Chitarre 1991

Summary: Allan Holdsworth discusses his new album with Frank Gambale, explaining it was initiated by co-producer Mike Varney. Holdsworth describes his recording process, emphasizing the importance of harmonic sensitivity in his improvisations. He expresses his continuous evolution in sound experimentation and instrument transitions, like the SynthAxe. Holdsworth discusses guitar techniques like legato and vibrato bars. He shares his satisfaction with Boogie amps and the transition to Steinberger guitars. He mentions collaborations with various musicians and his music's jazz essence. Holdsworth describes the differences between American and European music scenes, favoring the American audience's openness to creativity. He highlights the importance of musicians expressing themselves in a rhythm section. He expresses his displeasure over the unauthorized release of his old album "Velvet Darkness" and addresses a controversial recording alongside Jeff Watson. The interview concludes with Holdsworth discussing his collaboration with Level 42 and offering advice to aspiring musicians. [This summary was written by ChatGPT in 2023 based on the article text below.]

Chitarre ran a long article on Allan in May 1991. The article includes an interview, two transcriptions, and some musical examples with analysis. The interview has been transcribed, and is given in the following. First, there's the original Italian version. Next, there's a machine back translated version with a little human editing. As always, translating back and forth means that Allan's given answers are not the same as what he originally said during the interview, so read with caution. Hopefully, most of the original meaning comes through. For the remainder of the article, with transcriptions and musical analysis, please check the images below.

Original Italian version

CHITARRE - N. 62 - MAGGIO 1991

Mauro Salvatori

Sono passati anni dal suo debutto nel primo album solista di lan Carr, trombettista dei Nucleus, Belladonna, dove nel brano «Hector's House» Allan Holdsworth esegue un assolo decisamente all'avanguardia di una scuola chitarristica che si sarebbe venuta a formare da lì a poco. Oggi l'importanza di Allan Holdsworth viene paragonata a quella di pochi altri mostri sacri: Charlie Christian, Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, e forse a quella di Eddie Van Halen. Tutto questo non a torto visto che anche personaggi come Steve Vai, Larry Coryell, Frank Zappa, solo per citare alcuni dei personaggi più innovativi del nostro secolo in campo chitarristico, continuano a citare Allan come una delle figure più significative ed originali nel mondo della musica odierno. Inseguendo la ricerca di una maturità tecnica votata all'insegna della più totale originalità stilistico-musicale, Allan ha oggi firmato chitarristicamente tutta una serie di episodi discografici, militando in gruppi come i Soft Machine, il New Tony Williams Lifetime, gli United Kingdom, o a fianco di artisti come Jean Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke e ancor più recentemente la nuova formazione dei Level 42. A queste però vanno aggiunte le numerose prove solistiche con cui Allan, al fianco di gregari fedeli come Gary Husband o Chad Wackerman alla batteria, Jimmy Johnson o Gary Willis al basso, per citarne solo alcuni, ha pubblicato forse i lavori chitarristici più importanti e validi degli anni '80/90: album come 1.0.U., Road Games, Metal Fatigue, o i più recenti Atavachron, Sand, Secrets, dove Allan concilia mirabilmente le sue intuizioni chitarristiche con le più futuristiche concezioni midi, adottando l'uso del SinthAxe, definito forse giustamente 'la nuova chitarra degli anni 2000', costituiscono indubbiamente gli esempi della straordinaria volontà da parte di questo infaticabile artista di arricchire con la sua opera il vocabolario musicale (non rivolto esclusivamente ad un pubblico di chitarristi o musicisti) di questi ultimi tormentati e sofferti tempi in cui è ben difficile distinguere la musica imposta come 'buona'da una industria sempre più prepotente rispetto a quella proposta da artisti coraggiosi e decisi a non cedere alle lusinghe di mercato.

- Parliamo prima di tutto del tuo nuovo lavoro discografico con Frank Gambale, come è nato questo progetto?

- In realtà l'idea è partita da Mike Varney, il coproduttore dell'album, che ha chiesto a me e Frank se era possibile un'eventuale collaborazione; Frank ha scelto i brani ed i musicisti ed io ho aggiunto in seguito i miei assoli suonando sulle basi incise.

- Come mai avete usato questo procedimento in fase di registrazione?

- Purtroppo nei giorni in cui Frank e gli altri musicisti stavano incidendo, io ero impegnato in altri lavori ed è stato impossibile conciliare le due cose! - Hai dovuto impiegare molto tempo a studiare il materiale, imparare gli assoli prima di registrarli?

- No, non molto a dire il vero, Frank mi ha dato le parti scritte, le progressioni degli accordi, ed io ho inciso subito sulle basi gli assoli basandomi sulle sigle datemi da Frank.

- Una domanda che molti si pongono rispetto al tuo stile chitarristico e alla tua straordinaria tecnica riguarda il tuo approccio a ogni brano quando devi improvvisare: come costruisci un assolo e ci sono alcune scale o modi armonici che preferisci e su cui ti basi?

- Innanzitutto non ho un metodo per improvvisare e ancor meno prediligo qualche scala o modo armonico in particolare: in realtà tendo molto a seguire la progressione degli accordi, la costruzione armonica del brano, la linea melodica, e poi in seguito applico normalmente le scale relative agli accordi scegliendo però quelle che secondo me sembrano funzionare meglio rispetto ad altre; direi che il mio approccio è in qualche modo diverso rispetto a quello di altri musicisti...

- E in che cosa differisce esattamente?

- L'idea è di poter improvvisare bene su qualsiasi cosa, intendo dire: non importa che tipo di sequenza di accordi si tratti, più o meno difficile, mi piace poter suonare ed improvvisare bene ma al tempo stesso voglio che la mia improvvisazione, il mio assolo non somigli a qualcosa che si possa riallacciare al 'bop' o al 'be-bop' e quindi mi sforzo di trovare una originalità, una precisa identità nel linguaggio musicale; analizzando la sequenza degli accordi scelgo soltanto alcune delle note contenute nelle scale a loro relative fino ad ottenere dei fraseggi che mi piacciono. Questa è quella che io chiamo 'sensibilità armonica', ma ovviamente chiunque ne possiede una: è variabile a seconda della persona stessa ed è per questo che si è sensibili a certe linee armoniche rispetto ad altre; io mi preoccupo essenzialmente di ottenere delle figurazioni musicali che mi soddisfino.

