended improvisation on 'Blue Sufi'.
Holland's own 'Finding the Light' was built around an unusual rhythmic figure, with a separate guitar line written specifically for Loueke.
With two compositions from each musician, the debut wasn't dominated by one songwriter or bandleader. The quartet shared responsibility for developing the music, something Holland has championed throughout his career.
Ten Years Later
A decade after their debut, the four musicians are back together for an anniversary tour that includes performances in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.
For the City Recital Hall show, Aziza will revisit compositions from their 2016 album while leaving room for new improvisations and interpretations of the original material.
For anyone unfamiliar with the quartet, the debut album is a useful introduction. Tracks including 'Aziza Dance', 'Summer 15' and 'Blue Sufi' offer different examples of the musicians' approaches to composition and improvisation.
Aziza's music was developed on stage before it reached the recording studio, with the arrangements changing as the musicians played together. Ten years later, the live performance remains central to how the group works.
Aziza, featuring Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Lionel Loueke and Eric Harland, perform at City Recital Hall in Sydney on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 7pm. Australian musicians Hilary Geddes and Niki Johnson will join the evening for a duo performance. Tickets start at $69.
