小简介
他的名字也许我们不很熟悉,但他是众多著名吉他手象Steve Vai和Eddie Van Halen所膜拜的大师。Holdsworth是位英国Fusion吉他大师,他擅长将萨克斯演奏的乐句运用到电吉他上。他使用一种"甜美"的失真音色,在演奏上以大跨度的音程跳跃和让人惊骇的速度闻名,他的摇把使用简直能让吉他哭泣。Holdsworth不仅是位吉他大师,还是个品酒专家。
Guitarist Allan Holdsworth is widely considered to be one of the finest instrumentalists in all of jazz fusion, yet has never truly received the recognition that he so rightfully deserves. Born on August 6, 1946, in Bradford, Yorkshire, Holdsworth was originally taught music by his father, who was a pianist. First a saxophone player, Holdsworth didnt pick up the guitar until he was 17 years old, but learned the instrument quickly. After playing in local outfits (in addition to learning the violin), Holdsworth relocated to London, where he was taken under the wing of saxophonist Ray Warleigh. By 1972, Holdsworth had joined progressive rockers Tempest, appearing on the groups self-titled debut a year later before joining Soft Machine in December 1973 — and radically changing the latter outfits sound to guitar-based fusion in the process. U.S. drummer Tony Williams discovered Holdsworth around this time, which led to an invite for the up-and-coming guitarist to replace John McLaughlin in Williams Lifetime project — Holdsworth abruptly left Soft Machine in March of 1975, subsequently appearing on the Williams recordings Believe It and Million Dollar Legs. But Holdsworths union with Williams was a brief one, as the guitarist joined up with French-English prog rockers Gong for such albums as 1976s Gazeuse! (released as Expresso in the U.S.) and 1978s Expresso II, in addition to guesting on recordings by Jean-Luc Ponty, Bill Bruford, Gordon Beck, Jack Bruce, and UK.
Also in the late 70s, Holdsworth launched a solo career, which over the years has seen the release of nearly 20 albums (a few standouts include 1983s Road Games, 1985s Metal Fatigue, 1994s Hard Hat Area, and 2000s The Sixteen Men of Tain), as the guitarist has been joined by such acclaimed musicians as Paul Williams (a former bandmate of Holdsworths in Tempest), Gary Husband, Chad Wackerman, Gary Husband, Jimmy Johnson, Steve Hunt, and Alan Pasqua, among others. In the mid-80s, Holdsworth was one of the first musicians to use a Synthaxe, a guitar that contained a breath controller that proved to be a cross between a synthesizer, guitar, and saxophone (Holdsworth was awarded Best Guitar Synthesist from 1989 through 1994 in the readers poll of Guitar Player magazine). In the 90s, Holdsworth also created his own signature guitar model with the Carvin company. In the mid-90s, Holdsworth briefly shifted away from his fusion originals and recorded an album with longtime musical partner Gordon Beck that dipped into jazz standards. The Sixteen Men of Tain (2000) marked another shift, in that it was the first Holdsworth release to feature an all-acoustic rhythm section. This was followed in 2002 by All Night Wrong, his first official live release. Then! Live in Tokyo was next, featuring Holdsworths 1990 live band, which was followed by Against the Clock, a career retrospective, in 2005.