Tony Williams: Difference between revisions

From Allan Holdsworth Information Center
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Along with Williams, bassist Tony Newton and keyboardist Alan Pasqua, he recorded two albums - Believe It and Million Dollar Legs - and toured in 1975 and ‘76. After bad management drove him away from that ensemble (at one point during a tour he ended up stranded in San Francisco with neither money nor a place to stay and had to pawn his guitar to get back to England), Allan recorded his first solo album, Velvet Darkness.
Along with Williams, bassist Tony Newton and keyboardist Alan Pasqua, he recorded two albums - Believe It and Million Dollar Legs - and toured in 1975 and ‘76. After bad management drove him away from that ensemble (at one point during a tour he ended up stranded in San Francisco with neither money nor a place to stay and had to pawn his guitar to get back to England), Allan recorded his first solo album, Velvet Darkness.
After you left Soft Machine in 1975, what did you do?
While I was still with them, I had met [bassist] Alphonso Johnson. He was working with [flugelhorn player] Chuck Mangione at Ronnie's club in London. Chuck was sick one night, and a piano-playing friend of mine sat in; he suggested that they let me join them. So I went down and played a set. That's when I met Alphonso. He told [drummer] Tony Williams about me, a while later I got a phone call from Tony, who was in the States. I really lucked out.
Did you leave for the U.S. right away to join him?
No. I recorded with Tony, [bassist] Jack Bruce, and [keyboardist] Webster Lewis in Sweden, but the material was never released. I returned to England, and later got a call from Tony, who said that he'd gotten a deal with CBS Records and that I should come over quick.
Did Tony Williams already have a band together?
No. We found a bass player, Tony Newton, and a keyboard player, Alan Pasqua. We did two albums— Believe It and Million Dollar Legs—and toured in 1975 and 76. But because I was always zipping back and forth to straighten out problems at home, and because the management turned out badly, everything fell apart. We ended up stranded in San Francisco; Tony flew back east to work things out with the manager, and we were stuck without money or a place to stay. So I pawned my guitar and went back to England. I really enjoyed the band, though


==[[Allan Holdsworth (International Musician 1981)]]==
==[[Allan Holdsworth (International Musician 1981)]]==