- Quanto pensi si sia evoluto il tuo stile chitarristico, il tuo linguaggio musicale nel corso di questi anni?

- Credo che sia migliorato, almeno lo spero, ma questo è tutto ciò che puoi fare in definitiva, studiare, imparare e suonare per fare sempre meglio.

- Uno degli aspetti che ha sempre contraddistinto le tue proposte e direzioni musicali è il continuo aggiornamento delle sonorità; cambi continuamente chitarre, amplificatori, ma quanto è importante tutto questo rispetto alla tua evoluzione artistica?

- Anche in questo caso si tratta di un esperimento, né più né meno come la ricerca di altre direzioni armoniche. Cerco di evolvere continuamente sperimentando nuovi suoni e questo contribuisce anche ad allargare i propri orizzonti tecnici, compositivi.

- E come riesci a conciliare, all'interno di questo discorso, il passaggio dalla chitarra a quello con il SynthAxe, uno strumento in definitiva totalmente nuovo...

- Veramente non ci penso molto a questo tipo di passaggio tra uno strumento e l'altro come dici tu, anche perché non mi capita mai di pensare «adesso suono la chitarra, adesso suono il SynthAxe»; in realtà non è affatto importante, direi che dipende da come sento se uno strumento possa funzionare meglio rispetto all'altro all'interno di una composizione, voglio dire che spesso mi capita di suonare moltissimo il SynthAxe così come mi capita di non suonarlo affatto, e la stessa cosa vale anche per la chitarra.

- Per tornare un attimo a un discorso strettamente tecnico: sulla chitarra tu da sempre prediligi il legato. Come mai questa scelta, qual è la tua teoria riguardo questa tecnica in termini di espressione non solo strumentale ma anche armonica?

- Beh, agli inizi quando ho cominciato a suonare usando la tecnica 'legato' mi sembrava potesse essere molto limitativa; ma oggi non la penso più così, anzi direi che è possibile suonare qualsiasi cosa usando questo tipo di tecnica, e in questo senso studio ancora moltissimo per ottenere dei fraseggi in cui non si possa distinguere quali sono le note che ricavo dando la pennata con la mano destra e quali invece siano quelle che ottengo successivamente toccando solo sul manico le corde con la mano sinistra. È molto importante per questo cercare un equilibrio ben preciso tra il tocco della pennata con la mano destra, che deve essere il più delicato possibile ma al tempo stesso con un attacco di volume molto efficace, ed il tocco della sinistra sulla tastiera in modo che sia in perfetta sintonia con i movimenti della mano destra durante l'esecuzione e la scelta delle note.

- E invece quanto è importante nel tuo fraseggio l'uso della leva del vibrato?

- Oggi non è più molto importante, anzi rispetto al passato suono con la leva molto poco; l'uso della leva è stato qualcosa che ha contraddistinto il mio stile agli inizi, ma quando poi hanno cominciato ad usarlo un po' tutti allora ho sentito il bisogno di muovermi in altre direzioni e gradualmente ho smesso di usarlo.

- Tu hai suonato con delle sezioni ritmiche ed in particolare con batteristi tutti dallo stile e dal tocco personale, così pure i bassisti: cos'è che ti piace di più e cosa ricerchi in una sezione ritmica?

- Beh, in realtà ho avuto la fortuna di suonare quasi sempre con gente che mi piaceva e questa è in effetti la prima cosa che cerco in una sezione ritmica; direi che la cosa più importante è che ognuno si possa esprimere e contribuire con la propria immaginazione e preparazione tecnica a quello che stiamo suonando.

- Comunque c'è una grossa differenza, immagino, tra gente come Tony Williams, Gary Husband, Vinnie Colaiuta, solo per citarne alcuni...

- Sì, ma per me è come se questa differenza non ci fosse, fin tanto che loro suonano 'creativamente, l'unica cosa di cui mi preoccupo, ti ripeto, è che loro suonino in un modo che mi piaccia e che possa essere creativo ed utile all'interno di un pezzo.

- Negli ultimi tempi sei stato particolarmente attivo nel campo delle registrazioni, il tuo nome appare sui lavori discografici di svariati musicisti, la più recente mi pare quella con Steve Tavaglione (sassofonista collaboratore anche di Frank Gambale nei suoi recenti 33 'solo') nel suo nuovo album, c'è quel brano 'shuffle', un tempo un po' insolito per te...

- Beh... insolito perché quello non è certamente il tipo di materiale che scriverei per me, ma in realtà suonare su quel brano è stato un grosso divertimento; originariamente dovevo suonare solo il SynthAxe su tutto il brano e avevo anche scritto alcunc sequenze di accordi su cui improvvisare, ma poi ho finito per suonare anche la chitarra perché nella prima parte non ero troppo convinto di ciò che avevo suonato con il SynthAxe, e così abbiamo suddiviso in due parti, prima la chitarra e poi nel mezzo del brano il mio solo di SynthAxe.

- E cosa ricordi invece della tua collaborazione all'album di Stanley Clarke If This Bass Could Only Talk?

- Anche in quel caso si è trattato di una partecipazione molto amichevole: Stanley mi ha chiesto di fare delle piccole parti di chitarra totalmente improvvisate su quel brano e mi sono divertito molto.

- Ma cosa succede esattamente quando sei convocato per delle session discografiche, ti lasciano completamente libero di improvvisare o capita anche che qualcuno abbia fin dall'inizio in mente delle parti ben precise da farti eseguire?

- La gente di cui abbiamo parlato finora, mi ha dato tutto lo spazio e la libertà di incidere ciò che volevo, nella massima tranquillità, ma a volte mi chiamano per delle registrazioni in cui mi chiedono di suonare delle cose già fatte da altri o simili allo stile di altri... e questo non è esattamente il tipo di lavoro che mi piace, cosi lo evito!

