Jazz Reviews : Allan Holdsworth, Guitar Guru at At My Place

Allan Holdsworth is the guru for a generation of young guitarists. Saturday, in the opening performance of a two-night run at At My Place, the enthusiastic response was peppered with knowledgeable comments, from a clearly musical audience, about Holdsworth’s playing.

Given his style, however, it’s fascinating that the English-born musician has become such a guitar idol. Virtually every solo he improvised was a soaring, single-note line excursion that bore far more similarity to the work of John Coltrane than to that of any guitarist who comes to mind.

In chorus after chorus--especially on such familiar originals as “Devil Take the Hindmost”-- Holdsworth laid down a standard for his instrument that was as unique as it was inventive. Difficult, thorny and sometimes outright inaccessible as his music may be, he clearly deserves his reputation as a creative pace-setter.

Holdsworth was backed by keyboardist Steve Hunt, bassist Skuli Sverisson and drummer Chad Wackerman. They played his complex charts with remarkable ease.

Wackerman, whose powerful drumming belied his nerdy-looking demeanor, was particularly impressive.

In his best moments, he generated rhythmic segments of time that neatly fit into, but were never restricted by, the metric demands of a given composition.

It’s an accomplishment that can only be claimed by world-class drummers--and one that makes him the perfect accompanist for the exacting intricacies of Holdsworth’s music.