Maxsmusic The series of live recordings recently released for Allan and his various incarnations of trios and quartets are outstanding. This one from 1997 shows Allan in Germany with Chad and Dave. The album is dedicated to Allan and the late Dave Carpenter (1959 - 2008). The first track: The Sixteen Men of Tain is one of Allan's best late compositions. He also includes his classic tracks such as Letters of Marque, Looking Glass and House of Mirrors. Phenomenal musicianship permeates this session. For any fan of electric jazz guitar this is a must have. The legato is flying. 4.25 stars

kev rowland After suffering a difficult divorce, Allan had sold most of his gear and had no access to a studio. In addition, the house he was now renting wasn’t suitable for recording live guitar or drums, so he decided to take the opportunity to make a record using only the SynthAxe. Of course, he had also sold most of his synthesisers so only had access to certain sounds. The subtitle of this album is “Music for a non-existent movie”, as Allan decided to record music that would fit the scenes that he could imagine in his head. The result is something that is certainly unusual, although it would take a braver man than me to say that it was 100% successful. The problem in many ways is due to the instrumentation being deployed, as it comes across as a synth album yet without the depth that one would normally expect. It is a very stripped sound, yet this approach clashes with the sounds being heard so it doesn’t really work as a synth album, nor as a guitar album (which in fairness it isn’t – although it was recorded by Allan playing a guitar-type instrument, if that makes any sense). Most of the reviews I have read come to the same conclusion as me, in that Allan is one of the most incredible and versatile musicians you will ever come across, but that this is most definitely not the place to start. It’s great that MoonJune have made it available again, especially with Barry Cleveland’s insightful (as always) comments, but this is an album that I played repeatedly as I felt I needed to so that I could write a fair review as opposed to playing it because I loved it. For more details visit www.moonjune.com

kev rowland The Tony Williams Lifetime was founded in 1969 by drummer Tony Williams as a power trio with John McLaughlin on electric guitar, and Larry Young (aka Khalid Yasin) on organ. Their debut album ‘Emergency!’ is a classic and everyone interested in jazz or fusion should have a copy in their collection. The line-up changed over time (Jack Bruce was there for the second album) and in 1975 Tony formed a quartet he called The New Tony Williams Lifetime featuring bassist Tony Newton, pianist Alan Pasqua, and guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Some thirty odd years later Allan and Alan decided that the time was right to go on tour with a band to pay homage to those days, and recruited drummer Chad Wackerman (Zappa, Holdsworth) and bassist Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets) for the occasion.

This double CD set brings together the best versions from the whole tour, edited together so that the listener has a complete evening’s entertainment with no overdubs whatsoever (the DVD that is available is just from one night). The concept may have started as a tribute, but by the time that these songs were recorded it was morphing into a fusion band with a life of its’ own. This is jazz combined with prog as the guys bounce off each other and the note density and complexity of what is being performed is quite staggering. Allan has a fluidity that is rarely matched – just listen to the runs in “It Must Be Jazz” to see what I mean, but Alan does his best with some incredible electric piano/organ. The photo on the rear cover shows four guys with scores in front of them with simple lighting and no fancy gimmicks at all. This is all about the music, and the music is stunning. If you want music to be complex, played by guys at the very top of their game, then this is something to be savoured. www.moonjune.com

kev rowland Prior to the recording of 'Hard Hat Area' Allan had been working with pianist Gordon Beck, and together with bassist Gary Willis and drummer Kirk Covington they had recorded a version of "Michelle" for a tribute album. After 'Hard Hat Area', Gordon was again with Allan and he suggested that they do something quite different ? namely record an album of interpretations of jazz standards by the likes of John Coltrane, Django Reinhardt etc. Allan was taken by the idea, and Gordon suggested which songs they should undertake and they were mostly unfamiliar to Allan who became an avid pupil. They brought back the same rhythm section, and Allan provided all of the guitar and synthesizer sounds on the SynthAxe. The basic tracks were recorded as a group, with the guitar overdubbed afterwards, but to these ears it sounds as if everyone was cooking in the studio at the same time.

This is a jazz album with no room to hide and all four musicians are obviously on the very top of their game, bouncing the ideas and melodies. Gary and Kirk obviously have a great understanding between each other and provide an extremely complex bedrock while Gordon's impact on this recording is immense. Gordon was house pianist at Ronnie Scott's and his knowledge of the genre was extremely wide and varied and it is no surprise that there are times when Allan defers such as on Joe Henderson's "Isotope" where Gordon leads the way (followed by some stunning bass it has to be said).

While the vast majority of songs are indeed jazz standards, one that isn't is "Norwegian Wood" which is given a very different arrangement and again Gordon has a huge impact on this, whether it is providing a melodic lead or simply repeating a chord sequence that allows Allan to spread his wings. I doubt if Lennon and McCartney ever imagined that the song could be treated in this way, but it has taken what is for me one of their lesser numbers and has moved it into a totally new direction. It is interesting to note that Gordon had originally recorded the song himself back in 1968 on his 'Experiments with Pops' album, but Allan provides a fluidity and note density that makes this his own.

All in all a very different album from the one that proceeded it, yet I would be hard pressed to pick between the two as they are both stunning pieces of work. This has been reissued by MoonJune in a digipak, the recordings have been remastered, and there are great sleevenotes from Barry Cleveland. www.moonjune.com

kev rowland Here we have Allan's 1993 album 'Hard Hat Area' lovingly reissued by MoonJune who remastered it, placed it in a digipak, and provided some wonderful sleevenotes by Barry Cleveland who puts everything into context. Allan has long been one of my favourite guitarists, and like John McLaughlin I can happily listen to him all day long, and when the guitar lines are as fluid as this that is especially true. Unlike many of Allan's solo albums this has very much a band feel about it and it is no surprise to discover that much of this was recorded by the guys playing together in the studio. Long-time collaborators Gary Husband (drums) and Steve Hunt (keys) were joined on bass by Skuli Sverrisson when Jimmy Johnson was unavailable due to touring commitments with James Taylor.

As well as regular guitar Allan also provides some SynthAxe and baritone guitar, not as much as on some of his other albums, but still enough to provide additional facets to the sound. There are times when Allan just lets the others fill the spaces and he sits back nary playing a note, allowing them the freedom to demonstrate their musicianship and feel, then he comes back in and provides some blistering runs that are breathtaking in their audacity. This is fusion in its' truest form as he mixes and melds jazz with prog, letting the music take him and us on an incredible journey. The title cut in itself is a masterclass demonstration of how a guitarist can be centre stage while allowing complex fills and lines from the rest of the band to complete the soundscape. Skuli's fretless bass is wonderfully expressive and warm, providing a contrast to the cleaner and more clinical guitar.

If you ever wondered what fusion can sound like in the hands of an expert, then look no further as this is sheer class. www.moonjune.com