At the end of the sixties, two brilliant musicians had almost at the same time the idea of incorporating rock sounds into jazz music: Miles Davis with "Bitches Brew" and Franck Zappa with "Hot Rats". As always, the purists are crying out for scandal and the gifted immediately understand the new possibilities that this new musical current called jazz fusion can offer them. This club of gifted musicians includes pianists like Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, bassists like Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius, outstanding drummers led by Tony Williams and of course guitarists. Among them among others, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Pat Metheny and Allan Holdsworth, the most iconoclastic and innovative approach to the electric guitar.
Yet the child Allan didn't want to play guitar. His thing was the saxophone. But his parents couldn't afford to buy him a saxophone. The guitar was cheaper. So the guitar is fine. He learned with the help of his father, a trained pianist. And he learned like a pianist, the opposite of any method of learning the guitar: first scales and then chords. This is how his inimitable style was forged. Scales build chords that are increasingly complex and unplayable for the average guitarist. And the mediator of the right hand attacks only one note per string while the left hand plays several. Associated with reverb and chorus effects, this legato technique he pioneered ensures a speed and fluidity that allows it to sound like a saxophone.
In 1976, Allan Holdsworth is thirty years old and has already made a name for himself in the world of jazz fusion as guitarist of Soft Machine with the album "Bundles" and in the world of progressive rock on Gong's album "Gazeuse! That year he records "Velvet Darkness" but is not satisfied with the result. The album is released anyway without his consent. The musician will deny him all his life, considering that his first solo album is "i.o.u" recorded in 1979 and released in 1982.
"i.o.u" is the quintessence of Allan Holdsworth's music. A progressive jazz rock of exceptional fluidity, extremely technical but always melodic, based on rhythmic structures in constant movement. The album alternates instrumental pieces and titles sung by Paul Williams ('The Things You See', 'Checking Out', 'Out From Under', 'White Line'). It would be pointless to describe each track of the album as Holdsworth's music is subtle and rich and his compositional work impressive. From slow jazz ('Where Is One', 'Shallow Sea') to jazz rock improvisations ('Letters Of Marque'), the English guitarist displays an insolent mastery of phrasing, innovates in harmonies and chord progressions, plays with intervals and note pitches, going from low to high in less time than it takes his brilliant drummer Gary Husband to make a roll.
"i.o.u" is the most beautiful doorway into the world of Allan Holdsworth, a genius guitarist and inventive musician but probably too far ahead of his time. Zappa said of him: "he is the most impressive guitarist in the universe". Yet he had trouble paying his rent until the end of his life. Nevertheless, the greatest guitarists still claim his influence, from Eddie Van Halen to Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and so many others. He is the father of the shredders and it is high time to listen or listen again to his music.