ALLAN HOLDSWORTH NEWS (!!)

[Genital Giant]

I'm not that modest, just realistic. I've been playing for a long, long time and I've gotten enough encouragement and support from musicians I have a lot of respect for to know that I'm pretty good. But Holdsy is light years beyond "pretty good;" his playing is just at a level that's practically inhuman! Having read many interviews with him, I know he's just a flawed human with more insecurities than most, but his playing is "otherworldly." I first heard him on Tony Williams Lifetime's "Believe It!" and well... I couldn't believe it! Couldn't believe anybody could play guitar like that! And he has continued to evolve over the decades. It's not just his bionic chops or his extremely advanced harmonic conception; it's that he created a style that's so unique and innovative that he sounds like he's never listened to (let alone be influenced by) another guitar player in his life (though I know he has)! To me, he has raised the bar of what can be done with the guitar in the same way that Charlie Parker and John Coltrane did with the saxophone. In each case, it wasn't just total mastery of the instrument, it was a fully developed approach to improvisation that had never previously been conceived of.

Very well put! I couldn't agree more!

[Reid]

I first heard him on Tony Williams Lifetime's "Believe It!" and well... I couldn't believe it! Couldn't believe anybody could play guitar like that!

Mr. Spock from that album was the first Holdsworth playing I heard on the radio in the early 80s. I went right to the store and bought the record. But a few years later I bought Road Games, and Metal Fatigue on the same day. After listening to pieces like Three Sheets To The Wind, and Devil Take The Hindmost, I knew I should quit the guitar for good. I did learn a few chords from the tunes Home, Letters Of Marque, and Tokyo Dream. But that's about it.

[wideopenears]

Totally agree with Ernie....AH is the most unique voice on the instrument since.....well, Hendrix,at least.

[No Pride]

I did learn a few chords from the tunes Home, Letters Of Marque, and Tokyo Dream. But that's about it.

I did too, with the help of "Reaching For the Uncommon Chord," a book of transcribed Holdsworth tunes. I thought I knew a lot about guitar chords, but 80% of his chords were voicings that I (and most others apparently) had never thought of. I couldn't even physically play some of those chords; my hands aren't big enough! That's one of the aspects of his playing that you'd really have to play guitar to fully appreciate. His chordal playing is as unique (and practically impossible to play) as his single note soloing. And he moves from one tendonitis-inducing chord to the other with speed and accuracy like it was a walk in the park! He HAD to start making his own albums to unveil that part of his playing; nobody was allowing him to do it when he worked as a sideman. His first legitimate solo album, "I.O.U." (not "Velvet Darkness"... and don't mention that album to Holdsy if you want to stay on his good side) was the best one for showcasing his chordal work, as it has a very "live in the studio" sound and is unencumbered by any keyboards.

[100423]

I did too, with the help of "Reaching For the Uncommon Chord," a book of transcribed Holdsworth tunes. I thought I knew a lot about guitar chords, but 80% of his chords were voicings that I (and most others apparently) had never thought of. I couldn't even physically play some of those chords; my hands aren't big enough! That's one of the aspects of his playing that you'd really have to play guitar to fully appreciate. His chordal playing is as unique (and practically impossible to play) as his single note soloing. And he moves from one tendonitis-inducing chord to the other with speed and accuracy like it was a walk in the park! He HAD to start making his own albums to unveil that part of his playing; nobody was allowing him to do it when he worked as a sideman. His first legitimate solo album, "I.O.U." (not "Velvet Darkness"... and don't mention that album to Holdsy if you want to stay on his good side) was the best one for showcasing his chordal work, as it has a very "live in the studio" sound and is unencumbered by any keyboards.

Yeah, some of his chords are ridiculous, and like you, my hand just isn't big enough to pull off some of those stretches.
I think "Reaching For The Uncommon Chord" should have been called "Attempting To Reach For The Impossible Chord".

[aith01]

I'm not that modest, just realistic. I've been playing for a long, long time and I've gotten enough encouragement and support from musicians I have a lot of respect for to know that I'm pretty good. But Holdsy is light years beyond "pretty good;" his playing is just at a level that's practically inhuman! Having read many interviews with him, I know he's just a flawed human with more insecurities than most, but his playing is "otherworldly." I first heard him on Tony Williams Lifetime's "Believe It!" and well... I couldn't believe it! Couldn't believe anybody could play guitar like that! And he has continued to evolve over the decades. It's not just his bionic chops or his extremely advanced harmonic conception; it's that he created a style that's so unique and innovative that he sounds like he's never listened to (let alone be influenced by) another guitar player in his life (though I know he has)! To me, he has raised the bar of what can be done with the guitar in the same way that Charlie Parker and John Coltrane did with the saxophone. In each case, it wasn't just total mastery of the instrument, it was a fully developed approach to improvisation that had never previously been conceived of.