- Se non sbaglio hai anche partecipato ad alcune incisioni di Alex Masi qualche tempo fa...

- Sì, non ricordo esattamente il titolo del brano, comunque non mi è piaciuto affatto come hanno missato il mio assolo, ricordo che quando lo avevo inciso qui nel mio garage, la qualità dei suoni era decisamente migliore; comunque con questo non voglio dire che non mi piaccia Alex e la sua musica, anzi tutt'altro, lui è molto bravo, semplicemente non mi è piaciuto il missaggio finale di quella incisione...

- Invece la tua collaborazione recentissima con Andrea Marcelli al suo album Silent Will, mi sembra che sia andata ben più in là di un semplice apporto chitarristico, vuoi parlarmene?

- Innanzitutto a me piace moltissimo Andrea come musicista e come compositore, mi piaceva il suo progetto musicale e come ci stesse lavorando sopra, nonostante le molte difficoltà, per cui è stato un grande piacere per me poter incidere e suonare con lui: l'ho aiutato in seguito a missare l'album, visto che aveva registrato anche delle cose in altri studi; abbiamo lavorato qui nel mio garage, oltre che ai miei assoli anche alla ricerca dei suoni; il risultato finale mi piace molto! - Qualche accenno al tuo passaggio dalla Ibanez alla Steinberger...

- La Steinberger rappresenta per me la migliore chitarra in assoluto in questo momento, prima ho passato molto tempo a lavorare con la Ibanez, ma in realtà solo alcuni dei modelli messi in commercio sono veramente buoni, direi una su quindici, non ce ne sono mai due realmente uguali tra loro e così mi è sembrato che tutto il lavoro stesse diventando inconsistente. Quando poi sono state fabbricate le prime Steinberger, pensavo che non mi sarebbero mai potute piacere perché erano di plastica; poi mi è capitato di provarne una qualche anno fa al Namm Show e me ne sono innamorato, ne ho ordinata una e da allora non ho più suonato altre chitarre.

- Mi sembra che anche gli amplificatori che stai usando adesso costituiscano una novità, io ero abituato a vederti suonare con i Lab-series...

- E vero, ho anche usato i Pearce per molto tempo e ancora prima gli Hartley Thompson, i Marshall; adesso sono approdato ai Boogie e devo dire che sono molto soddisfatto dei modelli che uso ora, il suono mi sembra più pieno, più corposo, penso che tutto questo faccia parte di quel processo di evoluzione di cui ti parlavo prima, secondo me piuttosto naturale; anche per quanto riguarda il rack degli effetti, è piuttosto difficile poterlo descrivere perché ne cambio continuamente la disposizione - comunque recentemente ho avuto l'opportunità di collaborare assieme alla Rocktron per la costruzione del mio nuovo Holdsworth-Juice-Extractor.

- Che marca di corde stai usando al momento?

- La Bella, per quanto riguarda la scalatura la cambio continuamente, in genere oscilla tra 1 e 008 e 009, anche le altre variano spesso a seconda dei casi.

- Che tipo di musica ascolti durante il tempo libero?

- Mi piace cambiare gli stili quindi ascolto una gran varietà di musica: Keith Jarrett, Michael Brecker, recentemente ho ascoltato tra i chitarristi Wayne Grantz che mi è sembrato molto bravo, e poi ancora direi Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale, Carl Verhain, John Scofield...

- Mi ricordo che ti piaceva Steve Topping... (un giovane chitarrista inglese che ha suonato con Allan molti anni fa, e dallo stile molto personale).

- E mi piace tutt'ora, sfortunatamente è un po' di tempo che non lo sento e quindi non so cosa stia facendo.

- Passiamo ad un altro discorso: molta gente definisce la tua musica troppo rock per essere jazz, e molti pensano che sia troppo jazz per essere rock, so che queste continue polemiche ti hanno creato non poche difficoltà in termini di promozione, ma tu in realtà come descriveresti la tua musica? Pensi si possa definire jazz?

- Nella sua essenza direi di sì, perché tutti i brani scritti da me o dai musicisti con cui collaboro sono dei veicoli per l'improvvisazione e questo è esattamente ciò che il termine jazz significa per me; ma purtroppo per altra gente la mia musica non è jazz, perché non è uguale o non somiglia a ciò che loro conoscono come jazz! - Trovi delle differenze tra l'ambiente musicale americano e quello europeo, parlo non solo di audience ma anche dei musicisti...

- Per quanto riguarda i musicisti credo che ce ne siano di buonissimi un po' in tutte le parti del mondo, riguardo l'audience preferisco quella americana: qui sono molto più aperti a qualsiasi forma di creatività, mentre almeno nel mio caso, in Inghilterra, ad esempio, non danno affatto spazio a nuove situazioni musicali, e questo non tanto per colpa del pubblico, ma per colpa dei media, di tutta quella gente che lavora in campo musicale ed è maggiormente coinvolta nel business, che ruota intorno a questo ambiente, loro sono molto poco seri!

- Nel tuo ultimo LP Secrets hai dato molto spazio alle composizioni degli altri membri della band, Gary Husband, Steve Hunt...

- Si, e la ragione è che mi piacevano molto le loro composizioni, devo dire che tutti avevano scritto del materiale eccellente, ad esempio «City Nights» scritta da Gary, appena l'ho sentita ho subito pensato di inserirla come brano d'apertura per il disco, anche «Joshua» scritta da Steve Hunt mi è piaciuta subito, tra l'altro recentemente hanno pubblicato una trascrizione dell'assolo che ho eseguito in quel brano sul mensile Guitar Player e debbo dire che mi è sembrata particolarmente accurata...

- Puoi descrivermi il metodo di lavoro che usi con Rowanne Mark, l'autrice dei tuoi testi, ma al tempo stesso anche una bravissima interprete vocale...

- Hai ragione, Rowanne oltre ad essere bravissima come cantante ha il potere di scrivere dei testi che riescono ad esprimere esattamente ciò che vorrei poter dire io a parole... Comunque il nostro lavoro è in genere abbastanza normale: le faccio ascoltare la melodia del brano, le spiego l'intenzione, il tipo di feeling che vorrei descrivere e Rowanne è bravissima, è capace di intuire e scrivere in tempi brevissimi dei testi molto aderenti al mio stato d'animo, allo spirito della composizione.

