Alan Holdsworth

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Biography

Allan Holdsworth (born 6 August 1946) is an English guitarist and composer. He has released twelve studio albums as a solo artist and played a variety of musical styles spanning a period of more than four decades, but is best known for his work in jazz fusion . A player noted for his advanced knowledge of the fingerboard|fretboard and unique playing, Holdsworth is cited as an influence by such renowned rock music|rock and instrumental guitarists as Eddie Van Halen ,Obrecht, Jas (April 1980). "". Guitar Player . New Bay Media . Retrieved 2012-02-04. Joe Satriani ,Brown, Pete (2007). "". The Punch-In . TrueFire. Retrieved 2012-02-04. Greg Howe ,Burk, Greg (2008-07-10). "". MetalJazz. Retrieved 2012-02-04. Shawn Lane ,Hallebeek, Richard (March–April 2001). "". richardhallebeek.com. Retrieved 2012-02-04. Richie Kotzen ,Hallebeek, Richard (2002-03-19). "". richardhallebeek.com. Retrieved 2012-02-04. John Petrucci "". johnpetrucci.com. Retrieved 2012-02-04. and Alex Lifeson .Guitar World Staff (2012-01-12). "". Guitar Player . New Bay Media . Retrieved 2012-02-04. Frank Zappa once lauded him as "one of the most interesting guys on guitar on the planet".Goldwasser, Noë (April 1987). "". Guitar World . Future US . Retrieved 2012-02-04.

Recording career

Early career and 1970s

Holdsworth first recorded in 1969 with the band Igginbottom|'Igginbottom on their lone release, ''Igginbottom's Wrench (later reissued under the group name of "Allan Holdsworth & Friends"). In 1971 he joined Sunship, an jam band|improvisational band featuring keyboardist Alan Gowen , future King Crimson percussionist Jamie Muir and bassist Laurie Baker. They played live but would never release any recorded material. Anil Prasad|Prasad, Anil (1993-01-15). "". Anil Prasad#Innerviews|Innerviews . Retrieved 2012-02-07. Next came a brief stint with jazz fusion#Jazz rock|jazz rock band Nucleus (band)|Nucleus , with whom Holdsworth played on their 1972 album, Belladonna ; likewise with progressive rock band Tempest (UK band)|Tempest , on their self-titled first studio album in 1973. Anil Prasad|Prasad, Anil (2008). "". Anil Prasad#Innerviews|Innerviews . Retrieved 2012-02-04. His playing can also be heard on a live BBC Radio concert from that year, which was released several decades later in 2005 as part of Under the Blossom: The Anthology , a Tempest compilation album.

During the middle part of the decade, Holdsworth went on to work with various well-known progressive rock and jazz fusion artists. These included Soft Machine ( Bundles (album)|Bundles ), The Tony Williams Lifetime|The New Tony Williams Lifetime ( Believe It and Million Dollar Legs ), Pierre Moerlen's Gong ( Gazeuse! and Expresso II ) and Jean-Luc Ponty ( Enigmatic Ocean ). He has often since expressed his enjoyment of the experience gained with all of these groups, in particular Tony Williams (drummer)|Tony Williams .Brinn, David (2010-11-10). "". The Jerusalem Post . Retrieved 2011-01-05. 1976 brought about the first of Holdsworth's many frustrations with the music industry, when CTI Records released a recording of a rehearsal session with which he was involved, passing it off as an official studio album entitled Velvet Darkness . This angered Holdsworth, who says he still loathes the album intensely and wishes it was never made public.

As the 1970s wore on, Holdsworth was recruited by drummer and Yes (band)|Yes founder Bill Bruford to play on his 1978 debut album, Feels Good to Me . Shortly afterwards, Bruford formed the progressive rock supergroup UK (band)|U.K. with keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson and bassist John Wetton . As they were looking for a guitarist, Holdsworth was brought in on the recommendation of Bruford. Despite getting along well with them personally and enjoying the recording of their 1978 U.K. (album)|self-titled album , Holdsworth claims that his time spent with the group was "miserable" due to numerous musical differences whilst on tour, namely Jobson and Wetton's desire for Holdsworth play his solo (music)|solos to an organised structure for each show; something to which he vehemently objected.

