Bassist Corcoran Holt stopped by the JazzPHX studios in late February 2026 to talk with music director Blaise Lantana.
The music on Freedom of Art emerged during the 2020 pandemic, when Holt began composing from lived experience: the loss of his father Ibrahim, whose values shaped him; the steadfast love of his mother Kathy English Holt; the support of his wife Raven Holt; and the joy of raising his children.
Transcript/Text Alternative
Corcoran Holt Interview Transcript:
Music Segment: "That Girl" a polished and high-energy performance characterized by a constant, driving foundation of deep vibrations and a fluid, conversational dialogue between guitar, piano, and bass.
Blaise (Blaise Lantana): That is McCLenty Hunter with "That Girl" on Jazz PHX. Dave Stryker on guitar, Eric Reed at the piano, and our own Corcoran Holt playing the bass on your Modern Jazz Connection. And Corcoran Holt’s with me in the studio. Welcome, Corcoran.
Corcoran Holt: Thank you, Blaise. I’m glad to be here.
Blaise: And you... that’s quite a band you’re playing with there.
Corcoran Holt: Yeah, that... I remember that session very well. Eric Reed—he’s amazing, incredible. And McLenty—me and McLenty is like my brother, so we played for many years together, over 20 years ago. And of course Stryker, and then on some of the other tracks, Stacy Dillard, who’s... who’s playing with me!
Blaise: So I’m talking with Corcoran Holt. Now I wanted to ask you about this tune, "Ray Ray," from your new album, Freedom of Art. How’d you come up with this?
Corcoran Holt: So, I... the tune "Ray Ray" is... it came to me—I’m a huge Ray Brown fan, of course, being... being a bassist. That was one of my first major influences. So, I thought... think about him, and then Lewis Nash is playing drums on that track, and Lewis Nash was a member of... used to play for Ray Brown for many years. And my wife’s name is Raven. So, I think about her, you know, her personality, her... the bounciness that... and the swing, you know, the swing aspect of the day-to-day life in general. So I wanted to create a tune that was to pay tribute, you know, to honor both of them. Both my Ray Brown, being one of my heroes in the music, and then my wife, who you know I love dearly, and her nickname is Ray Ray. So a lot of her family call her Ray Ray, so I did a little play on words. So it’s Ray Ray—R-A-E, that’s how she spells her nickname, and then R-A-Y for Ray Brown.
Blaise: How did you start out in... how did you get into music? Do you come from a musical family?
Corcoran Holt: I, you know, I come from a musical family from a long time ago. There aren't many professional musicians in my family, but my father got me into music at a very young age. At the age of four, I started playing West African percussion in Washington, D.C., where I’m from. And that was my introduction to playing instruments. So I played drums, percussion for many years.
Blaise: What kind of percussion were you playing?
Corcoran Holt: So I played djembe... these drums are from Guinea, from West Africa, and djembe, sangba, dundun, kenkeni—all of the West African percussion. And that was my... that was my main thing from the age of five on up. And I started playing bass at the age of ten; my dad signed me up in an orchestra program, D.C. Youth Orchestra Program. And he chose that instrument—I wanted to play the drum set and percussion in the orchestra program, but there weren’t any available spots. So my dad said, "Hey man, this is... bass and drums go hand in hand." And my great-grandfather was a bass player in North Carolina, and we share a birthday, and he lived next door to a very young John Coltrane. When Coltrane was young, and he was... my grandfather was a music teacher. So he was one of John Coltrane’s music teachers when Coltrane was very young.
Blaise: Wow. That’s a history!
Corcoran Holt: It’s a lot of history there. So I never met my great-grandfather—and neither did my father—but the story came through my grandparents, who went to high school with Coltrane. My grandfather played trombone a little bit, my dad played a little bit of clarinet and soprano saxophone. And they both of those guys—they weren’t professional musicians, but...
Blaise: They were playing.
Corcoran Holt: But they were playing, and they loved music, and they put me—my dad put me into the music and it’s been... I’ve always known this is what I wanted to do since I was a little kid.
Blaise: Really?
Corcoran Holt: I always knew. From the first moment that drum teacher handed me these sticks in this drum class and then I played this rhythm back and the way I connected with it, and I saw how music moves people and how it brings people together. I caught that at a very young age and just the further along I went, and I got really serious with bass, just performing arts high school and so on and so forth, college, the professional world. So it’s just... I’ve been doing what I love to do from a very young age. I’m thankful for that.
Blaise: Well, let’s listen now to Corcoran Holt, bassist and band leader. This is his new release called Freedom of Art. Stacy Dillard is playing some tenor sax, Josh Evans on trumpet, and our own Lewis Nash at the drums, and Corcoran Holt is playing the bass, and Benito Gonzalez in there as well. This is "Ray Ray" by Corcoran Holt, and then a little added attraction at the end I think you’ll dig. This is Jazz PHX.
[Music Segment: "Ray Ray" - A lively jazz track driven by a walking bass line, upbeat drums, and melodic saxophone and trumpet solos.]
[Audio Clip - Daily Affirmations]: Corcoran Holt: Alright guys, so when we say our affirmations, what do we say? Children: I’m kind, I’m brave, I’m protective, I’m smart, and I’m honest, and I’m loved, and I’m strong, I’m capable, I’m a good friend, and I’m blessed. I’m loved. I’m protective. Okay. I’m smart. I’m great. I’m honest. I’m good. Come on, Freedom! Come through! I’m a good friend. And I’m smart, and I’m strong, and I’m kind, and I’m brave, and I’m...
