condition (record/cover): NM / VG+ (tag removal residue on front and light general wear)

A bassist puts down the bass, picks up the cello and records alone for forty-two minutes. Life Cycle is the least-discussed record in Dave Holland's catalogue and one of the most beautiful: mostly bowed, mostly slow, and drawing far more on European romantic writing than on anything in the jazz tradition. The five-part title suite traces exactly what it says it does, from the swaggering low-register attack of "Inception" through to something considerably more resigned. "Sonnet" is almost Bach. Then a funk figure turns up out of nowhere and a fragment of "Straight, No Chaser" slides past, just to remind you where he actually comes from.

Original ECM pressing, digital recording from Tonstudio Bauer. Solo cello, no overdubs, and a record that rewards being left alone with.