Allan Holdsworth’s Legacy

Allan Holdsworth’s Legacy on ubuntu music

Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the imminent release of The Nineteen Men of Tain, in a tribute to the late guitarist, Allan Holdsworth. The date for the digital release is 9th December and proceeds which are generated will be invested into an annual festival and music contest in honour of the artist and his music.

The 13-track album features 19 artists, as the album’s title suggests, and features a stunning array of special guests, including guitarists Mike Stern and John Etheridge, drummer Paul Wertico and pianist Jason Rebello.

“I’ve had the privilege of listening to this already. I would like to thank everyone involved. I love it.”
--Lynne Holdsworth, daughter of Allan Holdsworth

The idea for the project was conceived by Italian guitarist Enrico Pinna and UK drummer Ollie Usiskin, in a London pub back in 2017, the year of Allan’s death. They explain: “It was about a week after Allan’s passing. We were shocked and we felt we needed to do something special to remember him and to honour his legacy. The idea was to create a tribute album which would include outstanding musicians performing Allan’s songs for a charity we would create, to host a music contest and festival in his honour.”

Enrico Pinna (Photographer: Patrizia Di Stefano)

The logistical issues were significant, but they managed to make the recording happen: “We were thrilled to see how many great musicians agreed to play on our project straight away, due to their respect for Allan and his music. This has been a four-year journey…recording, sending tracks all over the world to record the individual guests, mixing and mastering the tracks, finding solutions for creating a new festival and the music contest…all slowed down by pandemic lockdowns and many other obstacles. But we are here now, and we are proud to have found our way to recognise this legendary guitarist in an appropriate manner.”

“Congratulations on the album. You’ve done the tunes really well. Your playing is great - really intelligent and well phrased. A lot of the versions I like a bit better than the originals!!! (Although I haven’t heard them for years!). Quite happy with my track, so well done!”
--John Etheridge, special guest guitarist

Allan Holdsworth (Photographer: Jordi Vidal)

Concerning their new relationship with Ubuntu Music, Enrico continues: I am really excited and honoured to start our relationship with Ubuntu and Martin (Hummel), who has demonstrated a love for our music and this project from the first note. We love the work and catalogue of the label and how they take care of your music with passion, professionalism, and dedication. Creativity needs partners like Ubuntu! It’s great to have such support for this charity project, which will help keep Allan Holdsworth’s music alive.”

Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, concludes: “We tragically lost Allan at a relatively early time in his life. The term ‘genius’ is often misused in this business although, in Allan’s case, he lived up to the recognition. Allan was one of the most technically accomplished guitarists and composers of all time. Guitar World Magazine considered him to be ‘as influential as Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen’. And Allan has often been referred to as ‘the John Coltrane of the guitar’. When I first met Enrico and Ollie, the founders of Allan Holdsworth’s Legacy, I was impressed by their passion, knowledge and their enthusiasm for the project and, in particular, their drive to keep Allan Holdsworth’s Legacy alive. I simply couldn’t resist this opportunity for Ubuntu Music to play a modest part in the project and very much look forward to seeing the festival and music contest become a reality for all to enjoy.”