Holdsworth is the perfect combination of Jazz and Rock, which probably explains his
lack of the huge audience he deserves. During the late ’70s, a number of fine
stylists and virtuosos appeared, among them Steve Vai, Eddie van Halen and Joe
Satriani, but the age of the guitar was coming to an end. Hip Hop was about to knock
Rock from its rhinestone plastered throne. Dance encroached, and Pop would dominate
sales again. Guitar breaks were ‘self-indulgent’, though how any aspect
of performance is less narcissistic than any other is beyond me (unless it was
Nijinsky masturbating on stage in the first enactment of L’Apres Midi
D’un Faune, in 1911. Eat you pants Tracey Emin). Factually, singers or
rappers once more fronted groups, as they had since the thirties.
Before joining up with Bruford, Holdsworth worked with Soft Machine for a while,
recording the fine jazz-fusion album
Softs. John Etheridge took his
place to make the equally good
Bundles. This British jazz fusion is almost a
lost music. At first listen it may seem like an imitation of the American version
— accepting that McLaughlin had become an emigré, an acclimatized Yank
by this time — but further listening reveals a music with that very
British self-deprecating amusement running through it. Post-Prog there were
many examples of this form — ranging from Egg to National Health. John Goodsall was the lynchpin
for the various different forms of Brand X. Check them on the sampler
Macrocosm, or leap in and buy my favourite,
Masques.
McLaughlin
had stirred my interest in Jazz with the first Mahavishnu Orchestra albums.
I also liked
Visions of the Emerald Beyond, though the title was a
bit much. I saw, and enjoyed that version of Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1975, and that
very same year I also saw Chick Corea’s Return to Forever with his amazing
guitar player, Al DiMeola.
Romantic Warrior is an immaculate ensemble piece,
almost too perfect. DiMeola has also made a number of recordings with McLaughlin and
the brilliant Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia, I especially like
Passion, Grace
and Fire, but their debut, the live album
Friday Night in San Francisco
is also stunning. Dimeola’s solo albums include
Elegant Gypsy, a highly
successful fusion of Latin, Jazz and Rock, with some fantastic guitar playing.
After parting company with McLaughlin, in 1973, Billy Cobham made an album with Tommy
Bolin.
Spectrum remains as an epitaph to this fine guitar player, who died from
a heroin overdose, aged only 25. Bolin completes the cross-over between Jazz and Rock
— he combines the technique of Jazz with the sharp edge of Rock. It is rumoured
that Bolin’s playing influenced Jeff Beck in his own highly successful jazzy albums
Wired and
Blow by Blow. Beck certainly hired Bolin to support him on
tour.
Spectrum is a must hear for anyone interested in the electric guitar. Bolin
also played with the James Gang, and briefly fronted Deep Purple, as well as making solo
recordings. A short life, and a busy one.
The ’70s
also saw the rise of Steely Dan, that most perfect of ever-changing session
bands coalescing around Walter Becker and Donald Fagin. Becker was joined
on guitar by such luminaries as Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Steve Khan and
Dean Parks (they all play on
Aja). Everyone gave a flawless performance. A new incarnation of the
band toured in the early ’90s, and left a fresh benchmark for live playing with
Alive in America. Year passed, and Becker and Fagin made
Two Against
Nature, accompanied by an excellent DVD. Would that you didn’t have to program
out the chat between tracks after the first watch, ironic though it is.
March2004