Blaise: That... that is Corcoran Holt—that’s your kids!
Corcoran Holt: That’s my kids! doing their affirmations. Daily affirmations in the morning when they’re on the way to school. You know, this is... my wife Raven, she brought this into... she said, "Okay, we... this builds up the children from a young age." You know, they say these affirmations—how they are, how they want to be, how they should think about carrying themselves and believing in themselves and building themselves up from a young age. Which is really important, you know, because the older we get, you know, we sometimes we run into these situations where we may doubt ourselves and they’re shaping up to be leaders.
Blaise: Good for you! Now, did you ever doubt yourself playing music? Did you ever feel that you weren’t good enough or couldn’t fit in?
Corcoran Holt: I did. I mean, I’ve had those moments. And I came up in a... I came up in an environment in Washington, D.C.—I was around a lot of older musicians. So I learned a lot on the spot by doing. You know, I of course I went to school...
Blaise: But you went to school for classical, right?
Corcoran Holt: I started... I was in an orchestra program at ten, but then in high school I went to Duke Ellington School of the Arts, which that’s where I really fell into playing jazz. And then undergrad at Shenandoah University and then Masters at Queens College. But this whole time I was playing professionally from the age of 16. And so I had a lot of situations where I may have not known something, and it happens... still happens today. But you learn the older you get and the more experience that you have that it’s okay not to know everything because you’re not supposed to. And that’s how this music is—you just want to become better every day. So I did... there were some times where I doubted like, am I good enough to do this? I remember in college my teacher put me on my first big gig with the Curtis Fuller Sextet. They were playing in D.C. and I remember he called me—his name is Michael Bowie, my teacher—he said, "Corcoran, can you make this gig with the Curtis Fuller Sextet?" I said, "Curtis Fuller Sextet?" and I didn’t know what to say. And I said, "Can I call you right back?" And I thought about it and I called him back and I said, "Wait, Mike—are you saying that I’m good enough to play with Curtis Fuller? I don’t... are you think I’m ready for that?" And he said, "I think you’re ready for that." He said, "But how will you know if you don’t try? This opportunity’s here for you to do it, you do your best, and this is a learning experience. This is the best education right here." So I did that. So from doubt, you know, and I did have my doubts, but then once I fall in, then I realize what I’m capable of doing and I take note on what I could do better and just try to give my best every day.
Blaise: I’m talking with Corcoran Holt. He’s a bass player; he lives and teaches here in the Valley of the Sun these days, but you were in New York City for a while.
Corcoran Holt: I was in New York for almost 20 years, yeah, before coming here.
Blaise: And you and your wife and kids all there in New York City?
Corcoran Holt: We were all... most of my kids born in New York. We lived in Brooklyn.
Blaise: How was that?
Corcoran Holt: It was... it was exciting. You know, I wouldn’t trade my experience in New York for anything because it helped shape me to who I am today. You know, it’s definitely the mecca as far as creative minds, the meeting place of... I met my wife there, I met all of the musicians that I’m playing with that are on this album, most of them we came together in New York.
Blaise: Right. So when is Arizona going to be a center that we can bring people to?
Corcoran Holt: This is what’s happening right now. This is why I’m here. We’re working really hard over at Arizona State University and over at The Nash. I work tight with Lewis Nash, with Clark Gibson, who’s the head of education at The Nash, Mike Kocour, who is over at ASU. We’re building the scene here. You know, Lewis, myself, and we’re bringing musicians from all over the world, some of the best names in jazz. We were just at The Nash last weekend with Benny Green playing trio. And it’s becoming that place. And hopefully with this album, this will even bring more attraction to the Valley.
Blaise: Well, let’s listen to this tune. Is this your tune, "Hello?"
Corcoran Holt: This is... so this is a tune—this is one of my favorite tunes to play in college. It’s written by Milt Jackson, great vibraphonist, and this is my arrangement of that.
Blaise: All right, let’s listen to Corcoran Holt. He has Stacy Dillard on tenor, Josh Evans trumpet, Benito Gonzalez, and Kwaku Sumbre playing the drums. JazzPHX.org.
[Music Segment: "Hello" - A classic jazz arrangement featuring smooth piano melodies, rich bass tones, and layered brass harmonies.]
Blaise: Kenny Garrett doing "Hargrove" with Corcoran Holt on the bass. And Corcoran Holt is here with me in the studio. So you’re playing with Kenny Garrett—how did that happen?
Corcoran Holt: It was a long story. I first met Kenny Garrett in 2002 at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. He was playing and I came to the show with a good friend of mine, Ashton Parker, trumpet player. And we showed up and we had a chance to talk to him after. And I told him I was a bass player, and he said, "Oh, really? Are you good?" And I said, "Well, I’m working at it." And he said, "Okay, well come back to the club tomorrow at noon and then we could get together." So I met him at the club at noon, myself, Ashlin, and Kenny came walking in. He didn’t have a saxophone; he had headphones on his head, no saxophone. I was like, "Oh wow, what are you listening to?" I asked him, and he told me he was listening to Japanese—the language. He was learning Japanese at the time. So we went in and we played some tunes; that was my first time meeting him. Fast forward a few years later, I moved to New York and I received a phone call. I was sitting at Raven’s house and I get this call and it’s Kenny Garrett on the phone. And he has a tour and he’s asking me, "Is this Corcoran Holt?" I’m like, "Yes, this is he." "I have this tour coming up." I’m like, "Wow, I’m like, this is Kenny Garrett!" And he says, "Yeah, Corcoran, do you know all of my music?" I said, "Well, I know some of your music, but I can work on learning." And I just gotten to New York, by the way. So I was like brand new, I was in school, I was still getting adjusted, you know, I was a little nervous. And he said, "Can you play for me? Play something for me?" So I played over the phone.
