by Dr. Matthew Warnock.

It was a warm and windy evening in the quiet little Chicago suburb of Palatine, Illinois. Several hours before the concert started there was already a line of people outside Durty Nellie's Bar and Restaurant who had come to see one of the most respected, and often underexposed, guitarists of the past half-century, Allan Holdsworth. As they waited to enter the club, conversations popped up about their favorite Holdsworth song or album and anecdotes from previous concerts dating all the way back to the early '70s when the young guitarist first stunned jazz-fusion fans all over the globe. While many people in attendance were long-time fans of the British guitarist, there was a surprising number of teenagers and people who were talking to their friends about how excited they were to see Holdsworth perform for the first time. The mixture of fans, old and new, is a testament to Holdsworth's appeal as a composer and guitarist.

As the doors opened and people shuffled into the club, many of them edged towards the stage in an attempt to find the best spot to watch Holdsworth's hand fly across the fretboard, or to check out what settings he used on his effect pedals. The crowd waited with a hushed anticipation for the man they had come to see take the stage. As he launched into the first tune of the night, the crowd was already on their feet cheering him on, where they remained until the last note rang out and the lights came back on.

Listen to samples from a variety of Allan Holdsworth albums:

Allan Holdsworth has long had the reputation as being one of the baddest, fastest guitarists around, a well deserved moniker to be sure, but one word that does not come up enough when describing his playing is versatility. During the roughly ninety-minute set at Durty Nellie's, Holdsworth put on a clinic in the art of texture and musicality, which may sound surprising to people who only know him for his insanely difficult chord voicings and lightening fast single-note chops. While both of these technical elements were prevalent on almost every tune of the night, what made the set successful was Holdsworth's ability to alter the texture of what he played, how he played it, and what effects he applied to his sound.

Though he is known for his legato and sweep picking techniques, rarely did more than a few minutes pass before Holdsworth switched from his pick to his fingers, and even to both, for his right-hand attack. The versatility displayed in Holdsworth's right hand provided both tonal and melodic contrast to his lines and chord phrases. The hybrid (pick and fingers) technique was especially effective as it allowed him to perform string skips and oddly-fingered arpeggios that bridged the gap between his single-line and chord playing during solo sections. As well, Holdsworth was constantly changing the effects and tone on his guitar to provide yet another level of contrast in his playing. He switched among clean, chorused and distorted tones between songs, and between sections of the tunes themselves. Holdsworth's attention to tone and tonal colors has helped make his sound one of the most recognizable in the realm of modern jazz-fusion guitarists.

Apart from Holdsworth's ability to alter the texture in his own playing, he also chose a diverse set list that reflected the many aspects of his playing and composing that fans have come to enjoy. While there were moments of shear technical brilliance on the part of all three members of the group, Holdsworth choices of songs reflected the ensemble's diverse influences and musical tastes.

The opener, "Leave Them On," with a memorable solo by drummer Chad Wackerman, showcased Holdsworth's technical facility as a soloist as well as his deep understanding of rhythm and harmony. Other tunes, such as the crowd favorite "Fred," featured a more cerebral approach with Holdsworth ditching his single-note chops for a chord solo that was reminiscent of the finger-breaking stretches from his instructional book Reaching for the Uncommon Chord.

There were also moments of sheer virtuosity, especially during the group's energetic rendition of the Holdsworth classic "Proto Cosmos." The guitar solo during this tune was definitely one of the best of the night. At one point, Holdsworth was burning through a series of scale patterns which kept getting faster as the crowd cheered him on to even greater heights of technical prowess. While the set had a little of everything from Holdsworth's body of work, fans who came to see him shred definitely did not leave disappointed.

Aside from tunes that featured Holdsworth's guitar gymnastics, both Chad Wackerman and Ernest Tibbs were featured on several numbers throughout the set. Bassist Ernie Tibbs may be the newest member of the trio, but he plays like he has been in the group his entire career. Tibbs' ability to catch the seemingly chaotic and random punches that were being thrown at him by both Holdsworth and Wackerman was nothing short of amazing. As well, his solo feature during the tune "Water on the Brain" was well constructed, melodic and technically inspiring all at the same time. Not to be outdone, Holdsworth-veteran Wackerman attacked his drum kit throughout the set in a frenzied manner, though with a sense of control that can only come from years of study and experience. Apart from contributing as a comper and soloist, the group also performed one of Wackerman's compositions, "The Fifth," which featured some of the most dynamic and musical percussion work of the evening.

While all three musicians proved time and again during the set why they are some of the most revered technicians on their respective instruments, what was even more impressive was the sense of unity that the ensemble displayed during several long rubato sections. Though Holdsworth usually took the lead with the direction of the time during the rubato sections, Wackerman and Tibbs pushed and pulled with the guitarist in a way that kept the time fluid, but also produced moments of rhythmic drive and cohesion. The group dynamic became even more apparent when Holdsworth would switch to his volume pedal and the other musicians had to not only follow his malleable sense of time, but judge the delay between his attack and the volume swell. As a musician, these moments were equally enjoyable to watch and listen to as the technical mastery displayed during the fast solo sections.

There was only one disappointing aspect to the show and that was the quality of the sound during the quiet, undistorted sections. Since the concert was held in a Rock club, the sound engineer put more of an emphasis on the drum set, especially the kick, than was necessary. While the sound was acceptable during the louder, distorted moments, Holdsworth's voice was often buried in a mountain of low end when he switched to the clean channel on his amp. Aside from a few moments when the sound was less than the crowd (and most likely the band) would have liked, the audience demanded several encores and left with the satisfaction that they had just seen one of the world's best guitarists in action.

Link
Official Allan Holdsworth Website