Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017)Brandle, Lars (17 April 2017). "Musicians React to Allan Holdsworth's Death". Billboard. Retrieved 17 April 2017. was a British jazz and rock guitarist, violinist and composer. He contributed to numerous bands, including Soft Machine, U.K., The Tony Williams Lifetime, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Bruford, Level 42, and Planet X, in addition to solo work in multiple genres.
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, hence why 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, made by a company he endorsed in the 1980s.
Early life Holdsworth was born in Bradford, where he was raised by his maternal grandparents, Sam and Elsie Holdsworth. He was raised in a house on Priestman Street, and went to the nearby Drummond Street Middle School. Sam Holdsworth was a jazz pianist who had previously moved to London to pursue a career in music, but had eventually returned to Bradford. Holdsworth was given his first guitar at the age of 17 and received his initial music tuition from his grandfather. His professional career began when he joined the Glen South Band, which performed on the Mecca club circuit across Northern England.
Recording career Early career and 1970s
Holdsworth first recorded in 1969 with the band 'Igginbottom on their lone release, 'Igginbottom's Wrench (later reissued under the group name of "Allan Holdsworth & Friends"). In 1971 he joined Sunship, an improvisational band featuring keyboardist Alan Gowen, future King Crimson percussionist Jamie Muir and bassist Laurie Baker. They played live but never released any recorded material.Prasad, Anil (15 January 1993). "Creating imaginary backdrops". Innerviews. Retrieved 30 March 2015. Next came a brief stint with jazz rock band Nucleus, with whom Holdsworth played on their 1972 album, Belladonna; likewise with progressive rock band Tempest, on their self-titled first studio album in 1973.Prasad, Anil (2008). "Harnessing momentum". Innerviews. Retrieved 30 March 2015. 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 most notable for the song "Gorgon". There has been an urban myth, propagated in part by the singer Donovan, that Holdsworth played the fuzztone solo on Donovan's 1968 hit "Hurdy Gurdy Man", but the solo was actually played by Alan Parker."Clem Cattini – Drummer On 45 Number 1 Hit Singles". coda-uk.co.uk. 29 August 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2017."Email from John Paul Jones to Clem Cattini". coda-uk.co.uk. 29 August 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
During the middle part of the decade, Holdsworth worked with various well-known progressive rock and jazz fusion artists, including Soft Machine (Bundles and Land of Cockayne), The New Tony Williams Lifetime (Believe It and Million Dollar Legs), Pierre Moerlen's Gong (Gazeuse!, Expresso II and Time is the Key), and Jean-Luc Ponty (Enigmatic Ocean), experiences he valued—especially his time spent with drummer Tony Williams.Brinn, David (10 November 2010). "Fusion, rock and something else". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 March 2015. In 1976 came the first of Holdsworth's many frustrations with the music industry, when CTI Records released a recording of what Holdsworth thought was a rehearsal session as an official studio album, Velvet Darkness. This angered Holdsworth, who said decades later that he still loathed the album intensely and wished it were never made public.
In 1977, Holdsworth was recruited by drummer and Yes original member Bill Bruford to play on his debut album, Feels Good to Me (released January 1978). Shortly afterwards, Bruford formed the progressive rock supergroup U.K. with keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson and bassist John Wetton; Holdsworth was brought in on the recommendation of Bruford. Despite getting along well with them personally and enjoying the recording of their 1978 self-titled album, Holdsworth claims that he "detested" his time spent with the group,Newton, Steve (13 November 2013). "30 years ago today: Van Halen-praised guitar phenom Allan Holdsworth plays Vancouver's Soft Rock Cafe". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 30 March 2015. and that it was "miserable" due to numerous musical differences whilst on tour, namely Jobson and Wetton's desire for Holdsworth to play his solos to an organised structure for each show, something to which he vehemently objected.
