Milt Holland
| Milt Holland | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Milton Olshansky |
| Born |
February 7, 1917 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 4, 2005 (aged 88) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, rock, pop, R&B, funk, soul |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums, percussion, congas, bongos, timbales, tambourine, triangle, shaker, pandeiro, vibraphone, marimba, gong, maracas, tabla, temple blocks, bell tree, slapstick, wind chimes, xylophone, tubular bells, claves, bells, sleigh bells, cabasa, cimbalom, gourd, guiro, castanets, African percussion, marimba, washboard |
Milton "Milt" Holland (born Milton Olshansky; February 7, 1917 – November 4, 2005) was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnic musicologist, and writer in the Los Angeles music scene. He pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian percussion styles in jazz, pop and film music; traveling extensively in those regions to collect instruments and to learn the musical styles of playing them.
Holland was born Milton Olshansky in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended Theodore Roosevelt High School. His first instrument was violin. Milt pursued his passion for percussion, playing in clubs and shows as well as on CBS Radio in Chicago. By the age of twelve, he was playing at speakeasys for the likes of Al Capone.
In the early 1940s, Holland toured and recorded with The Raymond Scott Orchestra.
He studied tabla at UCLA and with Ramnad Easwaran. In India, Holland studied with tabla master Chatur Lal beginning in 1963. He traveled through India extensively in the early 1960s and 1970s, then spent many years in Africa studying tribal rhythms. He was among the first to introduce the instruments to western recording.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1946, he played on countless jazz and pop albums, film and TV scores. A sampling of the artists he worked with includes Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Chaka Khan, John Williams, Leonard Bernstein, Elmer Bernstein, Quincy Jones, Nat King Cole, Henry Mancini, Loggins and Messina, James Taylor, Ella Fitzgerald, Laurindo Almeida, Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt, Seals and Crofts, Ray Manzarek, Michael Dinner, Gordon Lightfoot, Ringo Starr, Kenny Loggins, Jim Messina, Poco, Captain Beefheart, David Blue, Rita Coolidge, Carly Simon, Cal Tjader, The Doobie Brothers, Little Feat, Maria Muldaur, Randy Newman, and Joni Mitchell. He played pandeiro, congas and triangle on Mitchell's hit Big Yellow Taxi and congas and percussion on Light My Fire with José Feliciano.
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