Difference between revisions of "Allan Holdsworth"
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"Well, there's one other guy whose work I know who should be included in that list who I respect and that's Allan Holdsworth." - Frank Zappa, [[The Frank Zappa Interview Picture Disk, pt.2]] | "Well, there's one other guy whose work I know who should be included in that list who I respect and that's Allan Holdsworth." - Frank Zappa, [[The Frank Zappa Interview Picture Disk, pt.2]] | ||
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| + | '''In numerous interviews, you've cited the same guitarists you mentioned in your essay as the players who really moved you – [[Johnny "Guitar" Watson|Johnny Guitar Watson]], [[Elmore James]], [[Guitar Slim]], early [[wikipedia:B. B. King|B. B. King]] ...<br> | ||
| + | Well, you'd have to include [[Wes Montgomery]] and [[Allan Holdsworth|Allan Holdsworth]] in there, too, I'm afraid. | ||
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| + | '''Allan Holdsworth seems like a far cry from [[Guitar Slim]].<br> | ||
| + | When I listen to music, I listen to what the substance is, not necessarily the style of it. I've heard bluegrass players that knock me out, too. | ||
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| + | '''Do you think the types of music that touch you are still "a direct extension of a personality of the men who played them."<br> | ||
| + | Well, I get the same sensation listening to [[Wes Montgomery]]. You hear Wes when you hear him play, and the same thing with Holdsworth. He puts his personality, something about him as a person, into playing, and I don't detect "watch me show off now" – there is none of that syndrome. That's the thing that is most obnoxious about current guitar, because when people are attempting to play the guitar in a competitive way, in order to do somebody else's style but just do it faster, that's great from an Olympic competition kind of a standpoint, but I don't think it's particularly musical. And since I like music, it would not necessarily excite me to hear someone playing something real fast, if it wasn't unique to the individual. - [[Frank Zappa On... The '80s Guitar Clone]] | ||
Further reading:<br> | Further reading:<br> | ||
*[[Lynching With Bonzai: Frank Zappa]] | *[[Lynching With Bonzai: Frank Zappa]] | ||
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*[[Just Another Band From Umeå: Zappsteetoot]] | *[[Just Another Band From Umeå: Zappsteetoot]] | ||
*[[The Sin In Synclavier]] | *[[The Sin In Synclavier]] | ||
Revision as of 04:06, 7 October 2013
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Allan Holdsworth (born August 6, 1946 in Bradford, West Yorkshire) is a British jazz guitarist and composer.
Allan Holdsworth is a jazz/fusion guitarist and is widely known for his contributions to the genre. He is acclaimed for the complexity of his compositional and improvisational work, as well as his astounding technical skill.
According to an interview from 1989, Holdsworth was Zappa's favorite Rock n' Roll guitar Player. [1]. Zappa also expressed his admiration for Holdsworth in the interviews Dynamo Frank and Zappa's Inferno.
"Well, there's one other guy whose work I know who should be included in that list who I respect and that's Allan Holdsworth." - Frank Zappa, The Frank Zappa Interview Picture Disk, pt.2
In numerous interviews, you've cited the same guitarists you mentioned in your essay as the players who really moved you – Johnny Guitar Watson, Elmore James, Guitar Slim, early B. B. King ...
Well, you'd have to include Wes Montgomery and Allan Holdsworth in there, too, I'm afraid.
Allan Holdsworth seems like a far cry from Guitar Slim.
When I listen to music, I listen to what the substance is, not necessarily the style of it. I've heard bluegrass players that knock me out, too.
Do you think the types of music that touch you are still "a direct extension of a personality of the men who played them."
Well, I get the same sensation listening to Wes Montgomery. You hear Wes when you hear him play, and the same thing with Holdsworth. He puts his personality, something about him as a person, into playing, and I don't detect "watch me show off now" – there is none of that syndrome. That's the thing that is most obnoxious about current guitar, because when people are attempting to play the guitar in a competitive way, in order to do somebody else's style but just do it faster, that's great from an Olympic competition kind of a standpoint, but I don't think it's particularly musical. And since I like music, it would not necessarily excite me to hear someone playing something real fast, if it wasn't unique to the individual. - Frank Zappa On... The '80s Guitar Clone
Further reading:
