|
Holdsworth is an incredible guitarist to say the least. I especially enjoy his prog-rock years in Tempest, UK and Soft Machine... His "fusion" music is a bit less to my taste, but he never spoils true musicality and has a sense of "weirdness" few other musicians have.
Mac Laughlin can be stellar, but sometimes a bit generic too...
Al Di Meola : cool when in trio. Not as cool when taking the leading part in a band, IMO.
Pastorius I don't know much about, actually...
In this field, I recently tried again some Pat Metheny, I had horrendous memories of his sound and writing. I didn't change my mind about most of his recorded output, but I discovered he participated in much more obscure projects where he plays raucous electric free-jazz of the best kind ; and he can have sparks of genius when improvizing live.
But in the end, I still think most of the "fusion" music of the 70's and on is just over-indulgent musical megalomania choking in its own bad taste, like most prog-rock after 1985.
|