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Guitarist
Allan Holdsworth is widely considered to be one of the finest instrumentalists
in all of jazz fusion, yet has never truly received the recognition
that he so rightfully deserves. Born on August 6, 1946, in Bradford,
Yorkshire, Holdsworth was originally taught music by his father, who
was a pianist. First a saxophone player, Holdsworth didn't pick up the
guitar until he was 17 years old, but learned the instrument quickly.
After playing in local outfits (in addition to learning the violin),
Holdsworth relocated to London, where he was taken under the wing of
saxophonist Ray Warleigh.
By 1972, Holdsworth had joined progressive rockers Tempest, appearing
on the group's self-titled debut a year later before joining Soft Machine
in December 1973 — and radically changing the latter outfit's sound
to guitar-based fusion in the process. U.S. drummer Tony Williams discovered
Holdsworth around this time, which led to an invite for the up-and-coming
guitarist to replace John McLaughlin in Williams' Lifetime project —
Holdsworth abruptly left Soft Machine in March of 1975, subsequently
appearing on the Williams recordings Believe It and Million Dollar Legs.
But Holdsworth's union with Williams was a brief one, as the guitarist
joined up with French-English prog rockers Gong for such albums as 1976's
Gazeuse! (released as Expresso in the U.S.) and 1978's Expresso II,
in addition to guesting on recordings by Jean-Luc Ponty, Bill Bruford,
Gordon Beck, Jack Bruce, and UK.
Also in the late '70s, Holdsworth launched a solo career, which over
the years has seen the release of nearly 20 albums (a few standouts
include 1983's Road Games, 1985's Metal Fatigue, 1994's Hard Hat Area,
and 2000's The Sixteen Men of Tain), as the guitarist has been joined
by such acclaimed musicians as Paul Williams (a former bandmate of Holdsworth's
in Tempest), Gary Husband, Chad Wackerman, Gary Husband, Jimmy Johnson,
Steve Hunt, and Alan Pasqua, among others.
In the mid-'80s, Holdsworth was one of the first musicians to use a
Synthaxe, a guitar that contained a breath controller that proved to
be a cross between a synthesizer, guitar, and saxophone (Holdsworth
was awarded Best Guitar Synthesist from 1989 through 1994 in the readers'
poll of Guitar Player magazine). In the '90s, Holdsworth also created
his own signature guitar model with the Carvin company.
In the mid-'90s, Holdsworth briefly shifted away from his fusion originals
and recorded an album with longtime musical partner Gordon Beck that
dipped into jazz standards. The Sixteen Men of Tain (2000) marked another
shift, in that it was the first Holdsworth release to feature an all-acoustic
rhythm section. This was followed in 2002 by All Night Wrong, his first
official live release. Then! Live in Tokyo was next, featuring Holdsworth's
1990 live band, which was followed by Against the Clock, a career retrospective,
in 2005.
This
bio courtesy www.allmusic.com
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