- A questo punto ti vorrei fare un paio di domande a proposito di alcune pubblicazioni che sono state recentemente distribuite sul mercato discografico in cui compare il tuo nome e al cui riguardo sembra esserci un po' di confusione: la prima è a proposito di una raccolta di incisioni curata da “Guitar For Practicing Musician” in cui c'è un brano dove tu compari al fianco di Jeff Watson...

-Ooooh (sospirando con un tono totalmente dispiaciuto) non avevo la benché minima idea che poi sarebbe potuta succedere una cosa del genere, in realtà mi ero recato in studio per provare il mio juice-extractor e Jeff mi ha parlato di un demo-tape a cui lui stava lavorando per collaborare con Randy Coven, il bassista: mentre stavo suonando su quel demo-tape per provare l'effetto, qualcuno ha registrato la mia chitarra e l'ha trasferita sul nastro senza dirmi nulla, non riesco ancora a capire come abbiano fatto, e se avessi saputo o mi avessero informato che stavano incidendo non avrei mai e poi mai permesso una cosa simile, e infatti quello non è un mio assolo, sono semplicemente io che sto provando un effetto e nulla più... e poi il tutto è finito su questa pubblicazione senza che io ne sapessi nulla...

- L'altra domanda riguarda la recente pubblicazione in versione cd del tuo vecchio album Velvet Darkness: vi sono contenuti cinque brani presentati come inediti, ma già a suo tempo tu mi avevi detto che questo Ip conteneva in effetti nulla più che delle registrazioni di jam-sessions. Cosa ne pensi di questa nuova pubblicazione?

- Penso che sia totalmente disgustoso, questo è il tipico esempio di come spesso l'industria discografica non abbia nessuna forma di rispetto per il lavoro di un artista, e spero che nessuno compri mai quel disco, anzi ti prego di scriverlo: se qualcuno ama davvero la mia musica, il mio lavoro, non deve comprare quel disco perché rappresenta soltanto un passo indietro rispetto al lavoro che ho cercato di portare avanti in tutti questi anni!

- 0.k., sarai sicuramente accontentato, adesso parliamo di cose piacevoli. La tua ultima avventura musicale, decisamente inaspettata, nei Level 42, come è avvenuta questa insolita collaborazione?

- Semplicemente Mark King & Co. mi hanno chiesto di partecipare all'incisione del loro nuovo 33 perché avevano bisogno di un chitarrista, devo dire che è stata un'esperienza totalmente nuova e divertente; nel loro nuovo lp ho suonato su quattro o cinque brani; al tempo stesso i Level 42 avevano in programma una serie di concerti in Inghilterra e così mi hanno chiesto di rimanere con loro anche per quell'occasione, ho accettato volentieri; probabilmente ci sarà un seguito perché credo che i Level 42 abbiano in programma anche una serie di concerti mondiali su cui stanno lavorando in questi giorni... vedremo.

- Allan, un'ultima domanda... un buon consiglio per i nostri lettori e per tutti i musicisti agli inizi...

- Sperare sempre per il meglio... ma essere anche sempre pronti ad aspettarsi il peggio..

Machine translated version

Q: First of all let's talk about your new recording work with Frank Gambale, how did this project come about? [Machine back translated]

AH: Actually the idea came from Mike Varney, the co-producer of the album, who asked me and Frank if a collaboration was possible; Frank chose the songs and the musicians and I later added my solos playing on the recorded backing tracks. [Machine back translated]

Q: Why did you use this procedure in the recording phase? [Machine back translated]

AH: Unfortunately in the days when Frank and the other musicians were recording, I was busy with other jobs and it was impossible to reconcile the two! [Machine back translated]

Q: Did you have to spend a lot of time studying the material, learning the solos before recording them? [Machine back translated]

AH: No, not much to tell the truth, Frank gave me the written parts, the chord progressions, and I immediately recorded the solos on the backing tracks based on the notes given to me by Frank. [Machine back translated]

Q: A question that many ask about your guitar style and your extraordinary technique concerns your approach to each song when you have to improvise: how do you build a solo and are there some scales or harmonic modes that you prefer, and on which you base yourself? [Machine back translated]

AH: First of all I don't have a method for improvising, and even less do I prefer any scale or harmonic mode in particular: in reality I tend to follow the chord progression, the harmonic construction of the piece, the melodic line, and then later I normally apply the scales related to the chords, however, choosing those that in my opinion seem to work better than others; I would say that my approach is somewhat different than that of other musicians. [Machine back translated]

Q: And how exactly does it differ? [Machine back translated]

AH: The idea is to be able to improvise well on anything, I mean: it doesn't matter what kind of chord sequence it is, more or less difficult, I like being able to play and improvise well but at the same time I don’t want my improvisation to look like something that can be linked to 'bop' or 'be-bop', and therefore I try to find an originality, a precise identity in the musical language; analyzing the sequence of chords, I choose only some of the notes contained in the scales related to them until I get phrasing that I like. This is what I call 'harmonic sensitivity', but obviously everyone has one: it varies according to the person himself and it is for this reason that one is sensitive to certain harmonic lines rather than others; I am essentially concerned with obtaining musical figurations that satisfy me. [Machine back translated]

Q: How much do you think your guitar style, your musical language has evolved over the years? [Machine back translated]

AH: I think it's improved, at least I hope so, but that's all you can ultimately do, study, learn and play to do better and better. [Machine back translated]

Q: One of the aspects that has always distinguished your offerings and musical direction is the continuous updating of sounds; You constantly change guitars, amplifiers, but how important is all this in relation to your artistic evolution? [Machine back translated]

AH: Also in this case it is an experiment, neither more nor less than the search for other harmonic directions. I try to evolve continuously by experimenting with new sounds and this also helps to broaden one's technical and compositional horizons. [Machine back translated]

Q: And how do you manage to reconcile, within this discourse, the transition from the guitar to the one with the SynthAxe, ultimately a totally new instrument... [Machine back translated]

