Allan Holdsworth, highly respected British guitarist and composer is dead. He died on 15 April 2017 at his home in Vista, California, at the age of 70. The most likely cause of his death was a heart attack.
Allan was very advanced musician. He influenced many top guitarists, including Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Greg Howe, Shawn Lane, John Petrucci and Yngwie Malmsteen to name only few.
Holdsworth recorded twelve studio solo albums and is best known for jazz fusion style. His first recording was in 1969 with the band Igginbottom. In 1972 and 1973 he appeared on recordings by jazz rock band Nucleus and by progressive rock band Tempest. One of most significant Holdsworth's was with jazz pianist Gordon Beck on the latter's Sunbird album in 1979.
One og biggest Holdsworth's enthusiast was Eddie Van Halen who brought him to the attention of Warner Bros. Records in 1982. In 1990 Holdsworth collaborated with fusion guitarist Frank Gambale. Holdsworth's last project was PledgeMusic venture to release new studio material. The album "Tales from the Vault" was finally released in July 2016.
Even if cited by many top class guitarists as one of the most technically accomplished guitarists, Holdsworth has been often criticized for not being musical enough and being too technical for the average listener. But what the world would be without such visionaries who cross the borders of common definition what art is.
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