Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth (born August 6, 1946 in Bradford , Yorkshire , † April 15, 2017 in Vista , California ) was a British jazz guitarist .
Since, according to his sound ideas, the guitar should sound like a saxophone, Holdsworth experimented with electronic alienation at an early age. He was one of the British pioneers of rock jazz . "He is a highly individual player who is characterized by an extremely fluid game and an almost inexhaustible wealth of ideas."
Life
Allan Holdsworth took piano lessons from his father, a pianist. He didn't get to the guitar until he was 17. He named Charlie Christian and John Coltrane as early role models . Contrary to rumors to the contrary, Holdsworth had never played the saxophone.
He first played in the Leeds area ; In the late 1960s he moved to London , where he worked at Ian Carrs Nucleus and then at Jon Hiseman's Colosseum successor Tempest (1972) and Soft Machine (1973 to 1975). Then he recorded Tony Williams ' Lifetime . He then played with Pierre Moerlens Gong , with Jean-Luc Ponty and John Stevens and Barry Guy . At the end of the 70s he appeared with the progressive and jazz rock formations UK and Bruford . In the early eighties, after a short time in Paris, he moved to the United States, where he began to produce his own projects. Holdsworth has worked on recordings of Stanley Clarke , Herbie Hancock , Esther Phillips , Chad Wackerman , Level 42 and Gary Husband .
In addition to his musical activities, he was a passionate cyclist and beer connoisseur. He brewed his own beer, held a patent on a beer dispenser and called his recording studio "The Brewery". Holdsworth most recently lived in San Diego , California .
meaning
His reputation as an outstanding innovator of the modern jazz guitar is based on several stylistic features:
- Use of large intervals
- High tempo on saxophone-oriented lines
- Piano-oriented chords using guitar-untypical chords in close positions (close position voicings)
- Complex harmonies in his own compositions
- Inside-outside improvisation
His admirers include musicians like Frank Zappa , Pat Metheny , Eddie Van Halen , Scott Henderson , Andy Timmons , Carlos Santana , Joe Pass , Joe Satriani , Steve Vai, and Marcus Deml .
equipment
In the mid-1980s, Holdsworth was one of the first to use the Synthaxe , a synthesizer controller in a guitar-like form. The guitar manufacturer Ibanez built the signature model AH10 for a short time . Holdsworth also used unconventional guitar models. Steinberger built a signature model GL2TA-AH with passive Seymour Duncan SHAH1 humbuckers , which is only available in Japan , and Carvin (now Kiesel Custom Guitars) also has a Holdsworth signature model in its range.
Holdsworth preferred for many years a small body guitar built by Bill DeLap with two cutaways and a humbucker .
Solo discography
- Velvet Darkness (1977)
- The Things You See (1979)
- IOU (1982)
- Road Games (1983)
- Metal Fatigue (1985)
- Atavachron (1986)
- Sand (1987)
- With a Heart in My Song (1988)
- Secrets (1989)
- Wardenclyffe Tower (1992)
- Hard Hat Area (1993)
- None Too Soon (1996)
- The Sixteen Men of Tain (2000)
- Flat Tire: Music for a Non-Existent Movie (2001)
- All Night Wrong (2002, live)
- Then! Live in Tokyo (2003, live)
- Against the Clock: The Best of Allan Holdsworth (2005)
- The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever! (2017)
Videos
- Allan Holdsworth and Alan Pasqua Live at Yoshi’s - Featuring Jimmy Haslip and Chad Wackerman , 2007, DVD
- Allan Holdsworth live at the Galaxy Theater , Gnarly Geezer Records, 2002, DVD
- Allan Holdsworth (instructional video), REH Publications, 1992, VHS
- Bruford - Rock goes to college , 2006, DVD
bibliography
- Reaching for the uncommon Chord , 21st Century Music Productions / Hal Leonard, 1985
- Melody Chords for Guitar , Hal Leonard, 1997, ISBN 1-57424-051-X
- Mark Gilbert, " The Reluctant Guitarist, " Jazz Journal , 1992.
- Bjørn Schille, Allan Holdsworth: reshaping harmony (Thesis), University of Oslo, Institute of Musicology, 2011.
- James Rosenberg, “I'd Rather Be Broke and Happy than Miserable and Rich”: The Life and Music of Allan Holdsworth (Thesis), University of Wesleyenne (Middletown), 2013.
Web links
- Official website
- Works by and about Allan Holdsworth in the catalog of the German National Library
- Allan Holdsworth in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- SynthAxe description (English)
- Allan Holdsworth at Allmusic (English)
- Appreciation in the New York Times
- Obituary by Michael Rüsenberg
Individual evidence
- ↑ George Varga: Allan Holdsworth, internationally celebrated guitar innovator, dead at 70. In: The San Diego Union-Tribune. Tronc Inc., April 16, 2017, accessed April 17, 2017 .
- ^ Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz music. 1700 artists and bands from the beginning until today. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 1999, ISBN 3-476-01584-X , p. 297.
- ↑ cf. Holdsworth Reaching for the Uncommon Chord .
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Holdsworth, Allan |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British jazz guitarist |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 6, 1946 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Bradford , Yorkshire , England , UK |
DATE OF DEATH | April 15, 2017 |
Place of death | Vista , California , United States |