That Allan Holdsworth died this week in relative poverty and obscurity (at least considering his enormous artistic legacy) is a sad but completely predictable sign of the times.
I first encountered Holdsworth as an ambitious young guitar player. Even then, in what in retrospect was his heyday, he was the kind of musician described as “the best guitarist you never heard of.” I immediately loved not only his playing but his music. Even when listening very casually, one could tell that it was incredibly harmonically sophisticated, melodically engaging and amazingly well played. One thing that struck me almost immediately was the sheer beauty and lyricism of his music- qualities not often found in virtuoso electric guitar players. He struck me then as much more of a guitar Debussy than a guitar Shostakovich.
From early days of listening to his music for pleasure I gradually moved on to listening more and more analytically and critically, then, bit by bit, trying to understand what he was doing. Holdsworth may have been music’s greatest iceberg. What you see on first glance is beautiful, massive, impressive and even intimidating, but what lies beneath the surface is simply beyond belief.
I’ll make a confession of my youthful arrogance here. I grew up learning the cello and the guitar more or less in parallel. Compared to the cello, the guitar always came easily to me- on the surface it is a much more straightforward instrument to play, and having a certain amount of technical grounding as a cellist put me way ahead of a lot (by no means all!) of my peers (at least until I met my first real guitar super-virtuoso in person, a chap named David Biller. Dave was in a different league the rest of us back then). Trying to learn to play Holdsworth’s chords and solos quickly humbled the living shit out of me. Chord voicings he would flit through in a few tenths of a second I would have to spend ages trying to stretch and bend and contort my hand to reach. I felt like a complete beginner. Somewhere I have an old demo of my band playing Road Games on cassette- I’ll upload it if i can find it. We did a pretty good job, but Allan would have pretty bemused at how hard we had to work to play it. It’s probably one of his easiest tunes.
Later on, during my years at Indiana University, I went through a period of deep disillusionment with classical music. At that time, I often wished I could be a jazz musician. I was completely immersed then in the 60’s jazz of Miles Davis 2nd quintet, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock. Working with David Baker in the IU jazz department, I felt like I started to understand the music well and to form solid ideas about improvisation. However, as David Baker knew probably better than anyone, the cello is no instrument for jazz. And for all its pedigree as a jazz instrument, neither is the guitar. When one listens to the solos of people like Trane, Miles, Woody Shaw, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson, you realise they were all able to develop single-note improvisation with a kind of agility, ease and expressivity that not even the best guitarists could approach. Even the cream of the crop of 70’s and 80’s fusion guitarists working with Miles or Freddie Hubbard often ended up sounding like amateurs next to their horn-playing colleagues. In their defence, it wasn’t entirely their fault. Saxophones and trumpets are near-ideal instruments for jazz improvisation. The guitar is not. None of the guitar greats of the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s could approach the kind of expressive ingenuity and creative freedom of a John Coltrane.
None of them, that is, except Allan Holdsworth. Holdsworth seemed not to be bound by the same laws of physics that limited every other guitarist from Django Reinhardt to George Benson. For him, picking didn’t seem to exist. Changing strings didn’t seem to exist. Shifting positions didn’t seem to exist. The notes simply flowed out of the guitar as they might from a scat singer possessing Messiaen’s harmonic knowledge with a four octave range on speed. Harmonically, he was simply in a different league to any other jazz guitarist of his generation. He might well have been the first guitarist to really completely escape the blues-box cliché. His improvisatory language was distinctive- one always knew it was him, but largely because it was so easy to recognise the lack of repetition, the lack of pre-planned licks, the lack of fall-back BS. Holdsworth seemed to be happiest playing in the higher extensions of a chord- weaving patterns around the 9th, the sharp 11th and the 13th. The upshot of this approach was that when he did settle melodically on the root or the fifth of the chord, it sounded somehow new, even a bit exotic.
Holdsworth’s chordal approach was even more astounding and unique. I don’t think any guitarist ever understood the fingerboard as well as him, and he seemed to be able to move between chords with a kind of nonchalant ease that simply beggared belief. One could sense incredible logic and musical purpose over decisions about harmonic subtleties that would flit by in less than a beat. Though some of those voicings seemed to defy the mechanical working of the human hand, he made them all seem so natural, elegant and logical. In purely instrumental, technical terms, Holdsworth was as much better than any other guitarist I ever came across than any human in any field of endeavour I can think of. There are human achievements that are so far removed from what anyone else has done, we eventually accept that they’re by and large unapproachable. Shakespeare’s literary output and Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak are obvious examples. DiMaggio’s streak was about 20% longer than the next longest streak before or since. Imagine being 20% faster than the fastest person ever to run the 100 meter dash and you have some idea what a special player Holdsworth was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h-MdM7JCGs
Reactions to Holdsworth’s death this week have hammered home yet again that the musical world never really knew what to make of him. In many ways, he embodied the highest ideals of jazz at its best- pioneering, fearless, fiercely original. He also was a remarkably formidable rock musician- Road Games is one of the best rock albums ever made (Holdsworth apparently felt it was a failure). At the end of the day, his astonishing gifts as an instrumentalist were means to a musical end. Nobody else had the technical equipment to play the music Holdsworth heard so vividly in his head so he had to develop that technique to play the music he heard. I don’t think he would have liked the often-used description of him as the “guitarists’ guitartist.” I think he would have preferred “the musician’s guitarist.” Of course, rock and jazz critics are by and large united in their total disdain for music and musicianship. For critics on both sides, calling Holdsworth a “prog rocker” was an easy put down and a way to hide their own lack of perception and taste. Holdsworth was nearly the antithesis of the rock star- he didn’t seem to have a posing bone in his body. In an era in which “attitude” and lyrics were what mattered to critics and looks and showmanship were what mattered to the public, he was always going to struggle.
