Allan Holdsworth

[James]

You've got to learn to deal with people not sharing your opinion better.

I can do that IF they know what they are talking about.

[escher]

Define his over-indulgence then .. because it is simply not so. If he's over-indulgent than so is every other major jazz player, electric or otherwise.

In fact A LOT of major jazz players are over-indulgent: Coltrane, Sun ra, late Davis, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor etc. In the case of Holdsworth (who is anyway one of my favorite guitarists) I think (and I've read many times on internet people complaining about this) it's one of the major reasons for his lack of recognition. He's admired and highly respected by other guitar players, but even for most jazz fans it's like he doesn't exist. 

[James]

In fact A LOT of major jazz players are over-indulgent: Coltrane, Sun ra, late Davis, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor etc. In the case of Holdsworth (who is anyway one of my favorite guitarists) I think (and I've read many times on internet people complaining about this) it's one of the major reasons for his lack of recognition. He's admired and highly respected by other guitar players, but even for most jazz fans it's like he doesn't exist.

I'm glad you like his music .. but you're making things up now. Holdsworth is not an over-indulgent player, certainly less so than all of those players you just mentioned. He doesn't solo on a tune for days, live or on recordings, he knows when to end. And he is known within jazz circles well enough. He's certainly made his mark, especially as a solo artist within the last 30+ years.

[Scion7]

. . .  blah blah . . . .

So, should I humor your incredible arrogance, or does your shrink prefer you work out your frustratons via multiple-post self-replying rants?  You're being extremely silly.   

[James]

So, should I humor your incredible arrogance ..

I'm sure this is all you can do. It still won't cover up the fact that you know little of Allan's music.

[Scion7]

Yeah, especially since I saw him in concert several times (both in England and here in America), one of which was his first "band," and have been listening to him since the Gordon Beck album.  You're making yourself look more and more foolish, James - because someone disagrees with you, you start to come unglued.  Now, they tell me you got "blocked" from here before - whatever - but this is looking more and more like the musings of a crank.

You need to look in the mirror and say, "people with more knowledge or the same knowledge as me of a musician may disagree with me, and my word is not law" - it's excellent therapy.

Cheers!

[James]

Yeah, especially since I saw him in concert several times, one of which was his first "band," and have been listening to him since the Gordon Beck album.

You saying you have seen him several times in concert etc. means absolutely nothing. I could care less. I've read what you said earlier and you couldn't me more wrong. You simply don't seem to understand or know his own music .. you just don't hear it. You prefer his guest appearances which put him into a context that is much easier to comprehend (which is fine), but that isn't what he's all about, it's barely a glimpse.

[Scion7]

If you can "care less," that means you care. 

COULDN'T care less, James my lad, is what you meant.

The point still stands - you are entitled to  your opinion, and you can go toe-to-toe with anyone on here you like, but when you claim you are some sort of final authority on the matter, people will look at you like the old lady that lives in Apt. 3-B with 25 cats . . .

[James]

The point still stands - you are entitled to  your opinion, and you can go toe-to-toe with anyone on here you like, but when you claim you are some sort of final authority on the matter, people will look at you like the old lady that lives in Apt. 3-B with 25 cats . . .

These aren't opinions though, I have been stating widely known facts, the reality. Perhaps one day you'll come around and understand and hear what I have been saying, but I doubt it.

[Scion7]

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Your personal likes and dislikes are not "widely known facts" - they are just your personal tastes - you're balmy, mate.

[James]

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Your personal likes and dislikes are not "widely known facts" - they are just your personal tastes - you're balmy, mate.

I haven't stated personal likes or dislikes though.

[James]

https://www.youtube.com/v/f2YicumsjAo

[James]

https://www.youtube.com/v/k8t45eCC0zM

[James]

https://www.youtube.com/v/F_rLYsuDEjg

[James]

https://www.youtube.com/v/IyGV-fHRYxMhttps://www.youtube.com/v/4Rj2eEsruh8
https://www.youtube.com/v/qSRzaubL3V4

[James]

https://www.youtube.com/v/-JYUxacLUzc

.. this is fine, wish they have the studio album version on YT though, it's very beautiful with
a wonderful & rare acoustic-guitar solo from Allan ..

[James]

https://www.youtube.com/v/zLukR6J-06o

From 1986 Guitar Player Magazine, Steve Vai's transcription of the solo ..

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/images/a/ab/Hindmost1.jpg
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/images/f/fd/Hindmost2.jpg
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/images/2/23/Hindmost3.jpg

[... ... ...]