Whilst U.K. continued with different musicians, Bruford returned to the core line-up of his solo band now simply named Bruford, with Holdsworth retained as guitarist. Their second album, One of a Kind (album)|One of a Kind , was released in 1979 and featured extensive contributions by Holdsworth, but by this point he wished to pursue his own musical aspirations and soon left the group, albeit with some reluctance."". therealallanholdsworth.com. Retrieved 2012-02-07.

1980s

Holdsworth's first significant collaborator was jazz pianist Gordon Beck , with whom he first played on Beck's Sunbird (album)|Sunbird album in 1979. Their first collaborative release, The Things You See , followed in 1980, which was a largely similar effort but without percussion or bass. They would later work together again in the decades to come. Soon afterwards, Holdsworth joined up with drummer Gary Husband and bassist Paul Carmichael in a trio that became known as False Alarm. This was to be Holdsworth's first outing as a bandleader and, after the acquisition of former Tempest singer Paul Williams, the band was renamed I.O.U. Their I.O.U. (album)|self-titled debut album was released independent record label|independently in 1982, followed by a mainstream reissue through Enigma Records in 1985.Mycock, Martin (March 1990). "". Facelift (3). Retrieved 2012-02-04.

Immediately after I.O.U. 's release, guitarist Eddie Van Halen brought Holdsworth to the attention of Warner Bros. Records executive Mo Ostin . Van Halen had previously enthused about Holdsworth in an issue of Guitar Player magazine, saying "That guy is bad& #33; He's fantastic; I love him", and that Holdsworth was "he best, in my book". This resulted in the Warner Bros. release of Road Games in 1983. It was produced by longtime Van Halen executive producer Ted Templeman , and received a nomination for Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance|Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 26th Grammy Awards|1984 Grammy Awards . Holdsworth, however, has always disliked the extended play|EP because of creative issues which arose with Templeman. At that time, the latest incarnation of the I.O.U. band consisted of drummer Chad Wackerman (who, along with Husband, would become a regular Holdsworth bandmember for the next three decades) and bassist Jeff Berlin . Former Cream (band)|Cream singer Jack Bruce provided vocal duties, as well as a returning Paul Williams.

Having relocated permanently to Southern California and acrimoniously parted ways with Warner Bros., Holdsworth signed to Enigma for the 1985 release of Metal Fatigue (album)|Metal Fatigue (along with the aforementioned I.O.U. reissue). It was during this time that Flim & the BB's bassist Jimmy Johnson (bassist)|Jimmy Johnson joined the band and, like Husband and Wackerman, has remained a regular member of Holdsworth's touring bands to this day. Making his last appearance on vocals was Paul Williams, with whom Holdsworth claims to have fallen out due to the selling of live bootleg recording|bootlegs by the former.

The Atavachron album in 1986 was a landmark, in that it was the first to feature Holdsworth's work with a brand new instrument named the SynthAxe . This unusually designed MIDI controller Hollis, John (1997-12-12). "". Hollis Communications. Retrieved 2012-02-04. (different to that of a guitar synthesizer ) would become a staple of Holdsworth's playing for the next fifteen years, during which he would effectively become the public face of the instrument. The next year saw the release of a fourth album, Sand (album)|Sand , which featured no vocals and showcased further SynthAxe experimentation. A second collaboration with Gordon Beck, With a Heart in My Song , followed in 1988.

In the late 1980s, Holdsworth set up his own recording studio named The Brewery in North County, San Diego , which would become one of the main recording locations for all of his studio albums beginning with Secrets (Allan Holdsworth album)|Secrets in 1989, and throughout the 1990s. In a 2005 interview, he stated that he no longer owned the studio following his divorce in 1999. Secrets introduced pianist Steve Hunt , who went on to play keyboard as a member of Holdsworth's touring band, and for two further albums.