Holdsworth stuck to his guns, although he struggled financially throughout his life. Being a genius seemed to be a burden for him- over the years he seemed to find playing and composing more and more difficult. The last few clips I saw of him on social media seemed to hint that he was haunted by many demons and that life was not easy for him.
One would have hoped that the age of the internet would have been a boon for an independent musician like Holdsworth. Modern technology meant that an artist like him doesn’t need an expensive studio or access to a pressing plant or all the infrastructure of a label behind him to create and share music. It also means that music, once shared, has very little potential to generate earnings. However, what the Internet has really been a boon for is a generation of imitators and pretenders. Thanks to YouTube, it’s a whole lot easier than it used to be to learn to copy Allan’s stuff and to disseminate second-pressing Holdsworth-isms for a generation of fans who gave up waiting for the next Atavachron. These days music schools are churning out whiz-kid guitarists with the kind of faceless efficiency that would make MacDonalds look like a boutique outfit. Some of them, with enough practice, can probably play Allan’s music cleanly enough to not embarrass themselves. What they lack is the vision to create that music and the courage to promote a completely honest and uncompromising artistic vision as he did. One positive of the internet age is that, in the few bits and pieces of things I was able to pay attention to, Allan’s many fans seemed so grateful for all he had already given, so eager to support him over the last ten years. If any good comes of his death, it will surely be an appreciation that even the most gifted artists need our support and encouragement.
I think that’s about all you can say about the man’s music, but as a person he was also a very honest and humble person.
I met him some 15 years ago on a small gig in Holland, as a guitar player I have heard of him in 86′, when I heard his music for the first time it was “Road games”. Well first of all I am happy to have thanked him personally for all he did for music.
Also I asked him if his style never costed him injuries, he said: “It may look like I do, but I don’t” :)
He asked us if the sound was any good for the crowd, cause he monitoring was so bad :/ (There was not a wrong note he played that night)
Well I think it is a shame that the man had to struggle with money and/or depression, but he took the path that was his and accepted all that it brought him, being a Master does not mean you will be praised and/or loved for it.
He was himself at the best he could be, so there will never be another Holdsworth, I loved the man for showing that !
He might go on innovate the angels music with some Synthax :)
Rest in peace Master Allan !
GREAT tribute, eloquently argued. The Man floored me the first time I heard him and every re-hearing since. Looking around YouTube was so pleased to see Water on The Brain pt.II in his and young sage Evan Marien’s bass playing, carrying through the AH musicsphere, and hoping this guy doesn’t suffer a similar fate and fall into obscurity.
Sweet and sad – does real artistic commitment doom one to a lifetime of celibacy of attention and wealth? Mr. Holdsworth was never easy with fame and trappings, preferring to sip an ale with old guitar chums after a gig rather than keep prevaricating over that night’s chops. Such virtuosity and perfection comes with the Great Pain of never really being satisfied. It’s very hard to see the big picture with such an ear for nuance. I hope he can rest (for a bit) in his next stage. Thank you Allan for your genius and commitment. One of a kind.
Dear Sir,
Your tribute to Allan Holdsworth is summed up in the “a guitar Debussy.†Those of us who had the honor of
getting a glimpse into his earthly life and music, were in a state of appreciation and wonder.
Thank you.
Thank you. Interestingly, I bought one of the first pressings of I.O.U. and it disturbed me. I had to play it every few days for at least 6 months before realizing the house was shaking and my unease had become excitement.
I credit Allan as partly responsible for my abandoning the guitar, having learned my skills were better spent on other things. But, I will forever be haunted by those recorded moments. Everything he ever recorded seemed to achieve for me what an entire evening of Herbie Hancock couldn’t do for even a second. But what I admittedly grew to worship, Allan wouldn’t even be familiar with. Those recorded moments were left in the past for melody junkies like me to feast on endlessly.
I guess the tribute that resonates with me most is simply, “F*ck!”
My name is SteveD and my comment has been re-written because For some reason I thought the moderator of this site would approve my poorly punctuated bit of anonymous internet trollery.
I now know that if I want to say something contentious, I’ll use my full name and write in sentences.
I’m sorry to have wasted everyone’s time and will try to grow up and think about learning some basic manners.
Touching, but then going beyond the guitar pyrotechnics, drilling into the unparallelled beauty of his music. Beautiful tribute.
