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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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