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Being an early adopter is a risky pursuit. Godley and Creme built an entire album (the triple-LP Consequences<\/i>) around their Gizmo, and disaster ensued. Some of the earliest releases with the Synclavier were stiff and mannered. But fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth was having none of that restraint when he dove headlong into the world of the Synthaxe.<\/p>\n
That idiosyncratic instrument would cause him no end of trouble onstage, but not only did Holdsworth forge ahead, but he created lasting music with the odd and ungainly beast at its core. He made extensive use of the Synthaxe beginning with 1986\u2019s Atavachron<\/i>, and would continue to employ it on future releases.<\/p>\n
And it was around the time of Atavachron<\/i>\u2019s release that Holdsworth and his band \u2013 multi-instrumentalist Gary Husband on drums, bassist Jimmy Johnson and keyboardist Kei Akagi \u2013 appeared at the Deutsches Jazz Festival in Frankfurt. As part of an ongoing archival release series from Manifesto Records (sanctioned by Holdsworth\u2019s estate), Frankfurt \u201886<\/em> is a CD+DVD document of that performance.<\/p>\n Holdsworth makes the very electronic instrument sound almost acoustic at times; on sections of \u201cLetters of Marque\u201d the Synthaxe sounds quite a bit like a classical guitar. Other times it takes on a more conventional character. As Husband\u2019s liner notes explain, the guitarist (synthaxeist?) struggled with technical problems during the gig, but he persisted. And the results speak for themselves.<\/p>\n The set list features only three songs from the then-new Atavachron<\/i>; the other tracks draw mostly from his three earlier releases, I.O.U.<\/i> (1982), 1983\u2019s Road Games<\/i> and 1985\u2019s Metal Fatigue<\/i>. Applying a jazz mindset, Holdsworth allows plenty of space for his associates to display their myriad talents: Husband\u2019s dizzying solo work on the extended \u201cLetters of Marque\u201d \u2013 twice the length of its studio counterpart \u2013 is a highlight of the set. If for no other reason that it\u2019s the first live album to document this period of Holdsworth\u2019s work, Frankfurt \u201886<\/i> is an essential purchase for fans. But for anyone interested in the nexus where fusion …\u00a0 er … fuses<\/i> with technology \u2013 live and without a net \u2013 it\u2019s well worth experiencing.<\/p>\n UPDATE:<\/strong> Gary Husband comments: \u201c[I]t\u2019s fair to reiterate the whole band — not only Allan — had extreme difficulties throughout this disastrous gig! It\u2019s a miracle and an achievement any of this is of any quality at all. So much so, the thing I think this video really pays testament to is everyone\u2019s recovery ability, sheer determination and to pull together against many odds!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n