Biography
Guitarist Allan Holdsworth earned widespread regard as one of jazz fusion’s most accomplished instrumentalists, although widespread acclaim for his contributions remained elusive throughout his lifetime. He entered the world on August 6, 1946, in Bradford, Yorkshire, where his father, a pianist, provided his initial musical instruction. Holdsworth did not begin playing guitar until age seventeen, yet he mastered the instrument rapidly. After gaining experience in regional groups and also studying violin, he moved to London and received guidance from saxophonist Ray Warleigh. In 1972 he became a member of the progressive rock band Tempest, contributing to their self-titled debut the following year; in December 1973 he joined Soft Machine, where his presence shifted the ensemble toward guitar-driven fusion. Around the same period, drummer Tony Williams encountered Holdsworth and invited him to replace John McLaughlin in the Lifetime project, prompting Holdsworth’s abrupt departure from Soft Machine in March 1975 and his subsequent appearances on the Williams albums Believe It and Million Dollar Legs. That partnership proved short-lived, leading Holdsworth to French-English prog rockers Gong for the 1976 release Gazeuse! (issued in the U.S. as Expresso) and 1978’s Expresso II, while also recording with Jean-Luc Ponty, Bill Bruford, Gordon Beck, Jack Bruce, and UK.
Toward the close of the 1970s Holdsworth embarked on a solo career that eventually yielded nearly twenty albums, among them the notable 1983 set Road Games, 1985’s Metal Fatigue, 1994’s Hard Hat Area, and 2000’s The Sixteen Men of Tain; the guitarist collaborated on these projects with former Tempest vocalist Paul Williams, Gary Husband, Chad Wackerman, Jimmy Johnson, Steve Hunt, and Alan Pasqua, among others. During the mid-1980s he became one of the earliest adopters of the SynthAxe, an instrument equipped with a breath controller that functioned as a hybrid of synthesizer, guitar, and saxophone, earning him Guitar Player magazine’s readers’-poll title of Best Guitar Synthesist consecutively from 1989 through 1994. In the following decade he partnered with the Carvin company to develop a signature guitar model. Mid-decade he temporarily departed from original fusion material to record an album of jazz standards with longtime associate Gordon Beck. The Sixteen Men of Tain introduced an all-acoustic rhythm section for the first time on any Holdsworth release, after which the official live album All Night Wrong appeared in 2002. Then! Live in Tokyo documented his 1990 touring band, and the 2005 retrospective Against the Clock surveyed his career to that point.
Subsequent years brought a sequence of collaborative releases: the two-part Conversation Piece with Beck, Jeff Clyne, and John Stevens on Belle Antique in 2008; Propensity, recorded with Danny Thompson and Stevens for Art of Time Recordings in 2009; and Blues for Tony, issued by MoonJune in 2009 and featuring Alan Pasqua, Chad Wackerman, and Jimmy Haslip. While maintaining an active touring schedule, Holdsworth initiated a 2015 PledgeMusic campaign that resulted in the digital rarities collection Tales from the Vault the next year. On April 7, 2017, the double-disc retrospective Eidolon and the twelve-disc box set The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever!—a title the characteristically modest Holdsworth reportedly disliked—were released, the latter encompassing his complete solo catalog plus additional material. Eight days afterward, on April 15, he died at age seventy.
Toward the close of the 1970s Holdsworth embarked on a solo career that eventually yielded nearly twenty albums, among them the notable 1983 set Road Games, 1985’s Metal Fatigue, 1994’s Hard Hat Area, and 2000’s The Sixteen Men of Tain; the guitarist collaborated on these projects with former Tempest vocalist Paul Williams, Gary Husband, Chad Wackerman, Jimmy Johnson, Steve Hunt, and Alan Pasqua, among others. During the mid-1980s he became one of the earliest adopters of the SynthAxe, an instrument equipped with a breath controller that functioned as a hybrid of synthesizer, guitar, and saxophone, earning him Guitar Player magazine’s readers’-poll title of Best Guitar Synthesist consecutively from 1989 through 1994. In the following decade he partnered with the Carvin company to develop a signature guitar model. Mid-decade he temporarily departed from original fusion material to record an album of jazz standards with longtime associate Gordon Beck. The Sixteen Men of Tain introduced an all-acoustic rhythm section for the first time on any Holdsworth release, after which the official live album All Night Wrong appeared in 2002. Then! Live in Tokyo documented his 1990 touring band, and the 2005 retrospective Against the Clock surveyed his career to that point.
Subsequent years brought a sequence of collaborative releases: the two-part Conversation Piece with Beck, Jeff Clyne, and John Stevens on Belle Antique in 2008; Propensity, recorded with Danny Thompson and Stevens for Art of Time Recordings in 2009; and Blues for Tony, issued by MoonJune in 2009 and featuring Alan Pasqua, Chad Wackerman, and Jimmy Haslip. While maintaining an active touring schedule, Holdsworth initiated a 2015 PledgeMusic campaign that resulted in the digital rarities collection Tales from the Vault the next year. On April 7, 2017, the double-disc retrospective Eidolon and the twelve-disc box set The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever!—a title the characteristically modest Holdsworth reportedly disliked—were released, the latter encompassing his complete solo catalog plus additional material. Eight days afterward, on April 15, he died at age seventy.
Albums