Blaise: Oh, really?
Corcoran Holt: Played over the phone—which was interesting. And if you can imagine how terrible the bass can sound over the phone, it just sounds like... you know, just sounds like... and he’s like, "All right, all right, that’s good, that’s good. I’m going to have my manager call you in a few minutes and then let me just have a little talk with him and then I’ll call you right back." Kenny called back five minutes later. "Corcoran, thank you, but we’re going to go with somebody that knows all of my music." And at that point, you know, I was like, "Man, I blew it!" Like, oh man, I could have done it if I would have just...
Blaise: Said you knew it?
Corcoran Holt: Yeah, said I knew it or something like that. But I needed this time because I was working with at that time period, I had started... I was still working with Curtis Fuller a little bit, I had started subbing with the Heath Brothers, Jimmy Heath a little bit, as well as some people around New York, Javon Jackson, Wycliffe Gordon. So I was kind of making my way. And I loved Kenny Garrett. So, fast forward a few years later, 2011, Nat Reeves was leaving the band. Kenny called me just like the last time. "Hello, is this Corcoran Holt? Yes, this is Corcoran Holt." Oh hi, this is Kenny Garrett. I’m not sure... well, this time he knew how he got my number. It was from Benito. Benito Gonzalez, because Benito Gonzalez was in Kenny’s band at that time. And they were looking for the bass player. Kenny asked me, "Yes, Corcoran, do you know all of my music?" I said, "Absolutely!" And I didn’t know all of his music, but after that, you know, we went... we had a rehearsal at his house and it was great, and then we went on tour and I played with Kenny from 2011 consistently for 13 years. I’m going to Europe with him in a couple of weeks. I still do some things with him, just not full-time because I have so many other things happening.
Blaise: 'Cause you’re working here.
Corcoran Holt: Yeah, but Kenny means... he’s a mentor to me, a friend, you know.
Blaise: So what... what would you say you learned from him? Being in that band—like any little thing that you learned specifically from working with him?
Corcoran Holt: I’ve learned so much from him. I’ve really learned how to find myself within whoever I’m playing with. You know, being able to be aware of what’s happening around me, figuring out what I do know and what I could do to make things better. I learned really how to be the foundational piece of a band. Hold... because there’s a lot of energy and movement in Kenny’s music, as you know. And so I learned that, and I also learned how to get to always focus on allowing myself to get to that higher space spiritually within the music. If anybody’s familiar with Kenny Garrett’s music from the moment he started, you know, it is very spiritual. So I’ve really learned how the importance of that, and that’s connected me... Kenny was kind of like my bridge to my upbringing in African percussion because that’s the world of the drum ensemble. So it’s like you’re feeding off and you’re trying to get to this place, you know, and Kenny gets there every time. Doesn’t matter where we’re traveling, doesn’t matter how tired we are, doesn’t matter if soundcheck is at 3:00 AM where we live, but we’re in China somewhere. You know what I mean? We have to play, we have to deliver the message to the people and make that connection, establish that connection. And so I’ve learned that from Kenny and that’s what I do in my band.
Blaise: I’m talking with Corcoran Holt. All right, let... now tell me about this tune—this is "Ibu and Art."
Corcoran Holt: Yes, so "Ibu and Art"—this tune is written for my father, who passed away in 2018, the same year that Art was born. Art is my son. So that’s the other name play on the record: Freedom is my daughter, Art is my son. And unfortunately, they never had the opportunity to meet in person. So this song is a tune that I wrote about them meeting through the music. So my father, on this particular tune, the arco bass—me playing with the bow—is him. And then the soprano saxophone being played by Stacy Dillard is my son, Art. So if you listen, you’ll hear this transition—that’s Art really bringing his spirit in there.
Blaise: Does your son or daughter play music? Are they interested in music?
Corcoran Holt: They they love music. My son, he was doing a lot of African drumming when we were in Washington. We’re still trying to find a group... some of these activities out here. But he loves music. My daughter—she loves music, she’s in dance right now. But she’s going to be starting piano very soon. She’s four now, so it’s a good time to...
Blaise: Oh, she’s little little!
Corcoran Holt: Yeah, Art just turned eight. So he... but they they both—they’re artistic kids, they’re very much into the arts.
Blaise: I’m talking with Corcoran Holt. And here is "Ibu and Art."
[Music Segment: "Ibu and Art" - A soulful track beginning with deep, bowed bass notes transitioning into a soaring soprano saxophone melody, creating a reflective and spiritual atmosphere.]
(Music Segment: "Theme for Ma" -- An intimate, autobiographical jazz piece that blends the smooth, singing physical vibrations of a bowed bass melody with the rhythmic patterns of an uplifting recorded voice message from his mother.
Blaise: That’s Corcoran Holt—"Theme for Ma" with "Mom’s Message." And this is... Corcoran Holt is here with me in the studio. Now what was this particular tune, "Theme for Ma?"