Thank you so much.
Allan was visibly touched when I told him my 5 year old grandson was completely smitten with his last album. That confirmed what I already knew – it’s not just the guitar bits that set him apart.
Thank you for your wonderful tribute. I shared it with his Facebook group.
Beautiful writing and sentiment. Thank you.
Thank you for this wonderful article about such a misunderstood musician. I found Holdsworth utterly compelling from the first listen way back in 1984.
Thank you! Well written. I love hearing him speak, my grandmother was from the same place in England (Bradford, Yorkshire). By the time I arrived she had lost the accent so by listening to Allan I like to think I have an idea of how she would’ve talked. He was amazing and we will be many years unraveling what he did. R.I.P.
His music was inspirational and had such great beauty. I saw him on a number of occasions and was always staggered and thrilled in equal measure. There won’t be his like again. For me he’s was the greatest. RIP Allan, the world just wasn’t quite ready for you.
I guess, like all arts endeavors, it’s a question of communication with a larger public that brings attention to the artist and (financial) success. Unfortunately Allan’s’ music was well above even the average jazz/rock listening audience. His output was always going to marginalize him with the general public, which he accepted as a burden. In concert with this, he refused to compromise his integrity as an artist.
We played together in slightly progressive group in the late 1960’s called ‘Museum’. I met up with him on occasions when he was here in Sydney where we talked not about music, but of ‘bikes and ale. I’m sad to admit, that although I knew him as an old acquaintance, I never bought one of his albums as I found his music too hard to listen to.
It’s a great tribute. I know nothing about music but, the idea of Allan’s music being hard to understand seems strange to me. His music is the only music that fits my every mood. His playing and compositions seem as organic and natural as a walk through a wood and a hop across a stream. It’s so strange that someone can be so influential, even during his career, and yet be relatively unknown. Such a shame that his bank balance failed to recognise his very real and rare genius.
Differs live and recorded most of live playing I have seen although(recorded ) is rambling in nature repetitive phrasing etc detatched from the other musicians when he’s on form brilliant lovely a view to the man’s soul striving love Joshua Tokyo dream point of no return tullio many more where away from the stress of live music he could lay down gorgeous sond patterns very emotional player love ????
My only Holdsworth recording was stolen by a wanna be guitarist by the last name of Lawlor. Allan was a mystery in that he was here with us (seemingly) but obviously from somewhere else. Then he would put down the guitar and drink a pint with his buds. That sounds pretty good to me. A down to Earth ‘Singularity’. ( ‘Nevermore’ never fails to bring big tears.)
I first heard Allan in 1977 when a Detroit jazz radio station I was listening to played Fred by Tony Williams I literally had to pull over off the side of the street to listen. As a music lover I was astounded. It was as if I discovered gold or won $10 million lottery. As a guitarist I was numb. Ever since then Allan has been the ultimate measuring stick for the guitar world and he just kept getting further and further away leaving the rest of the world behind. There will never be another like him in our lifetime. He was one of one. God bless you Allan and thanks for shaping our lives with your beautiful music and gentle soul.
I was fortunate to see Alan play with The Soft Machine when I lived in New York in the 6os and 70s. You all may wonder which guitar player Alan Holdsworth may have looked up to if that was even possible. A friend of Alan took him to see Robert Conti a monster Jazz guitarist and master of the 8 string fretboard at the Irvine Marriott Hotel. Alan was so taken by Robert Conti’s playing so much so he made a regular monthly visit to see Robert perform. Alan and Robert became great friends and spent nights enjoying great beers and sharing musical Knowledge. Robert is still alive teaching guitar and making them as well. Robert has some great first hand stories about Alan to share.
Back in the 80’s, 90’s I owned an electronics service shop in Vancouver. Holdsworth was playing at The Commodore. A buddy of mine had already bought tickets for the two us. I got a call from Holdsworth’s FOH guy, saying he had two broken pieces of gear to be repaired for the gig that night. He sent them over by cab. I repaired them both in couple of hours- a Lexicon DDL and a GK bass amp. I delivered them to the venue, and got paid….where the band was just starting soundcheck. I installed and tested both (again) and Holdsworth started chatting with me, just a couple of feet away. He also started playing, warming up one supposes. As I worked in the biz, I had pretty good control of my fan-boy behaviour, but this time I had issues as Holdsworth’s playing was fricking incredible!!!!! That legato technique, up-close was stunning and looked effortless. I had problems keeping my jaw shut. He asked if I was coming to the show and invited us for beers afterwards. He got his stage manager to give me two backstage passes. The show was killer. After the show, we had beers with Holdsworth and Chad Wackerman, for several hours, it seemed and discussed the floods in LA at the time, not music. They were both relaxed and friendly as hell. What a great music and fan-boy night!
First time I heard of (and heard) allan was a Gong album , although I did see the Iggenbottom album in the record stores some time in the late 60’s. Almost bought it and I wish I did. Not the style we remember but deeply lifted. As a guitarist I was able to play a little of his style…but that was it. Allan was a total original player and composer. Miss him