AH: I really don't think much about this type of transition from one instrument to another as you say, also because I never think «now I'm playing the guitar, now I'm playing the SynthAxe»; actually it's not important at all, I'd say it depends on how I feel if one instrument can work better than the other within a composition, I mean that often I play the SynthAxe a lot as well as I don't play it at all, and the same thing goes for the guitar too. [Machine back translated]

Q: To return for a moment to a strictly technical subject: you have always preferred the legato on the guitar. Why this choice, what is your theory about this technique in terms of not only instrumental but also harmonic expression? [Machine back translated]

AH: Well, at the beginning when I started playing using the 'legato' technique it seemed to me that it could be very limiting; but today I no longer think so, indeed I would say that it is possible to play anything using this type of technique, and in this sense I still study a lot to obtain phrasings in which it is not possible to distinguish which notes are obtained by picking with the right hand and which are the ones that I obtain later by touching the strings only on the neck with the left hand. For this reason, it is very important to seek a very precise balance between the touch of the picking with the right hand, which must be as delicate as possible but at the same time with a very effective volume attack, and the touch of the left hand on the keyboard so that it is in perfect harmony with the movements of the right hand during the execution and choice of notes. [Machine back translated]

Q: How important is the use of the vibrato arm in your phrasing? [Machine back translated]

AH: Today it is no longer very important, indeed compared to the past I play very little with the vibrato arm; the use of it was something that distinguished my style at the beginning, but when everyone started using it a bit then I felt the need to move in other directions and gradually stopped using it. [Machine back translated]

Q: You have played with rhythm sections and in particular with drummers who all have a personal style and touch, as have bass players: what do you like most and what do you look for in a rhythm section? [Machine back translated]

AH: Well, actually I was lucky enough to play almost always with people I liked and this is actually the first thing I look for in a rhythm section; I would say that the most important thing is that everyone can express themselves and contribute their own imagination and technical preparation to what we are playing. [Machine back translated]

Q: However there is a big difference, I suppose, between people like Tony Williams, Gary Husband, Vinnie Colaiuta, just to name a few... [Machine back translated]

AH: Yes, but for me it's as if this difference didn't exist, as long as they play creatively, the only thing I worry about, I repeat, is that they play in a way that I like and that can be creative and useful within a piece. [Machine back translated]

Q: In recent times you have been particularly active in the field of recordings, your name appears on the recording works of various musicians, the most recent I think is the one with Steve Tavaglione (saxophonist who also collaborated with Frank Gambale in his recent 33 'solos') in his new album, there's that track 'shuffle', once a bit unusual for you. [Machine back translated] [Note: The track is called “Tsunami”.]

AH: Well...unusual because that's certainly not the kind of material I'd write for myself, but actually playing on that track was a lot of fun; originally I was supposed to play only the SynthAxe on the whole song and I had also written some chord sequences to improvise on, but then I ended up playing the guitar too because in the first part I wasn't too convinced of what I had played with the SynthAxe, and so we divided it into two parts, first the guitar and then in the middle of the song my SynthAxe solo.

Q: And what do you remember about your collaboration on Stanley Clarke's album If This Bass Could Only Talk? [Machine back translated]

AH: Also in that case it was a very friendly participation: Stanley asked me to do some totally improvised little guitar parts on that piece and I had a lot of fun. [Machine back translated]

Q: But what exactly happens when you're called for recording sessions, do they leave you completely free to improvise or does it even happen that someone has specific parts in mind for you to perform right from the start? [Machine back translated]

AH: The people we've talked about so far have given me all the space and freedom to record what I wanted, in the utmost tranquillity, but sometimes they call me for recordings in which they ask me to play things already done by others or similar to the style of others ... and this is not exactly the type of work I like, so I avoid it! [Machine back translated]

Q: If I'm not mistaken you also participated in some recordings by Alex Masi some time ago.

AH: Yes, I don't remember exactly the title of the song, however I didn't like at all how they mixed my solo, I remember that when I recorded it here in my garage, the sound quality was much better; however with this I don't want to say that I don't like Alex and his music, on the contrary, he's very good, I just didn't like the final mixing of that recording. [Machine back translated]

Q: Instead, your very recent collaboration with Andrea Marcelli on his album Silent Will seems to me to have gone far beyond a simple guitar contribution, can you tell me about it? [Machine back translated]

AH: First of all, I really like Andrea as a musician and as a composer, I liked his musical project and how he was working on it, despite the many difficulties, so it was a great pleasure for me to be able to record and play with him: I later helped mix the album, as he had also recorded stuff in other studios; we worked here in my garage, as well as my solos also looking for sounds; I really like the final result! [Machine back translated]

Q: A few hints about your transition from Ibanez to Steinberger? [Machine back translated]

AH: The Steinberger represents for me the best guitar ever at the moment, before that I spent a lot of time working with Ibanez, but in reality only some of the models on the market are really good, I would say one out of fifteen, there are never any two really equal to each other and so it seemed to me that all the work was becoming inconsistent. When the first Steinbergers were made, I thought I'd never like them because they were plastic; then I happened to try one out a few years ago on the Namm Show and fell in love with it, ordered one and haven't played any other guitars since. [Machine back translated]

Q: It seems to me that even the amplifiers you are using now are new, I was used to seeing you playing with the Lab-series.