1990s

A collaboration in 1990 with fusion guitarist Frank Gambale came about in the form of Truth in Shredding , an ambitious collaborative project put together by Mark Varney (brother of Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney ) through his Legato Records label.Monk, Laurie (2010-06-13). "". Truth In Shredding . Blogger (service)|Blogger . Retrieved 2012-02-04. In December of that year, following the death of Level 42 guitarist Alan Murphy in 1989, Holdsworth was recruited by the band to play as a guest musician during a series of concerts at London's Hammersmith Apollo|Hammersmith Odeon . With former I.O.U. partner Gary Husband now being the drummer for Level 42, these factors all led to Holdsworth contributing guitar work on five tracks for their 1991 album, Guaranteed (Level 42 album)|Guaranteed . Holdsworth would also play on Chad Wackerman's first two studio albums, Forty Reasons (1991) and The View (Chad Wackerman album)|The View (1993).

Holdsworth's first solo album of the decade was 1992's Wardenclyffe Tower (album)|Wardenclyffe Tower , which continued to feature the SynthAxe but also displayed his newfound interest in self-designed baritone guitar s built by luthier Bill DeLap.Hoard, Chris; Preston, Jeff (February 1994). "". The Allan Holdworth Information Center. Retrieved 2012-02-04. With the 1994 release of Hard Hat Area , Holdsworth's touring band for that and the following year was composed of Steve Hunt, Husband and bassist Skúli Sverrisson . A collaboration in 1996 with brothers Anders Johansson|Anders and Jens Johansson resulted in Heavy Machinery (album)|Heavy Machinery , an album which featured considerably more hard-edged playing from Holdsworth than was usual. In the same year, he was once again joined by Gordon Beck on None Too Soon , which comprised interpretations of some of Holdsworth's favourite jazz standard s.Douse, Cliff (December 1996). "". Guitar Techniques . Retrieved 2012-02-04.

2000–present

The decade began positively with The Sixteen Men of Tain in 2000, but it would turn out to be Holdsworth's last album recorded at The Brewery. Immediately afterwards, he abruptly slowed down his solo output due to events within his personal life.Feuillerat, Olivier (June 2003). "". ofeuillerat.free.fr. Retrieved 2012-02-04. A pair of official live albums, All Night Wrong and Then! , were released in 2002 and 2003, respectively, along with a double compilation album, The Best of Allan Holdsworth: Against the Clock , in 2005. His eleventh album, Flat Tire: Music for a Non-Existent Movie , was released in 2001 and remains his most recent studio effort. Holdsworth once mentioned that a new studio album entitled Snakes and Ladders was slated for a 2008 release on guitarist Steve Vai 's Favored Nations label, but as of 2012 this has not come about. Further new material featuring Chad Wackerman and Jimmy Johnson was also said to be in the works. In a 2010 interview, he again claimed to have enough material for two albums, which he planned to begin recording after a show in Tel Aviv|Tel Aviv, Israel .

Throughout the latter half of the 2000s he toured both North America and Europe extensively, and played as a guest on albums by numerous artists. In 2004 he was featured on keyboardist Derek Sherinian 's album, Mythology (Derek Sherinian album)|Mythology , as well as in 2007 with the latter's progressive metal supergroup Planet X (band)|Planet X , on Quantum (album)|Quantum .

In 2006 he performed with pianist Alan Pasqua , Chad Wackerman and bassist Jimmy Haslip as part of a live tribute act in honour of late drummer Tony Williams (drummer)|Tony Williams ; a DVD (''Live at Yoshi's ) and double album ( Blues for Tony'') of this tour were released in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Throughout 2008–2010, he toured with drummers Terry Bozzio and Pat Mastelotto , and bassist Tony Levin as HoBoLeMa , a supergroup playing improvised experimental music. On 3 November 2011, Holdsworth performed in Mumbai|Mumbai, India as part of drummer Virgil Donati 's touring band.Administrator (2011-09-26). "". Virgil Donati Messageboard . virgildonati.com. Retrieved 2012-20-04

Compositions and style

Holdsworth's solo compositions are primarily instrumental, but vocals were prominent on all his 1980s albums except Sand . Two of his most recurring singers were Paul Williams (featured on I.O.U. , Road Games and Metal Fatigue ) and Rowanne Mark ( Atavachron and Secrets ). Additionally, he himself sang on '''Igginbottom's Wrench and The Things You See . In his early career he occasionally played violin ( Velvet Darkness , Sunbird , The Things You See and I.O.U. ) and acoustic guitar ( Velvet Darkness , U.K. , Gazeuse! and Metal Fatigue ), but claims to not be proficient at the latter; this being due to it being percussion instrument|percussive , and hence a lack of desire to play such an instrument.