Corcoran Holt: All right, so this song is... that bowed melody is something that I wrote that made me think of my mother. And moving—we’ve moved a lot, three cities in five years. And my mom is in Washington, D.C. And I decided as I was in the studio, I recorded it with just bass—just bass. It was originally just bass, then I added piano. And I said, you know, I always hear my mother’s voice when whatever I’m doing, you know, like sometimes I need that guidance, I need that voice in my ear. And my mom, she sometimes she leaves voice messages that are really uplifting and that’s just the type of person she is. She’s a healer, she’s... she loves people and just loves helping people raise their vibration. So a lot of times I find myself in that need due to the evolution and how my life is being in a different place. So I decided to open the record—do a twist on things—and open up my record using her voice over this theme just to bring people into my world. I mean, some people know who I am, a lot of people don’t know who I am, but they can see the connection and the importance of my mother to me. So I wanted to open the record with that to start that journey because she brought me into the world, and I talk to her about a lot of things that I experience and she’s just very wise. I just wanted that opening on the record.
Blaise: That’s a blessing to have that in your life. And to be able to hear it!
Corcoran Holt: Yeah, to be able to hear it like 20 years from now, 30 years from now, God willing. As life moves on, we all go somewhere else, but to have that, to be able to go back and listen to her, go back and listen to the children. Just a lot of surprises on this album—it’s more like an autobiography.
Blaise: So now you’re also teaching at ASU, right? And at The Nash—are you teaching at The Nash as well?
Corcoran Holt: I do the Nash summer camp, the summer jazz camps. So this will be my third year doing that. And I teach at ASU—this is my third year of... I’m a bass professor in the Jazz Studies Department at ASU.
Blaise: So what do you find trying to teach people to play the bass?
Corcoran Holt: What I find with the instrument is it’s a very personal instrument, it’s a very challenging instrument to play when you first get started.
Blaise: Because you have to find the notes.
Corcoran Holt: You have to find the notes—it’s fretless. I remember when I was a ten-year-old and I took this instrument home, I thought I was just going to go upstairs and just play it and have a ball. It was very tough. I didn’t enjoy it for maybe four or five years, you know, just depending. But what I do with my students, I have them connect—because a lot of times, you can be exposed to so many things. You go on YouTube, you see these bass players, you go to Instagram or whatever, and they’re like, "I want to do that," some students. Not the ones at ASU are really good. I have a really great bass studio over there. And we work on patience and in understanding that this instrument, you really have to spend a lot of time with it. It’s such a personal instrument, you know, and it takes a lot of focus, you have to get your technique together, you can’t expect to just do everything just like that. But it’s a beautiful thing—these my students, I’m getting a lot of inspiration from them because they are so hungry for knowledge. And I’m just excited for this release because they get to see me play, do what I do, so they’re picking up things very fast. I set up jam sessions through Phoenix, through The Nash at the Womack, and I set up these professional situations so they can come in and grow because the only way to learn how to play this instrument is to do it.
Blaise: Do you talk with them about playing with the... like what you were talking about, playing with different drummers, for example? Because the bass and drums really hook up.
Corcoran Holt: All the time! They realize that they hear everything that I say. I’ll explain the difference of playing with Lewis Nash in comparison to Jeff "Tain" Watts or Billy Hart or the generations of drummers that I’ve played with. And they have these opportunities because I set these jam sessions up. Because there’s five different drummers there, so you never know who you’re going to play with. They make the adjustments, you know, they know what to listen for, like whether they’re trying to line up their bass-playing beat with the ride cymbal, you know, what to listen for, the hi-hat, dynamics, all of these things. And through these things that we talk about in jazz education, you could talk about it, you can teach it, but you have to experience it. So I’m just thankful that they actually show up to the jam sessions, they actually show up to the concerts. Like when Christian McBride came out here with Brad Mehldau, I got tickets for them and I mean, it was just a highlight of their lives. They’re just so hungry and they’re such great students. It’s really cool.
Blaise: Do when they come back from a jam session like that, then do they have like, "Hey, how come this happened?"
Corcoran Holt: All the time. "What did you think? How was that?" and I encourage them, I let them know when as they’re playing—I’m the type of person, even when they’re playing, I’ll go up to the stage and I’ll put my ear to them like, "I can’t hear you, I can’t feel you. You need to be present, you need to be bigger. Don’t be shy, play with confidence." In order to know if you’re wrong, you have to play with confidence. And they do all of these things. So they’re able to display the things they’re learning and they do... they always ask for feedback. I say, "Look, you get inspired from criticism and you get inspired from praise as well."
Blaise: And I think that’s really important. I think musicians learn that—good musicians learn that better than any other thing. "I’m a musician, you can critique it, you can tell me how to make it better." Because that’s how we learn and that’s how we know we get better when we get those inputs.
Corcoran Holt: That’s right! I’m like right there with them. Yeah, I’m about to... like they’ve had these concerts this week and I coach combos and I play in one of the combos I coach. So I even get to play with them and help them and then it helps me because it takes me back to that point when I’m when I was learning and I realize that at 43 years old, I’m still a baby in this music too. So it’s like, I let them know that every day I wake up to be a better bass player just like they’re waking up to be a better bass player too. But you’re all going to get these opportunities, but I’m just preparing you guys, showing you how to be professional and be able to make the best of every opportunity. So if the Kenny Garretts call you on the phone while you’re sitting in the house, how do you handle that? What do you do to learn the music for whatever band it is, whatever situation you’re playing? So we do things like that. We learn other people’s music, learn other people’s original compositions. Because I just want all of my students to be able to walk out of that school and be professionals. And they’re doing great.
Blaise: I’m talking with Corcoran Holt. Thanks for coming by.
Corcoran Holt: Thank you for having me. It was great to be here.
Blaise: Good to see you. One more tune I’m going to play is you with Kenny Garrett, "When the Days Were Different." Here’s Corcoran Holt on the bass on Jazz PHX.