AH: It's true, I've also used the Pearces for a long time and before that the Hartley Thompsons, the Marshalls; now I've landed on the Boogie and I must say that I'm very satisfied with the models I use now, the sound seems fuller to me, more full-bodied, I think that all this is part of that evolution process I was talking about before, in my opinion rather natural; also regarding the effects rack, it's quite difficult to describe it because I am constantly changing its layout - however I recently had the opportunity to collaborate with Rocktron for the construction of my new Holdsworth-Juice-Extractor. [Machine back translated]

Q: What brand of strings are you currently using? [Machine back translated]

AH: La Bella, as far as string gauge is concerned, I change it continuously, generally it oscillates between 008 and 009. [Machine back translated]

Q: What kind of music do you listen to in your free time? [Machine back translated]

AH: I like to change styles so I listen to a great variety of music: Keith Jarrett, Michael Brecker, I recently heard among the guitarists Wayne Krantz who seemed to me to be very good, and then again I would say Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale, Carl Verheyen, John Scofield. [Machine back translated]

Q: I remember you liked Steve Topping... (a young English guitarist who played with Allan many years ago, and with a very personal style). [Machine back translated]

AH: And I still like him, unfortunately it's been a while since I heard him and so I don't know what he's doing. [Machine back translated]

Q: Let's move on to another topic: many people define your music as too rock to be jazz, and many think it's too jazz to be rock, I know that these continuous controversies have created many difficulties for you in terms of promotion, but in reality you how would you describe your music? Do you think it can be defined as jazz? [Machine back translated]

AH: In its essence I would say yes, because all the pieces written by me or by the musicians I collaborate with are vehicles for improvisation and this is exactly what the term jazz means to me; but sadly for other people my music isn't jazz, because it doesn't equal or resemble what they know as jazz! [Machine back translated]

Q: Do you find differences between the American and European musical environments, I'm talking not only about the audience but also about the musicians. [Machine back translated]

AH: As for the musicians, I think there are some very good ones all over the world, as for the audience, I prefer the American one: here they are much more open to any form of creativity, while at least in my case, in England , for example, they do not give space to new musical situations at all, and this is not so much the fault of the public, but the fault of the media, of all those people who work in the music field and are more involved in the business, which revolves around this environment, they are very not serious! [Machine back translated]

Q: In your latest LP Secrets you gave a lot of space to the compositions of the other band members, Gary Husband, Steve Hunt. [Machine back translated]

AH: Yes, and the reason is that I really liked their compositions, I have to say that they all wrote excellent material, for example «City Nights» written by Gary, as soon as I heard it I immediately thought of inserting it as an opening piece for the record, I also liked «Joshua» written by Steve Hunt immediately, among other things they recently published a transcription of the solo I performed in that piece on the monthly Guitar Player and I must say that it seemed particularly accurate to me. [Machine back translated]

Q: Can you describe the working method you use with Rowanne Mark, the author of your lyrics, but at the same time also a very good vocal interpreter. [Machine back translated]

AH: You're right, Rowanne as well as being a very good singer has the power to write lyrics that manage to express exactly what I would like to be able to say in words. However our work is usually quite normal: I make her listen to the melody of the song, I explain the intention, the type of feeling that I would like to describe and Rowanne is very good, she is able to intuit and write texts in a very short time that are very close to my state of mind, to the spirit of the composition. [Machine back translated]

Q: At this point I would like to ask you a couple of questions about some publications that have recently been released on the record market where your name appears and about which there seems to be some confusion: the first is about a collection of recordings curated by "Guitar For Practicing Musician" in which there is a piece where you appear alongside Jeff Watson. [Machine back translated]

AH: Ooooh (sighing with a totally sorry tone) I didn't have the slightest idea that something like this could happen, actually I went to the studio to try my juice-extractor and Jeff told me about a demo-tape that he was working on to collaborate with Randy Coven, the bassist: while I was playing on that demo-tape to test the effect, someone recorded my guitar and transferred it to the tape without telling me anything, I still don't understand how they did it, and if I had known or had informed me that they were recording I would have never, ever allowed such a thing, and in fact that's not my solo, it's simply me feeling an effect and nothing more... and then it all ended up in this publication without me knowing anything about it. [Machine back translated]

Q: The other question concerns the recent CD release of your old album Velvet Darkness: it contains five songs presented as unreleased, but you already told me at the time that this LP actually contained nothing more than jam recordings -sessions. What do you think of this new publication? [Machine back translated]

AH: I think it's totally disgusting, this is a typical example of how often the record industry has no form of respect for an artist's work, and I hope nobody ever buys that record, in fact please write it down: if anyone truly likes my music, my work, don’t buy that record because it's just a step back from the work I've been trying to do all these years! [Machine back translated]

Q: Ok, you will surely be satisfied, now let's talk about pleasant things. Your last musical adventure, decidedly unexpected, in Level 42, how did this unusual collaboration come about? [Machine back translated]

AH: Simply, Mark King & Co. asked me to participate in the recording of their new album because they needed a guitarist, I must say it was a totally new and fun experience; on their new LP I played on four or five tracks; at the same time Level 42 had a series of concerts planned in England and so they asked me to stay with them for that occasion too, I gladly accepted; there will probably be a sequel because I think Level 42 also has a series of world concerts planned these days... we'll see. [Machine back translated]

Q: Allan, one last question... good advice for our readers and for all beginning musicians... [Machine back translated]

AH: Always hope for the best... but always be prepared to expect the worst.. [Machine back translated]

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ChatGPT version

September 2023

It has been years since his debut on lan Carr's first solo album, Belladonna, where in the song "Hector's House," Allan Holdsworth performed a decidedly avant-garde solo, laying the foundation for a guitar style that would soon take shape. Today, Allan Holdsworth's importance is compared to that of only a few other legends: Charlie Christian, Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, and perhaps Eddie Van Halen. This comparison is not unwarranted, considering that even figures like Steve Vai, Larry Coryell, Frank Zappa, just to name a few of the most innovative guitarists of our century, continue to cite Allan as one of the most significant and original figures in contemporary music. In his pursuit of technical maturity dedicated to the utmost stylistic-musical originality, Allan has left his mark on a series of discographic episodes. He has been part of groups such as Soft Machine, the New Tony Williams Lifetime, United Kingdom, or alongside artists like Jean Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke, and more recently, the new lineup of Level 42. In addition to these collaborations, there are numerous solo endeavors where Allan, alongside loyal collaborators like Gary Husband or Chad Wackerman on drums, Jimmy Johnson or Gary Willis on bass, to name just a few, has released perhaps the most important and valid guitar works of the '80s/'90s: albums like "I.O.U.," "Road Games," "Metal Fatigue," or the more recent "Atavachron," "Sand," "Secrets." In these works, Allan skillfully combines his guitar insights with futuristic MIDI concepts, adopting the use of the SynthAxe, rightly defined as 'the new guitar of the 2000s.' They undoubtedly serve as examples of this tireless artist's extraordinary commitment to enriching the musical vocabulary (not exclusively aimed at guitarists or musicians) during these troubled and challenging times when it is increasingly difficult to distinguish the music imposed as 'good' by an ever more dominant industry from that proposed by courageous artists determined not to succumb to market temptations.

