Remembering Allan Holdsworth On His Birthday
Hi WA Friends,
Welcome to another blog in my ongoing series of guitar players, some of which you may not know.
Have you heard of the British progressive rock and jazz fusion virtuoso Allan Holdsworth? Unfortunately, we lost Allan at the age of 70, but his music lives on.
Allan was best known for his complex chord progressions, over which he intertwined intriguing melodic phrasing. His large hands, like Jimi Hendrix and Steve Vai, allowed him to grab chords on the guitar fretboard that hurt just watching him do it!
Allan's legato phrasing caught the attention of such Jazz Fusion greats as Jean-Luc Ponty and John McLaughlin.
He embraced the first commercial guitar synthesizer, SynthAxe, and made it do incredible things. Allan brought the instrument to the attention of other guitarists, like Lee Ritenour, who frequently used it live and on multiple recordings.
Alan's "Frankfurt '86" live album cover shows him playing the SynthAxe. Wicked cool looking, huh? It sounds even better than it looks!
Robben Ford called Allan "The John Coltrane Of Guitar," and Frank Zappa referred to him as "One Of The Most Interesting Guitar Players On The Planet!"
It's definitely worthwhile to check out some of Allan's recordings. "Atavachron" and "Metal Fatigue" are two of my favorite albums, but everything he recorded is fantastic! You can hear him for free on YouTube.
Let me know what you think, and keep on Rockin'!
Frank 🎸
Recent Comments
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I can't say I have ever heard of Allan Holdsworth Frank, but if you reccomend his contributions to music then he must be worth checking out!
Enjoy the rest of your day my friend! :-))
Thanks, Nick!
Take a listen on YouTube and let me know what you think.
Enjoy the weekend!
Frank 🎸
He was a great, great musician, but I do not feel he got the FULL recognition he deserved.
-Mike
Hi, Mike
I definitely agree with you! Alan, like many of the players in his musical genre go unrecognized and unrewarded because their music is not mainstream and gets no radio play.
Most of his pieces are instrumental and very complex in their composition.
Are you a guitar player? Most people that know him are musicians.
I agree with you 100%. Unfortunately no I’m not a guitar player…was an ok drummer when I was in my teens (many, many years ago) — but I just love all kinds of music and can listen to classic rock all day long as that is what I grew up on.
-Mike
Hi, Mike
I love classic rock, as well. We both grew up with it and it brings back some wonderful memories whenever I hear certain songs!
Maybe you should think about getting another set of drums or trying a different instrument?
Keep on Rockin'
Frank 🎸
Thank you Frank…also your advise sounds right on, banging away on a drum set is a great stress reliever!
-Mike
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I haven’t heard of him but will definitely look for him on YouTube thanks
You’re welcome, Ruth! 😎
Frank