I got to see this exact band several times live, from up close. Each time, you think you're prepared, but it was always disorienting--in a beautiful way. I've always thought that Alan Pasqua was a genius player and orchestrator, and the original Tony Williams version of this band would not have gelled without him. Really central to this version of the band as well.
Spring 1977, just a teen watching what was then new cable tv and the tail end of a science show about space travel. As the end credits rolled, out of the little tv speaker came this music pulsating rhythm and elect piano solo - I'm like whoa what is this ?! I pop in a Betamax tape to record it just as Allan's solo starts. Me 16 years old and blown away by what I am hearing ! It took me some time to find out who played this music - like a few years cause I never heard anything like it before ! But then when I did that sealed the deal for me to follow Allan H forever ! Little did I know that decades later l'd be playing and working 'in the biz' and find myself watching from stage left wing as Allan, Allan P , Chad and Jimmy H play 'Fred' right before my very eyes and ears !!! Timeless !
I was incredibly lucky to be there when they were recording this set. At the time, I'd played guitar for over 30 years. I thought I might analyze his playing to learn something, but I quickly realized that watching Allan was like being a little league kid playing his first game who was watching Willie Mays make "The Catch". ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7bLt2xKaNH0.html
Sono riuscito a vederti due volte live nella mia vita e ti sto riguardando con il nodo in gola...che tu sia in mezzo al Paradiso dove sicuramente continuerai a suonare questa Musica Celestiale...ciao Allan...
Allan holdsworth was a musical savant.as great as he was hè suffered tremendously interms of financial loss because of valiantly choosing to stay faithful to what he heard in his head against submitting to the whimsical demands of the commercial gods of popular music
