Conference of the Birds is a 1973 studio album by the Dave Holland Quartet, released on ECM after being recorded on November 30, 1972 in New York City. It features Dave Holland on bass, Anthony Braxton on alto saxophone (also clarinet and flute), Sam Rivers on tenor saxophone (also clarinet and flute), and Barry Altschul on percussion and marimba. This is Holland’s ECM debut as a bandleader and the only recording to bring Braxton and Rivers together with Holland and Altschul. The six open form pieces - Four Winds, Q and A, Conference of the Birds, Interception, Now Here (Nowhere), and See-Saw - use a shared initial theme to set tempo and mood, with the performers free to improvise in any direction, a swinging example of the time no changes approach. Holland described the idea as birds gathering outside his London apartment and declaring their freedom in song. Considered a landmark in avant-garde jazz, Conference of the Birds has been highly praised by AllMusic, The Penguin Guide to Jazz, and Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide.