He has a distinctive playing style that involves a strong musical scale|scalar sense, combining elements of jazz and progressive rock. The harmony|harmonic structure of his pieces can be highly abstruse, with frequently shifting tonic (music)|tonal centres , and his soloing follows from a self-taught advanced musical mode|modal framework derived directly from his unusually- voicing (music)|voiced chords. His phrase (music)|phrasing almost always features striking yet subtle transitions between note s that often work contrary to the listener's expectations of consonance and dissonance , with wide and unpredictable interval (music)|intervallic leaps. In his solos he predominantly uses various legato techniques such as slides, hammer-on s and pull-off s (the latter being a personalised method which works more akin to a 'reversed' hammer-on);Mulhern, Tom (December 1982). "". Guitar Player . New Bay Media . Retrieved 2012-02-04. all of which result in an extremely fluid lead guitar|lead sound. One of the reasons for his renowned emphasis on legato, as opposed to flatpicking|picking , stems from a desire to make the sound between picked and legato notes indistinguishable.Admin (2010-01-29). "". WoodyTone!. Retrieved 2011-02-04.

Another of his most identifiable traits is the use of rich, fingerstyle guitar|fingerpicked chord (music)|chords (often awash with delay (audio effect)|delay , chorus effect|chorus and other complex guitar effects|effects ), which are articulated and sustain ed using volume swell s to create sounds reminiscent of the horn (instrument)|horn and saxophone .Warnock, Matt. "". guitarinternational.com. Retrieved 2012-02-04. He has said that he prefers both of these instruments to the guitar, the latter of which was not his first choice of instrument upon receiving one from his father when beginning to play. Allan Holdsworth|Holdsworth, Allan (1992). "". YouTube . Retrieved 2012-02-04.Adelson, Steve (2000-09-01). "". Twentieth Century Guitar . Archived from on 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2012-02-04.Hallebeek, Richard (2003-03-17). "". richardhallebeek.com. Retrieved 2012-02-04. It was because of this unfamiliarity with the guitar, combined with attempting to make it sound more like a saxophone, that he originally began to use legato without realising that it was not a common method of playing at the time. Furthermore, he was influenced greatly by such saxophonists as John Coltrane , Cannonball Adderley , Michael Brecker and Charlie Parker ,Morrison, Mike (2006-02-09). "". therealallanholdsworth.com. Retrieved 2012-02-04.Ablx Staff (2004-08-19). "". Abstract Logix. Retrieved 2012-02-04. whilst some of his favourite guitarists were Django Reinhardt , Joe Pass , Wes Montgomery , Jimmy Raney , Charlie Christian and Hank Marvin .

Equipment

Over the course of his career, Holdsworth has worked with many different guitar manufacturers in a lifelong quest to evolve his unique sound—the latter of which he feels he has never been able to perfect. From the late 1960s through to his time spent with Tony Williams in the mid-1970s, his main instrument was the Gibson SG .Hoard, Chris (1987). Allan Holdsworth: Reaching for the Uncommon Chord . Hal Leonard Corporation . pp. 23–25. ISBN 978-0-634-07002-0. He then switched to playing custom Fender Stratocaster guitars that were modified with humbucker pickup (music technology)|pickups , whilst also endorsing DiMarzio pickups; during this time he was pictured in a contemporary DiMarzio catalogue (around 1981) playing one of his modified Stratocasters. He continued to play this type of design in the early 1980s, developing custom models with Charvel and Jackson Guitars|Jackson that feature on I.O.U. and Road Games .

