Prime Directive

Dave Holland was an unknown young bassist playing London clubs in 1968 when Miles Davis heard him and invited him on the spot. Within days Holland had moved to New York to join the band, and by 1970 he was on Bitches Brew — one of the most influential sessions in jazz history.

Pat Metheny kept no saxophone in his own working bands after 80/81 (1980). That chair stayed empty for more than three decades until Chris Potter filled it in the Unity Group, doubling on soprano and bass clarinet on Kin (<-->) (2014) and The Unity Sessions (2016).