1978 also saw Holdsworth do more traditional jazz material with a short-lived outfit named The Allan Holdsworth Quartet, which did a live recording for BBC Radio in that year under the program name "Live At The BBC." This group included Pat Smythe on piano, Darryl Runswick on bass, and Harold Fisher on drums.YouTube, The Allan Holdsworth Quartet - Live At The BBC 1978
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, 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."Bio & History" . therealallanholdsworth.com. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
1980s Holdsworth's first significant collaboration was with jazz pianist Gordon Beck on the latter's Sunbird album in 1979. Their first collaborative release The Things You See followed in 1980, and was a largely similar effort but without percussion or bass. Soon afterwards, Holdsworth joined up with drummer Gary Husband and bassist Paul Carmichael in a trio that became known as False Alarm. This was 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 self-titled debut album was released independently in 1982, followed by a mainstream reissue through Enigma Records in 1985.Mycock, Martin (March 1990). "Allan Holdsworth: In the 80's". Facelift (3). Retrieved 30 March 2015.
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 a 1980 issue of Guitar Player magazine, saying "That guy is bad! He's fantastic; I love him", and that Holdsworth was "the best, in my book". Furthermore, in a 1981 interview for Guitar World magazine, he said that "To me Allan Holdsworth is number one".Stix, John (January 1981). "Eddie Van Halen Opens Up in his First Guitar World Interview From 1981, Part 2". Guitar World. NewBay Media. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
This resulted in the Warner Bros. release of Road Games, an EP, in 1983. It was produced by longtime Van Halen executive producer Ted Templeman, and received a nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1984 Grammy Awards. Holdsworth, however, disliked Road Games because of creative differences with Templeman. Former Cream singer Jack Bruce provided vocals on Road Games (Holdsworth and Bruce had played together with Billy Cobham, Didier Lockwood and David Sancious under the name A Gathering of Minds at Montreux in 1982), whilst the later incarnation of the I.O.U. band consisted of Paul Williams, drummer Chad Wackerman (who, along with Husband, would become a regular Holdsworth bandmember for the next three decades) and bassist Jeff Berlin.
Holdsworth was booked to perform at “Wolf and Rissmillers Country Club “, in Los Angeles, by Gary LoConti who later became Allan's manager for the next seven years. Having relocated permanently to Southern California LoConti negotiated a mutual parting of the ways with Warner Bros., allowing Allan to leave with the masters plus payment. LoConti then signed Holdsworth to Enigma (with sign on payment), for the 1985 release of Metal Fatigue (along with the aforementioned I.O.U. reissue). It was during this time that Flim & the BB's bassist Jimmy Johnson joined the band and, like Husband and Wackerman, remained a regular member of Holdsworth's touring bands until his death. Making his last appearance on vocals was Paul Williams, with whom Holdsworth claimed to have fallen out due to the selling of live bootlegs by Williams.Milkowski, Bill (5 October 2005). "A Conversation with Allan Holdsworth (#80)" . Abstract Logix. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
The Atavachron album in 1986 was a landmark release in that it was the first to feature Holdsworth's work with a brand new instrument named the SynthAxe. This unusually designed MIDI controllerHollis, John (12 December 1997). "SynthAxe". Hollis Communications. Retrieved 30 March 2015. (different from a guitar synthesizer) would become a staple of Holdsworth's playing for the rest of his recording career, during which he would effectively become the public face of the instrument. The next year saw the release of a fourth 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 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.Jeffries, Vincent. "Secrets – Allan Holdsworth". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
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 (13 June 2010). "Mark Varney: Legato interview with Laurie Monk". Truth in Shredding. Retrieved 30 March 2015. 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 Odeon. With former I.O.U. partner Gary Husband now being the drummer for Level 42, these circumstances all led to Holdsworth contributing guitar work on five tracks for their 1991 album, Guaranteed."Level 42 recording Guaranteed". level42.com. Retrieved 17 April 2017. Holdsworth also played on Chad Wackerman's first two studio albums, Forty Reasons (1991) and The View (1993)."Biography" . chadwackerman.com. Retrieved 17 April 2017.