In 1984 he developed his first signature guitars with Ibanez , known as the AH-10 and AH-20. These instruments have a semi-acoustic guitar|semi-hollow body made from Tilia|basswood with a hollow cavity underneath the pickguard , and can be heard on Metal Fatigue and Atavachron . His long association with Steinberger guitars began in 1987: these are made from graphite and carbon fiber|carbon fibre , and distinctively have no headstock . With designer Ned Steinberger , he developed the GL2TA-AH signature model. He started playing customised headstock|headless guitars made by luthier Bill DeLap in the 1990s, which included an extended-range baritone model with a 38-inch scale (string instruments)|scale length . However, he has since said that he only owns one of the latter instruments (with a 34-inch scale). He has also developed a line of signature guitars with Carvin Corporation|Carvin , including the semi-hollow H2 in 1996 and the completely hollow HF2 Fatboy in 1999."". carvin.com. Archived from on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2012-02-04.

On his 1986 release, Atavachron , Holdsworth first recorded with the SynthAxe; a fret ted, guitar-like MIDI controller with musical keyboard|keys and string triggers instead of a neck (music)#Guitar|strung neck , and a tube that dynamics (music)|dynamically alters note volume and tone via breathing in a similar manner to a talk box .Laukens, Dirk. "". jazzguitar.be. Retrieved 2012-02-04. Sound-wise, he uses synthesizer#Patch|patches which are mainly Oberheim synthesizer s, as he considers them to be "great sounds".Hallebeek, Richard (1996-05-11). "". richardhallebeek.com. Retrieved 2012-02-04. Although he has used the SynthAxe on all his solo releases since Atavachron and still enjoys using his two remaining ones in the studio, he says he no longer wishes to make it such an integral part of his playing—especially live—mainly because of it being so rare (only a thousand units are said to still exist), and difficult to maintain and repair as a result.

Personal life

Holdsworth has lived in California permanently since the early 1980s, and often mentions cycling as one of his favourite pastimes. He is also a keen aficionado of beer, with a particular fondness for Northern English ale . Such is his taste for ale that he went as far as experimenting with brewing his own in the 1990s and inventing a specialised beer engine|beer pump named "The Fizzbuster" which, in his own words, creates "a beautiful creamy beer head|head ". With ex-wife Claire he has three children named Louise, Samuel (who was named after Allan's father) and Emily; all three live in Southern California. He has a daughter from his first marriage to Angela Slater named Lynne, who resides in England. He became a grandfather in December 2010 when his daughter Louise gave birth to a baby girl named Rori."". therealallanholdsworth.com. Retrieved 2012-02-04.

Discography

Studio albums

1976: Velvet Darkness

1982: I.O.U. (album)|I.O.U.

1983: Road Games (EP)

1985: Metal Fatigue (album)|Metal Fatigue

1986: Atavachron

1987: Sand (album)|Sand

1989: Secrets (Allan Holdsworth album)|Secrets

1992: Wardenclyffe Tower (album)|Wardenclyffe Tower

1993: Hard Hat Area

1996: None Too Soon

2000: The Sixteen Men of Tain

2001: Flat Tire: Music for a Non-Existent Movie

2005: The Best of Allan Holdsworth: Against the Clock (compilation)

Live albums

1997: I.O.U. Live

2002: All Night Wrong

2003: Then!

Collaborative albums

1980: The Things You See , with Gordon Beck

1988: With a Heart in My Song , with Gordon Beck

1990: Truth in Shredding , with Frank Gambale /The Mark Varney Project

1996: Heavy Machinery (album)|Heavy Machinery , with Jens Johansson and Anders Johansson

2009: Blues for Tony , with Alan Pasqua , Chad Wackerman and Jimmy Haslip (live double album)

Videos

1992: REH Instructional: Allan Holdsworth (VHS, reissued on DVD in 2007)

2002: Live at the Galaxy Theatre (DVD)

2007: ''Live at Yoshi's (DVD)

Books

1987: Reaching for the Uncommon Chord . Hal Leonard Corporation . International Standard Book Number|ISBN .

1994: Just for the Curious . Warner Bros. International Standard Book Number|ISBN .

1997: Melody Chords for Guitar . Centerstream Publications. International Standard Book Number|ISBN .

Copyright Citations

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