Fair enough.

Actually, I do see where you're coming from. It's just that the word "kindergarten" seemed a bit extreme.

[wideopenears]

Yeah, some of his chords are ridiculous, and like you, my hand just isn't big enough to pull off some of those stretches.
I think "Reaching For The Uncommon Chord" should have been called "Attempting To Reach For The Impossible Chord".

I recall the first time I saw that book, at my first Holdsworth show--Syracuse, NY in the late 80's--and my eyes were like.....

The cover alone freaked me out.
But I loved the bit about his brewing!

[Shadow]

Totally agree with Ernie....AH is the most unique voice on the instrument since.....well, Hendrix,at least.

You put Holdsworth over Johnny M.

[wideopenears]

I think Holdsworth is a more unique voice. Not to say McLaughlin is not unique....and it's not a contest. I'm a huge McLaughlin fan. You've heard the story, Ed, about McLaughlin backstage with Allan, where he told Allan "If I could figure out what you do, I'd do it, but I can't figure it out!" or something like that?

[No Pride]

Actually, I do see where you're coming from. It's just that the word "kindergarten" seemed a bit extreme.

I could've put "pre-school," but that would imply that I'm a novice... and I'm not. I was just trying to express the vastness of the gap between Holdsworth and a guy like me.

You put Holdsworth over Johnny M.

I think Holdsworth is a more unique voice. Not to say McLaughlin is not unique....and it's not a contest. I'm a huge McLaughlin fan. You've heard the story, Ed, about McLaughlin backstage with Allan, where he told Allan "If I could figure out what you do, I'd do it, but I can't figure it out!" or something like that?

Well put, Cone and I agree. There was nobody who sounded like McLaughlin when he came out and he blew me away when I first heard him, but Holdsy upped the ante considerably and was possibly even more unique. But yeah, it's not a contest and people are going to prefer one over the other. As they say, it's all good!

Coincidentally, The Tony Williams Lifetime introduced me to both of them.

[Genital Giant]

Yeah, some of his chords are ridiculous, and like you, my hand just isn't big enough to pull off some of those stretches.
I think "Reaching For The Uncommon Chord" should have been called "Attempting To Reach For The Impossible Chord".

In an interview back in the 80's, they asked him "how far can you stretch with your fingers on the fretboard?" and Holdsworth said "I don't know. I don't want to know, if I know that then it will probably prevent from trying to make a reach that my mind wants to make."
LOL. Wild.

[Genital Giant]

I could've put "pre-school," but that would imply that I'm a novice... and I'm not. I was just trying to express the vastness of the gap between Holdsworth and a guy like me.




Well put, Cone and I agree. There was nobody who sounded like McLaughlin when he came out and he blew me away when I first heard him, but Holdsy upped the ante considerably and was possibly even more unique. But yeah, it's not a contest and people are going to prefer one over the other. As they say, it's all good!

Coincidentally, The Tony Williams Lifetime introduced me to both of them.

Holdsworth and McLaughlin are my two favorite jazz guitarists, and they are quite different from each other. I only know I'm dealing with someone with no ears when they say "aww, man, Al Di Meola is way better than those guys!" I just smile softly at the idiot and say nothing.

[JKL2000]

Yup it does, but for me the vocals were even more of a gag reflex experience than Paul Williams on the 1st Tempest record...wonder if that was the SG that John Etheridge snagged from him.

I like those vocals! She's like 95% cool black woman and 5% Joanne Worley.

[Stickleback]

Saw Holdsworth in LA last night. He was definitely struggling and seemed out of practice. Sure there were some nice moments, but he seemed to have to ramp up his solos and was lost in some of the arrangements like Proto Cosmos. There was a guest keyboardist who helped keep things together. I know he's had some health issues, maybe he had an off night, maybe he was tired, maybe he'd rather be retired at this point but needs the income. Also, I am pretty much over Virgil Donati's intensely busy playing which just seems to disrupt the flow of the music.

[gojikranz]

saw him in sacramento tonight. i do not know much of his solo work but i kind of agree with the above poster. really though the guitar was hard to hear sometimes over donati's very loud drums. it did feel sometimes like donati was just soloing the whole time and not always locked into how the music should be going like when holdsworth would take a solo he was doing all kinds of different drum stuff rather than providing a platform for allan. dunno. glad i finally got to see allan play live though.

