Milt Holland
Birth nameMilton Olshansky
Born(1917-02-07)February 7, 1917
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedNovember 4, 2005(2005-11-04) (aged 88)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresJazz, rock, pop, R&B, funk, soul
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Drums, percussion

Milton Holland (born Milton Olshansky; February 7, 1917 – November 4, 2005) was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist, 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 learn styles of playing them.

Early life

Holland was born Milton Olshansky in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended Theodore Roosevelt High School. His first instrument was the violin. He pursued a passion for percussion, playing in clubs and shows and on CBS Radio in Chicago. By the age of twelve, he was playing at speakeasies for the likes of Al Capone.

Career

In the early 1940s, Holland toured and recorded with The Raymond Scott Orchestra.

He studied tabla at University of California, Los Angeles and from 1963 through 1978 with tabla master Chatur Lal, Ramnad Easwaran and others. 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, Joe Cocker, 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.

As part of the so-called "Wrecking Crew," Holland won several gold and platinum records for his contributions. He was perhaps most proud of having helped desegregate the Los Angeles Musicians Union. Eventually, Holland became the first choice for exotic percussion among Los Angeles freelance session musicians.

In films, Holland played bongos on the soundtrack of West Side Story and timpani the soundtrack of Silent Running, to name only a tiny fraction of his output. He was one of seven illustrious percussionists, including Shelly Manne, Jack Sperling, and Larry Bunker, who contributed to the soundtrack of the John Wayne film Hatari!, playing African instruments on the soundtrack album, The Sounds of Hatari, and its title track. He played for the soundtrack of the TV miniseries Roots. He also played the musical accompaniment for Tinker Bell in the 1953 Disney cartoon film Peter Pan and for the nose tinkle in the TV series Bewitched.

Death and personal life

Holland died in Los Angeles at the age of 88. He was survived by his wife Mildred Holland, his sons, Richard Holland and Robert Holland, his grandchildren, Damien and Chloe, and Richard's wife Seiko.[1]

His widow Mildred died on October 21, 2015.[2]

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Karen Alexander

  • Isn't It Always Love (Asylum, 1975)

With Gregg Allman Band

With Laurindo Almeida

  • Ole! Bossa Nova (1962)
  • Acapulco '22 (Tower, 1963)
  • Brazil & Beyond (1981)
  • Brazilian Soul (Concord, 1981)

With Hoyt Axton

  • Life Machine (A&M, 1974)

With Burt Bacharach

  • Blue Note Plays Burt Bacharach (Blue Note, 2004)

With Joan Baez

With David Batteau

  • Happy in Hollywood (A&M, 1976)

With Captain Beefheart

With Louis Bellson

With Elmer Bernstein

With Elvin Bishop

  • Rock My Soul (Epic, 1972)

With David Blue

  • Stories (Asylum, 1971)

With Bonaroo

  • Bonaroo (Warner Bros., 1975)

With Delaney Bramlett

  • Some Things Coming (Columbia, 1972)

With Brewer & Shipley

With Charlie Byrd

  • Best Of The Concord Years (2000)

With Glen Campbell

With Buddy Childers

  • Sam Songs (1955)

With Stanley Clarke

With Joe Cocker

With Ray Conniff

  • Friendly Persuasion (1965)

With Ry Cooder

With Rita Coolidge

With Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney

With Patti Dahlstrom

  • Your Place or Mine (20th Century, 1975)

With Bobby Darin

With Ron Davies

  • U. F. O. (A&M, 1973)

With Jackie Davis

  • Hammond Goes Cha-Cha (1959)

With Buddy DeFranco

  • I Hear Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw
  • Wholly Cats

With Doug Dillard

  • The Banjo Album (Together, 1969)

With The 5th Dimension

With The Doobie Brothers

With Don Everly

  • Don Everly (Ode, 1970)

With Percy Faith

  • Black Magic Woman (CBS, 1971)

With Little Feat

With Victor Feldman

  • Secret Of The Andes (Nautilus, 1982)

With José Feliciano

  • Feliciano! (RCA Victor, 1968)
  • Souled (RCA Victor, 1968)
  • 10 to 23 (RCA Victor, 1969)
  • And the Feeling's Good (RCA Victor, 1974)

With Jerry Fielding

  • Jerry Fielding and his Orchestra (1953)

With Ella Fitzgerald

With The Free Movement

With Four Freshmen

  • Voices In Latin (1958)
  • The Freshman Year (1958)

With Art Garfunkel

With Jackie Gleason

  • The Now Sound For Today's Lovers (1969)

With Graham Central Station

With Arlo Guthrie

With John Hall

With Lani Hall

With Richard Harris

With Joni James

  • Like Three O'Clock In The Morning (MGM, 1963)
  • After Hours (MGM, 1963)

With Pete Jolly

With Quincy Jones

With Barbara Keith

  • Barbara Keith (Reprise, 1973)

With Stan Kenton

  • Retrospective

With Al Kooper

With Peggy Lee

With Claudia Lennear

  • Phew (Warner Bros., 1973)

With Ketty Lester

  • Love Letters (ERA, 1962)

With Gordon Lightfoot

With Kenny Loggins

With Henry Mancini

  • The Latin Sound Of Henry Mancini (1965)
  • Mancini '67 (1966)
  • Mancini Salutes Sousa (1972)

With Johnny Mandel

With Herbie Mann

With Mark-Almond

  • To The Heart (ABC, 1976)

With Dean Martin

  • Young Dino (Proper, 2006)

With Melanie

  • Photograph (Atlantic, 1976)
  • Seventh Wave (Neighborhoud, 1983)

With Jim Messina

  • Oasis (Columbia, 1979)

With Loggins & Messina

With Joni Mitchell

With The Monkees

With Howdy Moon

  • Howdy Moon (A&M, 1974)

With Chris Morris

  • Christopher Morris Band (MCA, 1977)

With Johnny Nash

  • Celebrate Life (CBS, 1974)

With Randy Newman

With Harry Nilsson

With Anita O'Day

With Gabby Pahinui

  • Best Of The Gabby Band (1979)

With Van Dyke Parks

With Linda Perhacs

With Oscar Peterson

  • Oscar Peterson and Friends (1952)

With Ray Peterson

With Bill Plummer

  • Cosmic Brotherhood (1968)

With Poco

With Bonnie Raitt

With Helen Reddy

With Martha Reeves

  • Martha Reeves (MCA, 1974)

With Johnny Rivers

  • Road (Atlantic, 1974)
  • Outside Help (Big Tree, 1977)

With Shorty Rogers

With Rufus with Chaka Khan

With Pete Rugolo

With Sanford & Townsend

  • Duo-Glide (Warner Bros., 1977)

With Lalo Schifrin

With Seals and Crofts

With John Sebastian

With Neil Sedaka

With Bud Shank

With Ravi Shankar

  • Charly: Original Soundtrack Recording (1968)

With Carly Simon

With Frank Sinatra

With Tom Snow

  • Taking It All in Stride (Capitol, 1975)
  • Tom Snow (Capitol, 1976)

With Phil Spector

With Ringo Starr

With Barbra Streisand

With James Taylor

With Bill Thomson

  • Fantabulous (1957)

With Cal Tjader

With Various Artists

  • Samba do Avião (Rhino, 2005)

With Wendy Waldman

  • The Main Refrain (Warner Bros., 1976)

With Jennifer Warnes

With Nancy Wilson

With Paul Winter

  • Icarus (1972)

Soundtracks

References

  1. ↑ "Milt Holland Biography". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "Hearthstone Arts on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30.
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