Keyboard player Adam Holzman is one of the most exciting, innovative players on the music scene today. A member of the Miles Davis Band from 1985 to 1989, he performed with the trumpet legend in more than 200 concerts worldwide and can be heard on the albums "Tutu" and "Live Around the World" (Warner Bros.) In 1988 he became Miles's musical director. For his session and live performances, Adam was praised by the New York Times for "innovative keyboard work," and by Keyboard magazine as "one of the most promising synth soloists."
More recently Adam performed and recorded with saxophone great Grover Washington, Jr., until his untimely passing at the end of 1999. Adam appears on three of Grover's final releases, "Soulful Strut," "Breath Of Heaven" and "Prime Cuts" (all on Columbia), and toured with him for 3 years.
Adam played with Michel Petrucciani, the renowned French pianist, from 1989 to 1991, and the double-keyboard collaboration yielded two 1 albums on the jazz charts, "Music" and "Playground" (both on Blue Note).
In July '92 Adam joined the Chaka Khan band and for the next two years traveled all over the U.S., Japan, Asia and the Carribean with the legendary r&b singer. In January '93 Adam was nominated for 'best electric jazz keyboard player' in Keyboard magazine.
Adam's first album, "In a Loud Way" (Bluenote/Manhattan), was a very strong debut featuring Miles comrades Kenny Garrett, Darryl Jones and Mino Cinelu, as well as powerhouse drummer Dennis Chambers. "In A Loud Way" went Top 5 on the contempoary jazz charts in Japan, won a four & a half star rating in Downbeat, and was picked as one of the Top Ten Fusion albums of '93 by Tower Pulse! magazine.
In 1994 Adam released his second album, "Overdrive" (Lipstick) a high-energy cyber-fusion album that won critical acclaim in Jazziz, Keyboard magazine and was also another poll winner in Tower Pulse! magazine. Later that year he was selected in the Downbeat Critic's poll "electric keyboard category" (and again every year since) and also co-produced the most recent Steps Ahead album, "Vibe'.
In 1995 Adam played with saxophone legend Wayne Shorter. From October to December Adam did a world tour with Wayne in support of his "High Life"
(Verve) album. In early 1996 Adam co-produced the Miles Davis album "Live Around the World."
Adam also has a great band, Adam Holzman & Brave New World, and has toured extensively in Europe and the U.S. With this band Adam has recorded his best material so far. The most recent release is "Jazz Rocket Science" on Nagel Heyer Records. "Manifesto" (Lipstick Records), which was released at the end of '95, is a truly fresh vision of the Jazz-Funk equation and 'The Big Picture" (Escapade), released in '97, is perhaps even more powerful and funky. At the end of 1997 Adam completed a successful European tour with Brave New World to promote 'The Big Picture."
In 1998 Adam started playing with trumpet star Wallace Roney, as well as continuing his work with Grover and Brave New World. In 1999, in addition to touring with Grover and Wallace, Adam composed and produced music for Fuji Film's annual photo presentation. The ending of 1999 brought some sad news with the sudden passing of Adam's boss for the previous 3 years, Grover Washington, Jr.
2000 brought several noteworthy projects, among them co-producing (with Bob Belden) a special Miles project for Sony, a 6CD set titled "The Cellar Door Sessions," consisting of recordings from 1970 which was just released at the end of 2005. Also, Adam led the 'house band' in a PBS/Smithsonian television documentary called Piano Grand, backing up piano celebrities such as Billy Joel and Jerry Lee Lewis.
In May of 2000 a Grover Tribute was presented at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia and Adam (along with the rest of Grover's band) performed with Stevie Wonder, Najee, Gerald Albright and Kirk Whalum. In addition to doing some SA CD re-mastering work for Sony, Adam played on Wallace Roney's CD for Stretch Records, "No Room For Argument," performed at the Thelonious Monk Jazz Institute with Christian McBride, and began work on a new CD with Brave New World.
In early 2001 Adam completed "Rebellion", with Brave New World. This album shows a looser, more improvisational side of Brave New World. Rebellion, has received a great response in Europe and the States. Adam Holzman & Brave New World then performed at Symphony Space as part of the Wall-to-Wall Miles presentation, which was broadcast live on WKCR. Adam toured in England, Israel and the U.S. and Jamaica with Wallace Roney in the summer of 2001 and also performed in some All-Star Miles Tribute Concerts with Wallace, Gary Bartz, Bennie Maupin, Buster Williams and Lenny White. Brave New World toured in Europe in the fall of 2001, and again in 2002, topping off that tour with 2 very succesful nights in Paris.
For the past 10 years Adam has taught the Electric Miles jazz ensemble at The New School University in New York City, and has also taught at the Outreach Music workshop in Schwaz, Austria since 2001.
In 2003 Adam and Brave New World began work on their next studio CD, titled "Jazz Rocket Science," which was just released. At the end of 2003 Adam toured Poland as 'featured artist' with Walkaway drummer Krzyzstof Zawadzki. Also Adam has continued to perform with Wallace Roney, in Europe, Japan, Greece, Turkey, and the U.S. In early 2004 Adam played on Wallace's CD, 'Prototype," released on High Note records. One of Adam's compositions, "Secret Identity," is included on the album. He is also featured on Wallace's 2005 release, "Mystikal."
In August of 2004 Adam performed with Steps Ahead (a special reunion featuring Michael Brecker, Mike Mainieri, Steve Gadd, Darryl Jones and Mike Stern) at the Mount Fuji Festival in Japan. Adam has continued to tour Europe with Wallace Roney, guitarist Roland Heinz, Krzyzstof Zawadzki, the Outreach Orchestra and other projects. In 2005 and 2007 Adam was honored to perform at Moogfest with Brave New World, in addition to some European dates with the band. In 2006 Adam joined the Mahavishnu Project led by Gregg Bendian.
Adam is excited about the release of the newest Brave New World album, "Jazz Rocket Science," which which just came out on Nagel Heyer Records. Brave New World will be on tour in Europe Fall 2007!!!!
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