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''Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017)[1] was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist, violinist and composer.'' | ''Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017)[1] was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist, violinist and composer.'' | ||
It is objectively true that Allan was a guitarist, violinist and composer. The violin playing was a side project, however. Allan's last known public performance on the violin was on "Temporary Fault" from the I.O.U. album. Describing him as a jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist is a subjective statement though. Allan never described his own music as either "jazz fusion" or "progressive rock". He actively objected to the term fusion. For example, he told Anil Prasad in 1993: | It is objectively true that Allan was a guitarist, violinist and composer. The violin playing was a side project, however. Allan's last known public performance on the violin was on "Temporary Fault" from the I.O.U. album. Describing him as a jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist is a subjective statement though. While it is true that many applied the label to him, Allan never described his own music as either "jazz fusion" or "progressive rock". He actively objected to the term fusion. For example, he told Anil Prasad in 1993: | ||
"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." | ||
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"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." | "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. | Further examples can be found in Sound Waves 2012. | ||
As for calling Holdsworth a progressive rock guitarist, some of the same applies. It is true that Holdsworth played in a few bands that could easily be labeled "progressive rock" (most notably perhaps with U.K.), and played on several records in the genre, he himself never described his playing that way. Since 1982, Allan's main body of work was as a solo artist, and this only had a superficial resemblance to progressive rock. This writer thinks simply saying "jazzrock" would be a more apt description. | |||
''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.'' | |||
This paragraph really is a mess. For an encyclopedic entry, it would perhaps be best to separate between what could be inferred from Allan's own description of his playing in contrast with external descriptions of it. From Allan's own perspective, he did not describe his music in traditional terms. Instead, he worked out his own system. A primary influence seems to have been Slonimsky's Thesaurus. Bill Bruford said "He worked like a dog on Nicolas Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns." (Guitar Player 2008). Allan himself said: | |||
"Nicolas Slonimsky's 'Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns', for example. It was harder for me to go to that than it might have been for some other guys, but at least it was written enharmonically - not written in any key - and all the accidentals are added. " (Guitarist 1987) | |||
Allan describes in several interviews as well as on his instructional video that he went through the construction of scales, in particular analyzing them in terms of their interval structure. He then worked out which scales he liked the most. But he never referred to them by their common name. And he never referred to them in terms of modes either. For example, he would never use the term "Lydian". On numerous occasions, he would point out that all the modes were just permutations of a regular major scale, and he would consider them as such. For example he told Guitar Player in 1993: | |||
"There are things I work out away from the guitar, like various scales. I’m not concerned with modes, rather the permutation of intervals that differentiate one scale from another. I never think of a scale as having a set bottom or top. To me, it goes from the lowest available note to the highest on the instrument itself. | |||
Holdsworth has been cited as an influence by a host of rock, metal and jazz guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen,[2] Joe Satriani,[3] Greg Howe,[4] Shawn Lane,[5] Richie Kotzen,[6] John Petrucci,[7] Alex Lifeson,[8] Kurt Rosenwinkel,[9] Yngwie Malmsteen,[10] Michael Romeo,[11] Ty Tabor,[12] Fredrik Thordendal,[13] Daniel Mongrain,[14] John Frusciante,[15] and Tom Morello.[16] Frank Zappa once lauded him as "one of the most interesting guys on guitar on the planet",[17] while Robben Ford has said: "I think Allan Holdsworth is the John Coltrane of the guitar. I don't think anyone can do as much with the guitar as Allan Holdsworth can."[18] | Holdsworth has been cited as an influence by a host of rock, metal and jazz guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen,[2] Joe Satriani,[3] Greg Howe,[4] Shawn Lane,[5] Richie Kotzen,[6] John Petrucci,[7] Alex Lifeson,[8] Kurt Rosenwinkel,[9] Yngwie Malmsteen,[10] Michael Romeo,[11] Ty Tabor,[12] Fredrik Thordendal,[13] Daniel Mongrain,[14] John Frusciante,[15] and Tom Morello.[16] Frank Zappa once lauded him as "one of the most interesting guys on guitar on the planet",[17] while Robben Ford has said: "I think Allan Holdsworth is the John Coltrane of the guitar. I don't think anyone can do as much with the guitar as Allan Holdsworth can."[18] | ||
