Guitarist John Scofield and NEA Jazz Master bassist Dave Holland are not only both masters of their respective instruments but incredibly prolific. Versatile too, especially Holland. Since both artists’ rise – a decade apart – through their times with Miles Davis, they have respectively explored a wide area of music. That includes intimate duo settings. While Scofield is especially renowned for his trio work, his duo work has been far less recorded. Most – whether with John Medeski or Steve Swallow – have either not been recorded at all or have made up only portions of an album. Holland, by contrast, is a champion of duo recordings. More than five decades ago, he played freely with guitarist Derek Bailey, bassist Barre Phillips, and multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers and, more recently, with Spanish flamenco guitarist Pepe Habichuela and pianist Kenny Barron. With Memories of Home (ECM, 2025), Scofield and Holland bring to the studio the duo communications which they have been touring for the past few years. 

Prior to first taking the stage as a duo, both gentlemen were hardly strangers to one another. They were both on Joe Henderson’s classic  Miles tribute, So Near, So Far (Musings For Miles) (Verve, 1993) and together made up one half of the all-star quartet “ScoLoHoFo” with Joe Lovano and Al Foster. Memories of Home is about as straightforward as it gets; Scofield on his Ibanez AS200 electric guitar and Holland on double bass. No effects. No distortions. 

Leading off is Scofield’s “Icons at the Fair,” inspired by Herbie Hancock’s arrangement of “Scarborough Fair” on The New Standard (Verve, 1996), an album that featured both duo partners. The melody of Scofield’s piece hints to the shared inspiration both men have in Miles. A previous version of the composition appears on the guitarist’s Combo 66 (Decda, 2018) but the new rendition has its own distinct sense of energy that carries through the track. The call-and-response dialogue in the last two minutes is especially dynamic. Another Scofield piece, “Meant to Be,” is a flowing, lyrical piece he has played in various configurations from trio to big band. Listen to how Holland picks up on the guitarist’s melodicism in his own turn. “Mine Are Blues” has an angular, up-tempo drive that is propelled by Holland’s muscular bass. It stands in stark contrast to the lyrical approach heard on “Meant to Be.” Gorgeous interplay courses through the guitarist’s “Memorette,” a song first heard on his This Meets That (Universal, 2007) with Steve Swallow and Bill Stewart.

The back half – the remaining five compositions – are all penned by Holland except for Scofield’s “Easy for You.” The bassist’s tribute to his hero, Ray Brown, “Mr. B” hints of the blues even as it echoes Brown’s work with Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel. Holland’s tune, “Not for Nothin’,” perhaps his best known, begins with a riveting bass solo, from which a sturdy but elastic groove develops between the two. That tune, as well as “You I Love,” appeared on Holland’s earlier ECM recordings. The former is from his 2001 quintet album [Not for Nothin’ (ECM, 2001)], and the latter was first heard almost two decades earlier on the inaugural stint of that same ensemble, Jumpin’ In (ECM, 1984). “You I Love,” like “Icons at the Fair,” is a contrafact, this time based on Cole Porter’s “I Love You.” The title track is unlike anything else on the disc, as its hues owe more to traditional country music, of which both artists are fond. The piece has its roots in Vassar Clements/John Hartford/Dave Holland (Rounder, 1985), a pioneering jazz-grass session. You’ll hear Scofield bending his notes and Holland nodding to the late Charlie Haden, whose offspring have done quite well in the country and Americana formats. The tone here is especially reverent, making for a beautiful close to this intimate session.

Yet, perhaps the most compelling track is also, at a little over eight minutes, the lengthiest. The tender ballad “Easy for You,” previously recorded on Scofield’s What We Do (Blue Note, 1993) with Joe Lovano. Scofield opens deliberately, and while there is little sense of tempo, he hints at subtle swing. Holland enters to underpin his lines before delivering his most inventive solo on the disc as he digs deep into the piece’s bittersweet tone. Scofield sounds more inspired in his second entrance, likely marvelling at Holland’s take. They recap the theme briefly and exit quietly.

Most avid listeners have long admired the tones that Scofield and Holland coax from their respective instruments. Given ECM’s long-held reputation for exceptional recording quality, those tones are simply immaculate on Memories of Home. You might not guess that this is the duo’s first recording. Their chemistry could not be any tighter.

‘Memories of Home’ will be released on ECM Records on November 21, 2025. It can be purchased from the label.

Photo credit: Luciano Rossetti