Yoshi’s San Francisco – September 24, 2008 (First Set)

The Dave Holland Sextet kicked off a five-day engagement at Yoshi’s with style and power last night, in an exhilarating set derived largely from their new CD, Pass It On (released on Tuesday by Dare2/Emarcy).

Pianist Mulgrew Miller was absent, his place held instead by longtime Holland collaborator Steve Nelson on vibraphone. But the band displayed perfect cohesion, everything clicking from the first beat. This is a group that fits together so naturally, swings so hard and engages the listener so completely that each tune becomes a series of blazing highlights.

Trombonist Robin Eubanks set the tone early on, his throaty tone sounding restless as he skittered, scratched and argued his way through a stream of melodic ideas in the opener, “Ebb and Flow”. Holland’s solo on this tune crackled as well, running high and low with dextrous speed and unbridled verve.

“Lazy Snake,” an older tune re-tooled for the new album, was a film-noir style back-alley creep, with the rhythm section oozing cool as the horns strolled overhead. Alex Sipiagin turned in the first of two outstanding flugelhorn solos, angling his horn slightly upward. Sipiagin’s lines practically sang as he wrapped himself around the groove, casually walking up and hitting the audience right between the eyes. Alto saxophonist Antonio Hart started his break at an easy tempo, logical and curious as it walked over a tick-tock bassline, then surged with intense but focused fire.

Nelson’s best moments came on the next piece, “Fast Track,” a swiftly churning groove with a catchy theme. Shifting continually between a 2-, 3- and 4-mallet attack, Nelson was quick and agile, his solo building up and tearing down in methodical, declarative fashion.

“Processional,” another revamped classic, came in tones of saturated blue, soft and subdued, with Holland’s solo a pastiche of low, rhythmic doodles. The amplification on Holland’s bass — a strikingly designed model, shortened at the bottom — was ideal: clear as a bell, with the rounded edges of each tone flaring and fading as if captured in slow motion.

The set reached an apex with the epic closer, “Rivers Run.” Dedicated to Holland’s onetime duet partner Sam Rivers, this piece entered on a chill wind, bluesy and almost mournful in Hart’s stern, buzzing sax lines. Rising with an ecstatic, Coltrane-esque feel, the ensemble pushed Hart ever higher, until he erupted into a torrent of high wails and low honks, pushing farther and farther out before collapsing ever so gently back into the groove.

Holland’s solo on this tune was a small masterpiece. Richly textured and following a clearly-defined arc, the bassist moved from a delicately detailed dialogue with drummer Eric Harland into high arpeggios, a sort of bird-calling bending of strings, and finally a breathtaking cadenza more akin to a classical guitar recital than a jazz bass solo.

When Harland, whose insistent drum work had elicited grins from Holland throughout the set, was at last set free to do his thing, his solo came in waves — a long drum roll that splintered apart, only to regather in a mighty avalanche that crashed down and swept up the ensemble, bringing them home in an energetic finale. It was a fitting end to an brilliant evening.

The Dave Holland Sextet plays at Yoshi’s San Francisco again tonight, then moves to Yoshi’s Oakland Friday through Sunday. For more information visit www.yoshis.com.