Factoid:The concert is free to SIUC students. Tickets are $18 for non-students and $12 for senior citizens 60 and older and children 15 and younger. Those interested can be purchased through Ticketmaster, the Arena’s SIU Ticket Office or the Student Center’s Central Ticket Office.

Throughout his life, Dave Holland has been in several groups, many of which have featured staples in jazz music.

While his resume could be considered a reel of who’s who in popular music, he said it is his current ensemble that is steadily becoming his most memorable career moment.

Featuring the Dave Holland Quintet, Shryock Auditorium presents an evening of original acoustic jazz Saturday. The five members will perform songs from previous alums as well as new music.

The concert, which is the first performance of the Fine Arts Fee Series, begins at 7:30 p.m. and is free to SIUC students with a valid student ID.

Along with Holland, the Quintet features saxophonist Chris Potter, trombonist Robin Eubanks, vibraphonist Steve Nelson and drummer Billy Kilson.

Originally from England, Holland plays not only the bass guitar but also the cello and the double bass. Though he had no professional musicians in his family, he knew his calling at 4 years old, after his uncle gave him a ukulele.

“I just became attracted to music,” Holland said. “I looked at the instruments, and as soon as I picked them up, I knew I wanted to make sounds.”

Holland began performing on the London club scene when he was 13. Two years later, he dropped out of school to pursue a professional musical career. He was later awarded a full scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

At 21, Holland became a regular performer at the jazz club Ronnie Scott’s with jazz artists Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Joe Henderson.

It was at this club where Holland caught the attention of famed trumpeter Miles Davis, later asked Holland to join his group. Holland accepted and later appeared on Davis’ “A Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew.” This offer prompted Holland to move to New York, a place he has lived ever since.

Later on in his career, Holland performed and recorded with late jazz legend Thelonious Monk, artists Sam Rivers and Herbie Hancock and “Tonight Show” bandleader Kevin Eubanks.

The Dave Holland Quintet was formed in the summer of 1997, and each of its three albums has been nominated for a Grammy award.

“We all grew up with jazz tradition, but we are interested in all kinds of music,” Holland said. “We have our own style. With our songs, we try to personalize them and make them our own.”

The Dave Holland Quintet is the “nucleus,” Holland said, of his other project. The Dave Holland Big Band is a 13-member group, whose “What Goes Around” won the Grammy award in 2003 for best large jazz ensemble album.

Holland said the quintet weaves rhythmic and melodic elements throughout its each of its songs. While onstage, Holland said it is interesting to see how the audience – especially the younger generation – interacts with the “spontaneous” feel and jive of the music.

Philip Brown, associate professor in the School of Music, first saw Holland perform with the Miles Davis Quintet when he was a college student.

As a member of the Fine Arts Fee Series Committee, Brown said it took six months of negotiations to get the Dave Holland Quintet to come to Carbondale.

He also said the opportunity for a group like the Dave Holland Quintet to play cost free to SIUC students is one people should take advantage of.

“They are probably one of the finest jazz institutions,” he said. “They draw on jazz traditions but still eye toward pushing the envelope.”

Through five decades of various jazz bands, Holland said he really likes the direction his career is taking now.

“This band is high on my list,” said Holland, who celebrated his 58th birthday on Friday. “It has been a real blessing to work with them.”