[Music Segment: "When the Days Were Different" - A rhythmic jazz piece featuring a driving bass line, intricate drum patterns, and expressive saxophone melodies.]
Music Segment: "That Girl" a polished and high-energy performance characterized by a constant, driving foundation of deep vibrations and a fluid, conversational dialogue between guitar, piano, and bass.
Blaise (Blaise Lantana): That is McCLenty Hunter with "That Girl" on Jazz PHX. Dave Stryker on guitar, Eric Reed at the piano, and our own Corcoran Holt playing the bass on your Modern Jazz Connection. And Corcoran Holt’s with me in the studio. Welcome, Corcoran.
Corcoran Holt: Thank you, Blaise. I’m glad to be here.
Blaise: And you... that’s quite a band you’re playing with there.
Corcoran Holt: Yeah, that... I remember that session very well. Eric Reed—he’s amazing, incredible. And McLenty—me and McLenty is like my brother, so we played for many years together, over 20 years ago. And of course Stryker, and then on some of the other tracks, Stacy Dillard, who’s... who’s playing with me!
Blaise: So I’m talking with Corcoran Holt. Now I wanted to ask you about this tune, "Ray Ray," from your new album, Freedom of Art. How’d you come up with this?
Corcoran Holt: So, I... the tune "Ray Ray" is... it came to me—I’m a huge Ray Brown fan, of course, being... being a bassist. That was one of my first major influences. So, I thought... think about him, and then Lewis Nash is playing drums on that track, and Lewis Nash was a member of... used to play for Ray Brown for many years. And my wife’s name is Raven. So, I think about her, you know, her personality, her... the bounciness that... and the swing, you know, the swing aspect of the day-to-day life in general. So I wanted to create a tune that was to pay tribute, you know, to honor both of them. Both my Ray Brown, being one of my heroes in the music, and then my wife, who you know I love dearly, and her nickname is Ray Ray. So a lot of her family call her Ray Ray, so I did a little play on words. So it’s Ray Ray—R-A-E, that’s how she spells her nickname, and then R-A-Y for Ray Brown.
Blaise: How did you start out in... how did you get into music? Do you come from a musical family?
Corcoran Holt: I, you know, I come from a musical family from a long time ago. There aren't many professional musicians in my family, but my father got me into music at a very young age. At the age of four, I started playing West African percussion in Washington, D.C., where I’m from. And that was my introduction to playing instruments. So I played drums, percussion for many years.
Blaise: What kind of percussion were you playing?
Corcoran Holt: So I played djembe... these drums are from Guinea, from West Africa, and djembe, sangba, dundun, kenkeni—all of the West African percussion. And that was my... that was my main thing from the age of five on up. And I started playing bass at the age of ten; my dad signed me up in an orchestra program, D.C. Youth Orchestra Program. And he chose that instrument—I wanted to play the drum set and percussion in the orchestra program, but there weren’t any available spots. So my dad said, "Hey man, this is... bass and drums go hand in hand." And my great-grandfather was a bass player in North Carolina, and we share a birthday, and he lived next door to a very young John Coltrane. When Coltrane was young, and he was... my grandfather was a music teacher. So he was one of John Coltrane’s music teachers when Coltrane was very young.
Blaise: Wow. That’s a history!
Corcoran Holt: It’s a lot of history there. So I never met my great-grandfather—and neither did my father—but the story came through my grandparents, who went to high school with Coltrane. My grandfather played trombone a little bit, my dad played a little bit of clarinet and soprano saxophone. And they both of those guys—they weren’t professional musicians, but...
Blaise: They were playing.
Corcoran Holt: But they were playing, and they loved music, and they put me—my dad put me into the music and it’s been... I’ve always known this is what I wanted to do since I was a little kid.
Blaise: Really?
Corcoran Holt: I always knew. From the first moment that drum teacher handed me these sticks in this drum class and then I played this rhythm back and the way I connected with it, and I saw how music moves people and how it brings people together. I caught that at a very young age and just the further along I went, and I got really serious with bass, just performing arts high school and so on and so forth, college, the professional world. So it’s just... I’ve been doing what I love to do from a very young age. I’m thankful for that.
Blaise: Well, let’s listen now to Corcoran Holt, bassist and band leader. This is his new release called Freedom of Art. Stacy Dillard is playing some tenor sax, Josh Evans on trumpet, and our own Lewis Nash at the drums, and Corcoran Holt is playing the bass, and Benito Gonzalez in there as well. This is "Ray Ray" by Corcoran Holt, and then a little added attraction at the end I think you’ll dig. This is Jazz PHX.
[Music Segment: "Ray Ray" - A lively jazz track driven by a walking bass line, upbeat drums, and melodic saxophone and trumpet solos.]
[Audio Clip - Daily Affirmations]: Corcoran Holt: Alright guys, so when we say our affirmations, what do we say? Children: I’m kind, I’m brave, I’m protective, I’m smart, and I’m honest, and I’m loved, and I’m strong, I’m capable, I’m a good friend, and I’m blessed. I’m loved. I’m protective. Okay. I’m smart. I’m great. I’m honest. I’m good. Come on, Freedom! Come through! I’m a good friend. And I’m smart, and I’m strong, and I’m kind, and I’m brave, and I’m...
Blaise: That... that is Corcoran Holt—that’s your kids!