Let's start by talking about your new album with Frank Gambale. How did this project come about?

Actually, the idea came from Mike Varney, the co-producer of the album, who asked me and Frank if a collaboration was possible. Frank chose the songs and the musicians, and I later added my solos by playing over the recorded backing tracks.

Why did you use this recording process?

Unfortunately, during the days when Frank and the other musicians were recording, I was busy with other work, and it was impossible to reconcile the two things!

Did you spend a lot of time studying the material, learning the solos before recording them?

No, not much, to be honest. Frank gave me the written parts, chord progressions, and I recorded the solos immediately over the backing tracks based on the guidelines he provided.

A question that many people have about your guitar style and extraordinary technique concerns your approach to each song when you have to improvise. How do you construct a solo, and are there any scales or harmonic modes you prefer and rely on?

First of all, I don't have a method for improvising, and I certainly don't favor any particular scale or harmonic mode. I tend to follow the chord progression, the harmonic structure of the song, the melodic line, and then I usually apply the scales related to the chords, choosing the ones that, in my opinion, work better than others. I would say that my approach is somewhat different from that of other musicians...

How exactly does it differ?

The idea is to be able to improvise well on anything. I mean, no matter what type of chord sequence it is, whether more or less difficult, I like to be able to play and improvise well. At the same time, I want my improvisation, my solo, not to resemble something that can be traced back to "bop" or "be-bop." So I make an effort to find originality, a precise identity in the musical language. By analyzing the chord sequence, I only choose some of the notes contained in their related scales until I get phrases that I like. This is what I call "harmonic sensitivity." But of course, everyone has it, it varies depending on the person, and that's why you are sensitive to certain harmonic lines compared to others. I mainly focus on creating musical figures that satisfy me.

How do you think your guitar style and musical language have evolved over the years?

I believe it has improved, at least I hope so, but that's all you can do in the end: study, learn, and play to do better and better.

One of the aspects that has always characterized your musical directions is the continuous updating of sounds; you constantly change guitars and amplifiers. But how important is all this compared to your artistic evolution?

In this case, it's also an experiment, just like the search for other harmonic directions. I continuously seek to evolve by experimenting with new sounds, and this also helps expand my technical and compositional horizons.

How do you reconcile, within this framework, the transition from the guitar to the SynthAxe, an instrument that is ultimately completely new...

I don't really think much about this kind of transition between instruments, as you say, mainly because I never think, "Now I'm playing the guitar, now I'm playing the SynthAxe." In reality, it's not important at all. I would say it depends on how I feel if one instrument might work better than the other within a composition. I mean, I often find myself playing the SynthAxe a lot, just as I sometimes don't play it at all, and the same goes for the guitar.

To return to a strictly technical discussion for a moment: you have always favored legato playing on the guitar. Why did you make this choice, and what is your theory regarding this technique in terms of both instrumental and harmonic expression?

Well, in the beginning, when I started playing using the legato technique, it seemed to me that it could be very limiting. But today, I no longer think that way. On the contrary, I would say that it's possible to play anything using this type of technique. In this sense, I still study a lot to achieve phrases in which you can't distinguish which notes I obtain by picking with my right hand and which ones I get by tapping the fretboard with my left hand. So, it's very important to find a precise balance between the picking touch with the right hand, which must be as delicate as possible but with a very effective volume attack, and the left hand's touch on the fretboard to ensure it is in perfect sync with the right hand's movements during performance and note selection.

How important is the use of the vibrato bar in your playing?

Nowadays, it's not very important anymore. In fact, compared to the past, I use the vibrato bar very little. The use of the vibrato bar was something that characterized my style at the beginning, but when everyone started using it a bit, I felt the need to move in other directions, and gradually, I stopped using it.

You have played with rhythm sections, especially drummers, all with a unique style and touch. The same goes for bassists. What do you like most, and what do you look for in a rhythm section?

Well, in reality, I've been fortunate to almost always play with people I liked. This is, in fact, the first thing I look for in a rhythm section. I would say the most important thing is that everyone can express themselves and contribute their own imagination and technical preparation to what we're playing.

Anyway, there's a big difference, I imagine, between people like Tony Williams, Gary Husband, Vinnie Colaiuta, just to name a few...

Yes, but for me, it's as if that difference doesn't exist, as long as they play creatively. The only thing I care about, as I mentioned before, is that they play in a way that I like and that can be creative and useful within a piece.

Lately, you have been particularly active in the recording field. Your name appears on the records of various musicians. The most recent one I recall is with Steve Tavaglione (a saxophonist who has also collaborated with Frank Gambale on his recent 33 'solo') on his new album. There's that 'shuffle' track, a somewhat unusual tempo for you...

Well... unusual because that's certainly not the kind of material I would write for myself, but actually, playing on that track was a lot of fun. Originally, I was supposed to play only the SynthAxe throughout the song, and I had even written some chord progressions to improvise over. But then I ended up playing the guitar as well because in the first part, I wasn't entirely satisfied with what I had played on the SynthAxe. So we split it into two parts, first the guitar, and then in the middle of the song, my SynthAxe solo.

What do you remember about your collaboration on Stanley Clarke's album "If This Bass Could Only Talk"?

In that case too, it was a very friendly collaboration. Stanley asked me to do some completely improvised guitar parts on that track, and I had a great time.

But what exactly happens when you are called for recording sessions? Are you given complete freedom to improvise, or does someone have specific parts in mind for you from the start?

The people we've talked about so far have given me all the space and freedom to record what I wanted, in the utmost ease. But sometimes I'm called for recordings where they ask me to play things that have already been done by others or in a style similar to others... and that's not exactly the type of work I like, so I avoid it!

If I'm not mistaken, you also participated in some recordings with Alex Masi a while ago...

