Allan Holdsworth: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Allan_Holdsworth-0250.jpg|450 px|right]]''This is an unsourced brief biography written by The Allan Holdsworth Archives. All factual information is supported by information contained on this website, allanholdsworth.info. Some viewpoints are subjective, but we believe them to be well supported by the musical community.'' | [[File:Allan_Holdsworth-0250.jpg|450 px|right]]''This is an unsourced brief biography written by The Allan Holdsworth Archives. All factual information is supported by information contained on this website, allanholdsworth.info. Some viewpoints are subjective, but we believe them to be well supported by the musical community.'' | ||
Allan Holdsworth (1946-2017) was a British musician, composer and bandleader. He was primarily known for his work on electric guitar, and to a somewhat lesser extent for his use of the [[SynthAxe]] synthesizer controller. In addition, he also occasionally performed on vocals and violin, live and on record, especially in earlier years. Later in his career, he would record, produce, engineer and mix his own records from his home studio, "The Brewery". | Allan Holdsworth (1946-2017) was a British musician, composer and bandleader. He was primarily known for his work on electric guitar, and to a somewhat lesser extent for his use of the [[SynthAxe]] synthesizer controller. In addition, he also occasionally performed on acoustic guitar, vocals and violin, live and on record, especially in earlier years. Later in his career, he would record, produce, engineer and mix his own records from his home studio, "The Brewery". | ||
Holdsworth's musical style was often referred to as jazz-rock or fusion, although he disapproved of such labels. His music was influenced by jazz in that he devoted most of his energy to improvising on chord changes, but rhythmically and sonically he drew heavily on rock, and harmonically he created a very personal amalgam of jazz harmony blended with contemporary classical music of the 20th century. He eschewed traditional forms such as the blues or jazz standards, with a few notable exceptions. During his solo career, he mostly played his own compositions live and on record. | Holdsworth's musical style was often referred to as jazz-rock or fusion, although he disapproved of such labels. His music was influenced by jazz in that he devoted most of his energy to improvising on chord changes, but rhythmically and sonically he drew heavily on rock, and harmonically he created a very personal amalgam of jazz harmony blended with contemporary classical music of the 20th century. He eschewed traditional forms such as the blues or jazz standards, with a few notable exceptions. During his solo career, he mostly played his own compositions live and on record. | ||
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==Essential listening== | ==Essential listening== | ||
All of the solo albums released by Holdsworth himself | All of the solo albums released by Holdsworth himself since 1982 are worthy of a listen, although they highlight different aspects of his music. "I.O.U", "Road Games" and "Metal Fatigue" mainly feature a quartet of drums, bass, electric guitar and vocals, and is closer to rock music in form. "Atavachron", "Sand" and "Secrets" feature bass, drums, guitar and SynthAxe mostly, less vocals, and more jazz and classical influences. "Wardenclyffe Tower", "Hard Hat Area" and "The Sixteen Men Of Tain" feature mostly feature drums, bass and electric guitar, with the latter being decidedly the most jazz-influenced album. "Flat Tire" is a solo album of SynthAxe, with a slightly avantgarde feel. "None Too Soon" is Allan's lone attempt at playing jazz standards, and in spite of some excellent performances is perhaps Allan's least successful solo album. Of the live albums, "Then!" showcases Allan's quartet at its very finest, with "All Night Wrong" showcasing his trio work. The posthumous live albums are all good in their own way, but perhaps not the best introduction to Allan's work, unless you want to watch Allan on video. In that case "Live In Japan 1984" is the best place to start. | ||
With regards to Allan's appearances as a band member or session musician, a few albums are particularly noteworthy. Soft Machine's "Bundles" contained an early iconic guitar solo on "Hazard Profile". "Believe It" by Tony Williams is a jazzrock classic, and includes two Holdsworth tunes. Allan's early work with Bill Bruford and Jean Luc Ponty is also highly regarded, as is Gong's "Gazeuse". Many fans were introduced to Allan through the UK album, although musically it is not very representative of Allan's artistry. His duo project with Frank Gambale, "Truth In Shredding" contains some very fiery solos, as does his album with the Johansson brothers. "40 Reasons" by Chad Wackerman is pretty close to a Holdsworth solo album in its musical direction. Gongzilla's "Suffer" contains many fine solos. Allan's work with Andrea Marcelli is highly recommended. There are many single session tracks worthy of a listen, too many to list all here. | |||