Corcoran Holt: That’s my kids! doing their affirmations. Daily affirmations in the morning when they’re on the way to school. You know, this is... my wife Raven, she brought this into... she said, "Okay, we... this builds up the children from a young age." You know, they say these affirmations—how they are, how they want to be, how they should think about carrying themselves and believing in themselves and building themselves up from a young age. Which is really important, you know, because the older we get, you know, we sometimes we run into these situations where we may doubt ourselves and they’re shaping up to be leaders.
Blaise: Good for you! Now, did you ever doubt yourself playing music? Did you ever feel that you weren’t good enough or couldn’t fit in?
Corcoran Holt: I did. I mean, I’ve had those moments. And I came up in a... I came up in an environment in Washington, D.C.—I was around a lot of older musicians. So I learned a lot on the spot by doing. You know, I of course I went to school...
Blaise: But you went to school for classical, right?
Corcoran Holt: I started... I was in an orchestra program at ten, but then in high school I went to Duke Ellington School of the Arts, which that’s where I really fell into playing jazz. And then undergrad at Shenandoah University and then Masters at Queens College. But this whole time I was playing professionally from the age of 16. And so I had a lot of situations where I may have not known something, and it happens... still happens today. But you learn the older you get and the more experience that you have that it’s okay not to know everything because you’re not supposed to. And that’s how this music is—you just want to become better every day. So I did... there were some times where I doubted like, am I good enough to do this? I remember in college my teacher put me on my first big gig with the Curtis Fuller Sextet. They were playing in D.C. and I remember he called me—his name is Michael Bowie, my teacher—he said, "Corcoran, can you make this gig with the Curtis Fuller Sextet?" I said, "Curtis Fuller Sextet?" and I didn’t know what to say. And I said, "Can I call you right back?" And I thought about it and I called him back and I said, "Wait, Mike—are you saying that I’m good enough to play with Curtis Fuller? I don’t... are you think I’m ready for that?" And he said, "I think you’re ready for that." He said, "But how will you know if you don’t try? This opportunity’s here for you to do it, you do your best, and this is a learning experience. This is the best education right here." So I did that. So from doubt, you know, and I did have my doubts, but then once I fall in, then I realize what I’m capable of doing and I take note on what I could do better and just try to give my best every day.
Blaise: I’m talking with Corcoran Holt. He’s a bass player; he lives and teaches here in the Valley of the Sun these days, but you were in New York City for a while.
Corcoran Holt: I was in New York for almost 20 years, yeah, before coming here.
Blaise: And you and your wife and kids all there in New York City?
Corcoran Holt: We were all... most of my kids born in New York. We lived in Brooklyn.
Blaise: How was that?
Corcoran Holt: It was... it was exciting. You know, I wouldn’t trade my experience in New York for anything because it helped shape me to who I am today. You know, it’s definitely the mecca as far as creative minds, the meeting place of... I met my wife there, I met all of the musicians that I’m playing with that are on this album, most of them we came together in New York.
Blaise: Right. So when is Arizona going to be a center that we can bring people to?
Corcoran Holt: This is what’s happening right now. This is why I’m here. We’re working really hard over at Arizona State University and over at The Nash. I work tight with Lewis Nash, with Clark Gibson, who’s the head of education at The Nash, Mike Kocour, who is over at ASU. We’re building the scene here. You know, Lewis, myself, and we’re bringing musicians from all over the world, some of the best names in jazz. We were just at The Nash last weekend with Benny Green playing trio. And it’s becoming that place. And hopefully with this album, this will even bring more attraction to the Valley.
Blaise: Well, let’s listen to this tune. Is this your tune, "Hello?"
Corcoran Holt: This is... so this is a tune—this is one of my favorite tunes to play in college. It’s written by Milt Jackson, great vibraphonist, and this is my arrangement of that.
Blaise: All right, let’s listen to Corcoran Holt. He has Stacy Dillard on tenor, Josh Evans trumpet, Benito Gonzalez, and Kwaku Sumbre playing the drums. JazzPHX.org.
[Music Segment: "Hello" - A classic jazz arrangement featuring smooth piano melodies, rich bass tones, and layered brass harmonies.]
Blaise: Kenny Garrett doing "Hargrove" with Corcoran Holt on the bass. And Corcoran Holt is here with me in the studio. So you’re playing with Kenny Garrett—how did that happen?
Corcoran Holt: It was a long story. I first met Kenny Garrett in 2002 at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. He was playing and I came to the show with a good friend of mine, Ashton Parker, trumpet player. And we showed up and we had a chance to talk to him after. And I told him I was a bass player, and he said, "Oh, really? Are you good?" And I said, "Well, I’m working at it." And he said, "Okay, well come back to the club tomorrow at noon and then we could get together." So I met him at the club at noon, myself, Ashlin, and Kenny came walking in. He didn’t have a saxophone; he had headphones on his head, no saxophone. I was like, "Oh wow, what are you listening to?" I asked him, and he told me he was listening to Japanese—the language. He was learning Japanese at the time. So we went in and we played some tunes; that was my first time meeting him. Fast forward a few years later, I moved to New York and I received a phone call. I was sitting at Raven’s house and I get this call and it’s Kenny Garrett on the phone. And he has a tour and he’s asking me, "Is this Corcoran Holt?" I’m like, "Yes, this is he." "I have this tour coming up." I’m like, "Wow, I’m like, this is Kenny Garrett!" And he says, "Yeah, Corcoran, do you know all of my music?" I said, "Well, I know some of your music, but I can work on learning." And I just gotten to New York, by the way. So I was like brand new, I was in school, I was still getting adjusted, you know, I was a little nervous. And he said, "Can you play for me? Play something for me?" So I played over the phone.
