Take 5 with Corcoran Holt
Have you ever wondered what your favorite musicians are listening to, or the recordings that influenced them? “Take 5” is a look at the music that inspires and excites them. It’s difficult to choose ONLY five recordings!
Throughout his career, Cocoran Holt has worked alongside some of jazz's most celebrated artists, including an extended tenure with saxophonist Kenny Garrett. Freedom of Art represents a crystallization of those experiences, combined with the intimate journey of his own life since his 2018 debut The Mecca. The album features master musicians Stacy Dillard, Josh Evans, Benito Gonzalez, Kweku Sumbry, and Lewis Nash.
Freedom of Art is out February 20, 2026 via Holthouse Music.
Discography
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Mamady Keita & Sewa Kan – Wassolon: Percussions Malinké
This album was my introduction to West African drumming and how rhythm lives in community. I learned time, feel, and leadership here long before I learned how to read music. It taught me when to lead and when to support in an ensemble, which still guides how I play today.
Backyard Band – Skillet
Backyard Band is a Washington, D.C.–based go-go band that had a major influence on me growing up in the city. Go-go is D.C.’s original music—bass, drum, and percussion-driven, vibrant, and rooted in crowd participation and community. That spirit of groove, interaction, and collective energy continues to shape my own music.
SuperBass 2 – Live at the Blue Note
Ray Brown, Christian McBride, and John Clayton showed me what it means to share space as bassists. In high school, my peers and I learned how to listen and support one another by studying this album. It’s inspiring on every level of bass playing and musicianship.
Miles Davis – Miles Smiles
The blend of Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter on the front line is fearless and deeply conversational. The rhythm section of Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams constantly takes chances and reshapes the music in the moment. Ron Carter’s bass playing here is rhythmically, harmonically, and spiritually deep.
Art Blakey – Free For All
This album carries a raw, powerful energy rooted in struggle and urgency. The playing is virtuosic but never separated from the emotion of the music. It represents the fire, honesty, and intensity that this art form can hold.
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