Art & Creativity Quote by Dave Holland

Holland is doing something more strategic than praising “the youth”: he’s defending jazz’s continued relevance without begging for it. Notice the careful repetition of “I think.” It’s modest on the surface, almost conversational, but it’s also a way of staking a claim while sidestepping the tired argument that jazz is either dead or only kept alive by nostalgia. He’s not promising mass popularity; he’s pointing to a particular kind of listener, one motivated by appetite rather than pedigree.

The phrase “interesting situations” is the tell. Holland isn’t just talking about catchy tunes or virtuoso chops. In jazz, a “situation” is an environment where risk is allowed: a bandstand with room for surprise, odd meters, volatile harmonies, real-time decision-making. He’s describing a culture of curiosity - the same impulse that draws people to experimental club nights, DIY scenes, and algorithm-resistant experiences. “Stimulating” signals that pleasure here is cognitive as much as sensual; the music rewards attention, not passive consumption.

Context matters: Holland comes from the post-bop lineage but spent decades pushing forms (especially in small-group settings where the bass becomes a compositional engine). So his read on younger audiences isn’t charity; it’s a recruitment pitch for listening as an active practice. Subtext: if institutions want jazz to survive, they should stop packaging it like a museum piece and start supporting the conditions that make “situations” possible - rooms, communities, and musicians given permission to take real chances.