Died On This Date (April 16, 2017) Allan Holdsworth / Acclaimed Fusion Guitarist
themusicsover Allan Holdsworth
August 6, 1946 – April 16, 2017
Allan Holdsworth was a highly influential jazz fusion guitarist who, over the course of 40+ years released 12 well-regarded albums and played on records by the likes of Jean-Luc Ponty, Soft Machine, Bill Bruford, and Stanley Clarke. Born in Bradford, England, Holdsworth was taught music by his pianist father from an early age. Although he didn’t pick up the guitar, until he was 17, he was a quick-learn and more or less made that his instrument of choice from then on. Holdsworth eventually relocated to London and joined the prog rock band, Igginbottom who released one album in 1969. He spent most of the ’70s playing in prog and fusion bands while collaborating with many to the genre’s best known and respected artists. He released his first solo album, Feels Good To Me, in 1978, and continued to record and perform live to adoring fans for the better part of the next four decades. His chord progressions were complex and his solos very intricate, so it is no surprise that later guitar greats like Eddie Van Halen, Tom Morello, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Joe Satriani have all sited him as a major influence. Allan Holdsworth was 70 when he passed away on April 16, 2017. Cause of death was not immediately released.
What You Should Own
Randy Coven was a rock bass virtuoso who counted no less than guitar gods, Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen as band leaders. Born on Long Island, Coven picked up the bass at an early age and was lucky enough to get some early schooling from a neighbor and fusion legend, Jeff Berlin. After high school, during which he played in local hard rock cover bands, Coven continued his music education at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. It was there that he met fellow student Vai, with whom he formed Morning Thunder. After they broke up, Coven joined a Canadian fusion band, Orpheus. He later moved back to New York where he formed his own band. Throughout the ’90s, he played with the likes of C.P.R., Leslie West‘s reunited Mountain, and Malmsteen. Throughout his career, Coven released three of his own albums, Funk Me Tender (1990), Sammy Says Ouch! (1990), and Witch Way (2002). Randy Coven was 56 when he passed away on May 20, 2014. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Born in Sweden, Marcel Jacob was a heavy metal bassist who is best remembered for his work in Talisman and with Yngwie Malmsteen. He has been called “The Swedish King Of Bass.” Jacob helped form Rising Sun in 1978 along with Malmsteen. He soon moved on to the band Force and by the late ’80s he was playing alongside vocalist, Jeff Scott Soto in Talisman. Marcel Jacob reportedly took his own life on July 21, 2009. He was 45.