[nosebone]

Yeah, busy drumming with busy bass and busy guitar can make for tough listening.

The first time I saw Holdsy solo was with IOU back in 1981/82.

I wanted to strangle their drummer, Gary Husband, for his loud and excessive playing throughout the set.

[Dean Watson]

I absolutely love Gary's playing, but did see them play in T.O. a few years back, and Gary did a drum solo that was about as long at 1/2 the entire set. It was very unbalanced, I always wondered if it was planned, or he just couldn't bring himself to stop soloing. It was odd, and I would really rather have heard them play as a band than sit through 25 minutes of drum soloing.

[TheLoony]

seconded!
Believe It! especially, but Million Dollar Legs is good too

then there's Ponty's Enigmatic Ocean as well

I've had Enigmatic Ocean for thirty years or so on cassette. With no liner notes I never knew that was Holdsworth. Even listened to it not too long ago. Pretty good album.

Learn something new everyday.

[Stickleback]

On a side note, I saw Holdsworth with Joel Taylor on drums some years ago. Joel has a more fluid jazzy style which gave Holdsworth a different "swing" to hang his solos on. Even Chad Wackerman has a blocky rock-heavy vibe. I much prefer holdsworth with a more fluid drummer like Taylor or Gary Novack.

[Dave (in MA)]

I've had Enigmatic Ocean for thirty years or so on cassette. With no liner notes I never knew that was Holdsworth. Even listened to it not too long ago. Pretty good album.

Learn something new everyday.

Most of the guitar is Steurmer, but Holdsworth has 3 solos.

[simon moon]

It's not just his bionic chops or his extremely advanced harmonic conception; it's that he created a style that's so unique and innovative that he sounds like he's never listened to (let alone be influenced by) another guitar player in his life (though I know he has)! To me, he has raised the bar of what can be done with the guitar in the same way that Charlie Parker and John Coltrane did with the saxophone. In each case, it wasn't just total mastery of the instrument, it was a fully developed approach to improvisation that had never previously been conceived of.

Interesting that you say the above. It closely echos what a friend or mine (Julliard student, now in demand studio musician) said about him a while back.

" his innovative, unique approach to improv is unmatched. The greatest jazz soloists (McCoy, Brecker, Freddie, Trane, etc.), all had predecessors on their respective instruments that they copped licks from and modified with their own voice. There clearly is no guitar lineage leading up to Allan's approach. This freak landed ship with a completely new vocabulary not based on anything that was already established. No blues, pentatonics, bop, post-bop...NOTHING."

[Dave]

I've had Enigmatic Ocean for thirty years or so on cassette. With no liner notes I never knew that was Holdsworth. Even listened to it not too long ago. Pretty good album.

Learn something new everyday.

One of my favorite songs and guitar solos of "all-time" is Nostalgic Lady. The overall sound of the record is great, but wish someone could do a re-master of it, but there probably isn't much incentive for JLP.

[Dave]

I did too, with the help of "Reaching For the Uncommon Chord," a book of transcribed Holdsworth tunes. I thought I knew a lot about guitar chords, but 80% of his chords were voicings that I (and most others apparently) had never thought of. I couldn't even physically play some of those chords; my hands aren't big enough! That's one of the aspects of his playing that you'd really have to play guitar to fully appreciate. His chordal playing is as unique (and practically impossible to play) as his single note soloing. And he moves from one tendonitis-inducing chord to the other with speed and accuracy like it was a walk in the park! He HAD to start making his own albums to unveil that part of his playing; nobody was allowing him to do it when he worked as a sideman. His first legitimate solo album, "I.O.U." (not "Velvet Darkness"... and don't mention that album to Holdsy if you want to stay on his good side) was the best one for showcasing his chordal work, as it has a very "live in the studio" sound and is unencumbered by any keyboards.

I love these pictures of Ron Jarzombek, Allan and his notation.

RJandAH.jpgAHnotation.jpg

[Obscured]

Yeah, busy drumming with busy bass and busy guitar can make for tough listening.

The first time I saw Holdsy solo was with IOU back in 1981/82.

I wanted to strangle their drummer, Gary Husband, for his loud and excessive playing throughout the set.

Same here, Husband plays lead cymbals. Very noisy. Love Wackerman. Sadly, although still happy to see him again, Husband is back for the eastern states gigs in a few weeks here.

[trurl]

Terry Bozzio in UK last year was the same way (as in, busy and not in a good way). I love his playing but he's so used to being an unaccompanied soloist these days it seems the concept of enseble playing is completely alien to him now.