Yes, I don't exactly remember the title of the track, but I didn't like how they mixed my solo at all. I remember when I recorded it here in my garage, the sound quality was much better. However, I don't mean to say that I don't like Alex and his music; quite the opposite, he's very talented. I simply didn't like the final mix of that recording...

On the other hand, your very recent collaboration with Andrea Marcelli on his album "Silent Will" seems to have gone far beyond a simple guitar contribution. Would you like to talk about it?

First of all, I really like Andrea as a musician and a composer. I liked his musical project and how he was working on it, despite many difficulties. So, it was a great pleasure for me to record and play with him. I helped mix the album later since he had recorded some things in other studios. We worked here in my garage, not only on my solos but also on sound research. I'm very pleased with the final result!

Any mention of your transition from Ibanez to Steinberger...

The Steinberger, for me, is the absolute best guitar right now. I spent a lot of time working with Ibanez, but in reality, only a few of the models they put out are truly good, I'd say one out of fifteen. None of them are really alike, so it seemed like all the work was becoming inconsistent. When the first Steinbergers were made, I thought I could never like them because they were made of plastic. But then, a few years ago at the NAMM Show, I happened to try one, and I fell in love with it. I ordered one, and I haven't played any other guitars since.

It seems that the amplifiers you're using now are also new. I was used to seeing you play with Lab-series...

That's true. I also used Pearce amps for a long time, and even earlier, Hartley Thompson and Marshall. Now, I've switched to Boogie amps, and I must say I'm very satisfied with the models I'm using now. The sound seems fuller, more robust. I think all of this is part of that evolutionary process I mentioned earlier, which I find quite natural. Regarding my effects rack, it's quite challenging to describe because I constantly change its arrangement. However, recently I had the opportunity to collaborate with Rocktron for the construction of my new Holdsworth-Juice-Extractor.

What brand of strings are you currently using?

La Bella. As for the gauge, I change it constantly. It typically ranges between .010 and .008 or .009, and the other strings often vary depending on the situation.

What type of music do you listen to in your free time?

I like to change styles, so I listen to a wide variety of music: Keith Jarrett, Michael Brecker, recently, among guitarists, I've listened to Wayne Krantz, who I thought was very good, and then there's Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale, Carl Verheyen, John Scofield...

I remember you liked Steve Topping... (a young English guitarist who played with Allan many years ago and had a very distinctive style).

I still like him, unfortunately, it's been a while since I heard from him, so I don't know what he's up to.

Let's move on to another topic: many people describe your music as too rock to be jazz, and many think it's too jazz to be rock. I know these ongoing debates have created some difficulties for you in terms of promotion, but how would you actually describe your music? Do you think it can be defined as jazz?

In its essence, I would say yes, because all the songs written by me or the musicians I collaborate with are vehicles for improvisation, and that's exactly what the term jazz means to me. But unfortunately, for other people, my music is not jazz because it's not the same or doesn't resemble what they know as jazz.

Do you find differences between the American and European music scenes, not only in terms of the audience but also the musicians?

Regarding musicians, I believe there are excellent ones all over the world. As for the audience, I prefer the American one. Here, they are much more open to any form of creativity. In my case, in England, for example, they don't give room for new musical situations, not so much because of the audience but because of the media and the people involved in the music business. They are not very serious about it.

In your latest album, "Secrets," you gave a lot of space to compositions by other members of the band, like Gary Husband and Steve Hunt...

Yes, the reason is that I really liked their compositions. I must say that everyone had written excellent material. For example, "City Nights," written by Gary, I immediately thought of using it as the opening track for the album as soon as I heard it. Also, "Joshua," written by Steve Hunt, I liked it right away. By the way, they recently published a transcription of the solo I played in that song in Guitar Player magazine, and I must say it seemed quite accurate.

Can you describe the working method you use with Rowanne Mark, the author of your lyrics and a great vocal interpreter as well?

You're right, Rowanne is not only a great singer but also has the ability to write lyrics that can express exactly what I would like to say in words. Our work is generally quite normal. I play her the melody of the song, explain the intention and the type of feeling I want to convey, and Rowanne is excellent at intuiting and quickly writing lyrics that closely match my mood and the spirit of the composition.

At this point, I would like to ask you a couple of questions about some recent publications in which your name appears, and there seems to be some confusion: the first is regarding a collection of recordings curated by "Guitar For Practicing Musician" in which there is a track where you appear alongside Jeff Watson...

Ooooh (sighing with a tone of complete displeasure) I had absolutely no idea that something like that could happen. In reality, I had gone to the studio to try out my juice extractor, and Jeff told me about a demo tape he was working on to collaborate with Randy Coven, the bassist. While I was playing on that demo tape to test the effect, someone recorded my guitar and transferred it to tape without telling me anything. I still can't understand how they did it, and if I had known or been informed that they were recording, I would never have allowed something like that. In fact, that's not even a solo of mine; it's just me trying out an effect, nothing more. And then it all ended up on this release without me knowing anything about it...

The other question is about the recent CD release of your old album "Velvet Darkness." There are five tracks presented as unreleased, but you had previously told me that this LP actually contained nothing more than recordings of jam sessions. What do you think of this new release?

I think it's totally disgusting. This is a typical example of how the music industry often has no respect for an artist's work. I hope no one ever buys that record, and in fact, please write this: if someone truly loves my music, my work, they shouldn't buy that record because it represents a step backward from the work I've tried to carry forward all these years!

Alright, you will surely be satisfied. Now let's talk about pleasant things. Your latest musical adventure, quite unexpected, with Level 42. How did this unusual collaboration come about?

Simply put, Mark King & Co. asked me to participate in the recording of their new album because they needed a guitarist. I must say it was a totally new and enjoyable experience. I played on four or five tracks on their new LP. At the same time, Level 42 had a series of concerts planned in England, so they asked me to stay with them for that occasion, and I gladly accepted. There will probably be more because I believe Level 42 is planning a series of world concerts that they are working on these days... we'll see.

Allan, one last question... a good piece of advice for our readers and all aspiring musicians...

Always hope for the best... but also be ready to expect the worst.