Blaise: Oh, really?
Corcoran Holt: Played over the phone—which was interesting. And if you can imagine how terrible the bass can sound over the phone, it just sounds like... you know, just sounds like... and he’s like, "All right, all right, that’s good, that’s good. I’m going to have my manager call you in a few minutes and then let me just have a little talk with him and then I’ll call you right back." Kenny called back five minutes later. "Corcoran, thank you, but we’re going to go with somebody that knows all of my music." And at that point, you know, I was like, "Man, I blew it!" Like, oh man, I could have done it if I would have just...
Blaise: Said you knew it?
Corcoran Holt: Yeah, said I knew it or something like that. But I needed this time because I was working with at that time period, I had started... I was still working with Curtis Fuller a little bit, I had started subbing with the Heath Brothers, Jimmy Heath a little bit, as well as some people around New York, Javon Jackson, Wycliffe Gordon. So I was kind of making my way. And I loved Kenny Garrett. So, fast forward a few years later, 2011, Nat Reeves was leaving the band. Kenny called me just like the last time. "Hello, is this Corcoran Holt? Yes, this is Corcoran Holt." Oh hi, this is Kenny Garrett. I’m not sure... well, this time he knew how he got my number. It was from Benito. Benito Gonzalez, because Benito Gonzalez was in Kenny’s band at that time. And they were looking for the bass player. Kenny asked me, "Yes, Corcoran, do you know all of my music?" I said, "Absolutely!" And I didn’t know all of his music, but after that, you know, we went... we had a rehearsal at his house and it was great, and then we went on tour and I played with Kenny from 2011 consistently for 13 years. I’m going to Europe with him in a couple of weeks. I still do some things with him, just not full-time because I have so many other things happening.
Blaise: 'Cause you’re working here.
Corcoran Holt: Yeah, but Kenny means... he’s a mentor to me, a friend, you know.
Blaise: So what... what would you say you learned from him? Being in that band—like any little thing that you learned specifically from working with him?
Corcoran Holt: I’ve learned so much from him. I’ve really learned how to find myself within whoever I’m playing with. You know, being able to be aware of what’s happening around me, figuring out what I do know and what I could do to make things better. I learned really how to be the foundational piece of a band. Hold... because there’s a lot of energy and movement in Kenny’s music, as you know. And so I learned that, and I also learned how to get to always focus on allowing myself to get to that higher space spiritually within the music. If anybody’s familiar with Kenny Garrett’s music from the moment he started, you know, it is very spiritual. So I’ve really learned how the importance of that, and that’s connected me... Kenny was kind of like my bridge to my upbringing in African percussion because that’s the world of the drum ensemble. So it’s like you’re feeding off and you’re trying to get to this place, you know, and Kenny gets there every time. Doesn’t matter where we’re traveling, doesn’t matter how tired we are, doesn’t matter if soundcheck is at 3:00 AM where we live, but we’re in China somewhere. You know what I mean? We have to play, we have to deliver the message to the people and make that connection, establish that connection. And so I’ve learned that from Kenny and that’s what I do in my band.
Blaise: I’m talking with Corcoran Holt. All right, let... now tell me about this tune—this is "Ibu and Art."
Corcoran Holt: Yes, so "Ibu and Art"—this tune is written for my father, who passed away in 2018, the same year that Art was born. Art is my son. So that’s the other name play on the record: Freedom is my daughter, Art is my son. And unfortunately, they never had the opportunity to meet in person. So this song is a tune that I wrote about them meeting through the music. So my father, on this particular tune, the arco bass—me playing with the bow—is him. And then the soprano saxophone being played by Stacy Dillard is my son, Art. So if you listen, you’ll hear this transition—that’s Art really bringing his spirit in there.
Blaise: Does your son or daughter play music? Are they interested in music?
Corcoran Holt: They they love music. My son, he was doing a lot of African drumming when we were in Washington. We’re still trying to find a group... some of these activities out here. But he loves music. My daughter—she loves music, she’s in dance right now. But she’s going to be starting piano very soon. She’s four now, so it’s a good time to...
Blaise: Oh, she’s little little!
Corcoran Holt: Yeah, Art just turned eight. So he... but they they both—they’re artistic kids, they’re very much into the arts.
Blaise: I’m talking with Corcoran Holt. And here is "Ibu and Art."
[Music Segment: "Ibu and Art" - A soulful track beginning with deep, bowed bass notes transitioning into a soaring soprano saxophone melody, creating a reflective and spiritual atmosphere.]
(Music Segment: "Theme for Ma" -- An intimate, autobiographical jazz piece that blends the smooth, singing physical vibrations of a bowed bass melody with the rhythmic patterns of an uplifting recorded voice message from his mother.
Blaise: That’s Corcoran Holt—"Theme for Ma" with "Mom’s Message." And this is... Corcoran Holt is here with me in the studio. Now what was this particular tune, "Theme for Ma?"
Corcoran Holt: All right, so this song is... that bowed melody is something that I wrote that made me think of my mother. And moving—we’ve moved a lot, three cities in five years. And my mom is in Washington, D.C. And I decided as I was in the studio, I recorded it with just bass—just bass. It was originally just bass, then I added piano. And I said, you know, I always hear my mother’s voice when whatever I’m doing, you know, like sometimes I need that guidance, I need that voice in my ear. And my mom, she sometimes she leaves voice messages that are really uplifting and that’s just the type of person she is. She’s a healer, she’s... she loves people and just loves helping people raise their vibration. So a lot of times I find myself in that need due to the evolution and how my life is being in a different place. So I decided to open the record—do a twist on things—and open up my record using her voice over this theme just to bring people into my world. I mean, some people know who I am, a lot of people don’t know who I am, but they can see the connection and the importance of my mother to me. So I wanted to open the record with that to start that journey because she brought me into the world, and I talk to her about a lot of things that I experience and she’s just very wise. I just wanted that opening on the record.