"I put Holdsworth up there with Paganini and Liszt. Terrifying." - David Lindley

"Holdsworth is the best in my book. He's fantastic. I love him."; "Holdsworth is so damned good that I can't understand what he's doing. I've got to do this [does two-hand tapping], whereas he'll do it with one hand."  - Edward Van Halen

"One of the most interesting guys on guitar on the planet is Allan Holdsworth. I really respect his playing." - Frank Zappa

"When I hear Allan playing the guitar-besides being emotionally swept away by his use of melodic color--most of the time, I am utterly stunned and confused by what I am hearing. His chops and inner ear completely defy my own inner musical ear and reasoning, and I'm left in a blissful state of humility and surrender."  - Steve Vai

"His influence is just that he's such a drastic unyielding individual. You know, 'I'm going to do my thing and I'm going to do it the best I can." - Steve Morse

"Allan Holdsworth also has a strong style. A long time ago, Jens took me to see him in a small club in New York. I had to take my hat off to him." - Yngwie Malmsteen

"I saw Allan play last night at the Baked Potato and I must say that, without a doubt, he is truly The Grand Master..." - Frank Gambale

"I've known Allan and his music for 30 years now, and after all this time, he still amazes me. His concept is still advancing with his playing and his technical prowess--which is phenomenal, and is in complete harmony with his very advanced musical direction. I saw him about 14 years ago, and, after the concert, I said to him, "If I knew what you were doing, I'd steal everything, but I don't know what you are doing!"  - John McLaughlin

"I totally agree that Allan is one of the greatest guitarists ever - his work on the mid-70's Tony Williams records was revolutionary and changed everything for guitarists everywhere. It is a real mystery to me why he is not a household name. but it really doesn't matter, his contribution is large and i think all musicians know it." - Pat Metheny

"Hearing Allan's guitar playing for the first time was a cathartic experience. His guitar sang, it pushed musical boundaries, and it rocked. His brilliant approach to harmony is completely original, beautiful, and spellbinding. His technique and improvisational skills make him a true guitar god--the jaw-dropping kind that influences many a player in all styles of music. To witness him playing with Tony Williams' band--a Gibson SG around his neck, Small Stone Phaser, and Marshall stack in tow--was something I'll never forget. He ripped a hole in the guitarist's space-time continuum that night, and we've never been the same."; "You know, I should say at the beginning, a big difference between me and Allan is that I built on stuff that Allan pioneered, and in a small way (chuckles) I tried to assimilate a lot of what he did on the guitar technically. So it's very different. His musicianship was so far ahead of mine when I was starting out, looking at books and picking out scales and stuff; Allan was in a stage where he was constantly reinventing guitar, and I was a fan in the audience, you know what I mean? So I'd have to say in all honesty, I've taken from Allan Holdsworth, and tried to figure out, "How can I use what this guy has done to further what I'm trying to say?" - Joe Satriani

Allan plays legato parts like a violinist. His right hand might as well be a bow, because his left hand is like Paganini's. You can call his playing whatever you want to, but it will still fry your brain if you try to figure it out. John McLaughlin, Michael Stern, John Scofield--all of us just scratch our heads and go, "Damn!" - Carlos Santana

"I believe Holdsworth is incredibly important to the language of jazz guitar. He's overlooked because stylistically he's in the fusion camp very solidly, but if you get beyond that and you listen to the actual content of his playing and how he's relating to harmony and lines, you'll discover a guitarist that is virtually unsurpassed in terms of harmonic and linear sophistication, which is totally applicable to every modern jazz guitarist. Furthermore, I think that Allan Holdsworth and John Coltrane have a lot in common in terms of their linear conceptions. They're obviously very, very different and have qualities that place them in totally different zones, but I see a connection between the language that Coltrane used and the technique that Allan Holdsworth has developed. I'm heavily influenced and inspired by Coltrane and the language that he used, and Holdsworth is definitely a touchstone for how to do that on the guitar." - Kurt Rosenwinkel

Allan really changed guitar playing. The legato techniques and "sheets of sound" approach influenced not only jazz guitarists, but also a whole generation of metal players. And aside from all the technical stuff, he's a master jazz guitarist. Check out his version of "How Deep Is the Ocean." - John Scofield

"Allan's beautiful and unique chord voicings have always had an impact on me. His approach to guitar is one of a kind. He pushes the limits of the boundaries of electric guitar, and his lead phrasing would make Charlie Parker smile. His playing is essential listening for any guitarist, of any style, so they can see that the only limits we have are the ones we put on ourselves." - Eric Johnson

"Only the elite musician wishes not to imitate. Originality--and finding your own voice--are the only beacons the elite musician follows. Allan is one of those musicians." - Jeff Berlin

"Allan's prodigious technique and soaring, melodic fluidity are inspiring and daunting. That tone! The amazing accuracy of his pull-offs! That limpid wang bar! Like other giants such as Jimi Hendrix or Jeff Beck, he spawned generations of imitators who, in a way, threaten to make one forget how great the original master is. Don't succumb to this! None of them can touch the man himself." - Nels Cline

Allan wanted to sound like John Coltrane. Problem was he's playing guitar, not saxophone, so he had to figure out a way to get a similar "sheets of sound" equivalent on guitar. The scales and intervals he chose were also all unusual, and he didn't become just one of the great scalar improvisers overnight. He worked like a dog on Nicolas Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns. Then, when he'd run out of notes he'd reach for the whammy bar and send shivers down your spine. - Bill Bruford

[James]

https://www.youtube.com/v/4wYJQ_42Tuchttps://www.youtube.com/v/RfHJYBBZ7zI
https://www.youtube.com/v/xHFglLKMVpg

[James]

https://www.youtube.com/v/VvsxBny9JXAhttps://www.youtube.com/v/GUf65kbB3Ks
https://www.youtube.com/v/5BOkgNkkUEE

[James]

https://www.youtube.com/v/rjGOPQvWXw4https://www.youtube.com/v/K1v4eMacw14
https://www.youtube.com/v/Jg6fvL_B5DI