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From Allan Holdsworth Information Center
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"Fusion? Well, that's a perfectly good word, but when I think of fusion, I always think about the wrong thing. When someone says fusion, I think of what you hear in elevators now. [laughs] It used to be muzak, but now it's fuzak. GRP seems to be really commercial for me. It's really highly polished. The guys are really great players. I'm not knocking it, but it doesn't seem to be 100 percent there—the creative aspect of it." | "Fusion? Well, that's a perfectly good word, but when I think of fusion, I always think about the wrong thing. When someone says fusion, I think of what you hear in elevators now. [laughs] It used to be muzak, but now it's fuzak. GRP seems to be really commercial for me. It's really highly polished. The guys are really great players. I'm not knocking it, but it doesn't seem to be 100 percent there—the creative aspect of it." | ||
He also said to the Montreal Gazette in 2009: | |||
Some call it fusion, Holdsworth acknowledged, but that's not quite it. "When I hear 'fusion,' I think of Tricky-Dick stuff - really hairy melodies played in unison," he said. "It's like, 'Why?' If the whole idea, in the original bebop days, was to get to soloing, then that's all it should be about." | |||
And this is what he said to Guitarist in 2000: | |||
"When people mention the word 'jazz' I think of it as music that's harmonic, melodic, rhythmic and a vehicle for improvisation. And that's it: it's not a particular form of music. When you mention jazz to some people they'll think of Acker Bilk and others will say Charlie Parker. Jazz is a very good word, but people have shrunk it by using it in the wrong way. It's like fusion. What I have come to know of fusion is a music that I detest, but there's nothing wrong with the word; it's a perfectly good word." | |||
Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respect to melody and harmony. His music incorporates a vast array of complex chord progressions, often using unusual chord shapes in an abstract way based on his understanding of "chord scales", and intricate improvised solos, frequently across shifting tonal centres. He used myriad scale forms often derived from those such as the Lydian, diminished, harmonic major, augmented, whole tone, chromatic and altered scales, among others, often resulting in an unpredictable and dissonant "outside" sound. His unique legato soloing technique stemmed from his original desire to play the saxophone. Unable to afford one, he strove to use the guitar to create similarly smooth lines of notes. He also became associated with playing an early form of guitar synthesizer called the SynthAxe, a company he endorsed in the 1980s. | Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respect to melody and harmony. His music incorporates a vast array of complex chord progressions, often using unusual chord shapes in an abstract way based on his understanding of "chord scales", and intricate improvised solos, frequently across shifting tonal centres. He used myriad scale forms often derived from those such as the Lydian, diminished, harmonic major, augmented, whole tone, chromatic and altered scales, among others, often resulting in an unpredictable and dissonant "outside" sound. His unique legato soloing technique stemmed from his original desire to play the saxophone. Unable to afford one, he strove to use the guitar to create similarly smooth lines of notes. He also became associated with playing an early form of guitar synthesizer called the SynthAxe, a company he endorsed in the 1980s. | ||