Blaise: That’s a blessing to have that in your life. And to be able to hear it!
Corcoran Holt: Yeah, to be able to hear it like 20 years from now, 30 years from now, God willing. As life moves on, we all go somewhere else, but to have that, to be able to go back and listen to her, go back and listen to the children. Just a lot of surprises on this album—it’s more like an autobiography.
Blaise: So now you’re also teaching at ASU, right? And at The Nash—are you teaching at The Nash as well?
Corcoran Holt: I do the Nash summer camp, the summer jazz camps. So this will be my third year doing that. And I teach at ASU—this is my third year of... I’m a bass professor in the Jazz Studies Department at ASU.
Blaise: So what do you find trying to teach people to play the bass?
Corcoran Holt: What I find with the instrument is it’s a very personal instrument, it’s a very challenging instrument to play when you first get started.
Blaise: Because you have to find the notes.
Corcoran Holt: You have to find the notes—it’s fretless. I remember when I was a ten-year-old and I took this instrument home, I thought I was just going to go upstairs and just play it and have a ball. It was very tough. I didn’t enjoy it for maybe four or five years, you know, just depending. But what I do with my students, I have them connect—because a lot of times, you can be exposed to so many things. You go on YouTube, you see these bass players, you go to Instagram or whatever, and they’re like, "I want to do that," some students. Not the ones at ASU are really good. I have a really great bass studio over there. And we work on patience and in understanding that this instrument, you really have to spend a lot of time with it. It’s such a personal instrument, you know, and it takes a lot of focus, you have to get your technique together, you can’t expect to just do everything just like that. But it’s a beautiful thing—these my students, I’m getting a lot of inspiration from them because they are so hungry for knowledge. And I’m just excited for this release because they get to see me play, do what I do, so they’re picking up things very fast. I set up jam sessions through Phoenix, through The Nash at the Womack, and I set up these professional situations so they can come in and grow because the only way to learn how to play this instrument is to do it.
Blaise: Do you talk with them about playing with the... like what you were talking about, playing with different drummers, for example? Because the bass and drums really hook up.
Corcoran Holt: All the time! They realize that they hear everything that I say. I’ll explain the difference of playing with Lewis Nash in comparison to Jeff "Tain" Watts or Billy Hart or the generations of drummers that I’ve played with. And they have these opportunities because I set these jam sessions up. Because there’s five different drummers there, so you never know who you’re going to play with. They make the adjustments, you know, they know what to listen for, like whether they’re trying to line up their bass-playing beat with the ride cymbal, you know, what to listen for, the hi-hat, dynamics, all of these things. And through these things that we talk about in jazz education, you could talk about it, you can teach it, but you have to experience it. So I’m just thankful that they actually show up to the jam sessions, they actually show up to the concerts. Like when Christian McBride came out here with Brad Mehldau, I got tickets for them and I mean, it was just a highlight of their lives. They’re just so hungry and they’re such great students. It’s really cool.
Blaise: Do when they come back from a jam session like that, then do they have like, "Hey, how come this happened?"
Corcoran Holt: All the time. "What did you think? How was that?" and I encourage them, I let them know when as they’re playing—I’m the type of person, even when they’re playing, I’ll go up to the stage and I’ll put my ear to them like, "I can’t hear you, I can’t feel you. You need to be present, you need to be bigger. Don’t be shy, play with confidence." In order to know if you’re wrong, you have to play with confidence. And they do all of these things. So they’re able to display the things they’re learning and they do... they always ask for feedback. I say, "Look, you get inspired from criticism and you get inspired from praise as well."
Blaise: And I think that’s really important. I think musicians learn that—good musicians learn that better than any other thing. "I’m a musician, you can critique it, you can tell me how to make it better." Because that’s how we learn and that’s how we know we get better when we get those inputs.
Corcoran Holt: That’s right! I’m like right there with them. Yeah, I’m about to... like they’ve had these concerts this week and I coach combos and I play in one of the combos I coach. So I even get to play with them and help them and then it helps me because it takes me back to that point when I’m when I was learning and I realize that at 43 years old, I’m still a baby in this music too. So it’s like, I let them know that every day I wake up to be a better bass player just like they’re waking up to be a better bass player too. But you’re all going to get these opportunities, but I’m just preparing you guys, showing you how to be professional and be able to make the best of every opportunity. So if the Kenny Garretts call you on the phone while you’re sitting in the house, how do you handle that? What do you do to learn the music for whatever band it is, whatever situation you’re playing? So we do things like that. We learn other people’s music, learn other people’s original compositions. Because I just want all of my students to be able to walk out of that school and be professionals. And they’re doing great.
Blaise: I’m talking with Corcoran Holt. Thanks for coming by.
Corcoran Holt: Thank you for having me. It was great to be here.
Blaise: Good to see you. One more tune I’m going to play is you with Kenny Garrett, "When the Days Were Different." Here’s Corcoran Holt on the bass on Jazz PHX.
[Music Segment: "When the Days Were Different" - A rhythmic jazz piece featuring a driving bass line, intricate drum patterns, and expressive saxophone melodies.]