Hey thanks alot. The beauty of playing with Allan is that he lets me approach his music the way I hear it. He lets me apply my on approach on his music and he does not expect for me to play like no one else but my self. Thats what Tony Williams did for him when know one knew who Allan Holdsworth was back in the 70s. So Allan is giving back, by letting other unknown talent express themselves within his music as well. Thats why Allan is always evolving. He is always open to new ideas. :-)

Thanks everyone for checking out the footage.

What's almost as great as this video, is all the great comments below. Truly, Allan is beyond belief and he is playing with two great musicians. I could watch this over and over again. There isn't a week that goes by that I don't listen to some form of Holdsworth's music. I have been devastated since his passing, which happens to be on the same date as my wife's birthdate. A bittersweet day from now on. And to add to that, John Wetton, whom Allan played with in UK, passed away on my birthdate. That's so weird. I saw UK perform live back in 1978. This has to mean something.

Good Christ in Heaven! This may be the quintessential Holdsworth!!! 5yrs prior to his passing - and he is about at his absolute peak.... - and Donati is off the charts! AH touches the heavens here - 5yrs prior to his arrival to the gates.

Christmas Eve, 2015. And here I am in my bedroom watching Allan Holdsworth

NEVER see another Allan Holdsworth for CENTURIES....he is that original !!!

This has to be one of my favorite lineups that Allan has ever had. Virgil and Anthony are just amazing and fit perfectly with Allan's music.

One of the best lineups Jazz Fusion has ever witnessed, each a giant in their own right.

Allan really never ever rightfully got the recognition he truly deserved

Best electric guitarist on this world. And maybe other worlds.

Holdsworth should be considered among the greatest musical innovators of our time, a guitar player that sounds as a sax or wind player with melodies and technique beyond comparison. I wonder why he isn't considered the 'Miles Davis' of guitar, just to mention a legend that has received recognition.

I've seen Holdsworth on and off over the last 35 years and this could be the smokin'est line up...unbelievable.

So virgil didn't make it into dream theater but got to play with holdsworth? I'd take that doobie anytime!

Virgil is musical in his playing.

Always thought that with Holdsworth Donati had found his place..to bad they never made an lp together and sad that Allan is not here to amaze us anymore.

You Are THE MAN Mr.Crawford!!!! Dude shreds lines for day. Damn you gotta love this trio.

Virgil Donati is a machine.

Allans chord playing is masterful. Stunning musicianship all round.

Virgil Machine - Crawford Monster - Holdsworth ALIEN.

Devil take the hindmost change my life since the first time I hear in 1986...and my emotion its like the first time when I hear again. My God..Virgil is wonderful drummer. Your performance is great virtuosity. Really great and confortable bassline. Oh....Allan is the One...no words...just the top of creativity and talent. Thank you Anthony.

I never get sick of hearing this show. Anthony, you kill it!! Allan is of course brilliant. Virgil is so on it as well.

allan holdsworth is by far the best fusion guitarist since the 70's.And his sound is getting better by the year. Keep on grooving allan!! Shake the universe!!

Best Devil Take the Hindmost I've ever heard! That was fantastic!

You can tell from this clip what makes Holdsworth different from so many other guitarists and musicians out there, apart from his amazing technique. He's an INNOVATOR. He's never been afraid experimenting with basically anything he can get at, harmonically, melodically, and texturally, no matter how dissonant. Almost nothing he plays sounds like a "lick" or stays neatly within the key of the piece. None of it feels good on the fingers, either, if you've ever tried to play Holdsworth voicings-it's all melodies for the musical MIND, not the guitar. He's just simply so technically advanced that he can play most anything he wants, regardless of mechanical limitations. He comes up with chord shapes that are exclusively his, and when he plays "chord progressions", he's not just playing chord progressions. To him, if Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 are in the same scale, they're the same chord-no wonder you never hear him playing anything remotely like pop music! Who would want to listen to a one-chord song all day? He's playing KEY progressions. If you try to transcribe the progressions behind his pieces, you realize very quickly that the bass notes seem to have nothing in common with the apparent chord being played over them apart from a scale. On an effected guitar, the timbres he uses are exclusively his. His legato sound is something that you can only get with surgical technique and titanium strength. He uses a harmonizer to get sevenths, fifths, tritones, seconds, diminished seconds, and so on. His comping sound, something that's stayed consistent since IOU, is absolutely dreamy. And who else could make the SynthAxe sound good?

the world could be ending tomorrow...and I'd be watching these guys...what a lineup!

The difference with mainstream pop music? Listen to 100 different average pop tunes and you've heard the same thing 100 times, listen to a single Holdsworth piece 100 times and you have heard something different each time!

The boy standing right before the stage is the luckiest kid ever!

Breath taking musicians, Donati and Anthony absolutely kill it.

Untouchable

Virgil with Holdsworth???????????????? MOTHER OF GOD...... love this, Anthony makin it fatter than ever was. Nice work brother, I can't believe I never saw this lineup, smokin.

very...unbelieveable

He played what he heard in his head without 'selling out'. I am thankful for that.

Gotta always love Holdsworth my fav guitarist . This trio is killer . Perfectly compliment each other very well . Ya'll weirdos from another planet! Long live Holdsworth...

Love it!! anybody that can keep up with Holdsworth meanderings is brilliant......I hear this music in my head but ... as a player .....I am light years away from being able to play it!!! ...that's why you guys are here!! thank ... er ... the collective consciousness!!

Over the years, I've seen and heard countless versions of Devil Take the Hindmost and Letters , studio, live recorded and live in person. To my mind, these are THE best of all. Hats off to Anthony & Virgil for breathing new life into a trusty old beast. Great work kids!😉

I can't believe this trio exists. Unbelievable musical intuition, ability and expression, with Holdsworths otherworldly harmony. What an absolute innovator and, quite frankly, genius (I word I rarely use). The world may never catch up to him.

Giant perfomers for Giant Holdsworth....Alan thank you for your harmonic treasures you gave us.....R.I.P

This is great. Virgil is better off doing this creativity than lame Dream Theater parodies.

Mr. Holdsworth never quit trying new things with his music. He really meant it when he said that his compositions were vehicles for improvisation. I love the way this music makes me feel. Thank you so much for posting this clip Mr. Crawford!

Holdsworth's harmonised double-stops are so on point. The man;s a genius!

The level of musicianship is astounding. This is on a different plane than what anyone else is doing. There's no chance of Allan playing here anytime soon, so this is the next best thing. Thank you very much for posting.

So greatest Holdsworth and Donti 111 , I love

Thank you all for playing so good. We are opening for Allan Holdsworth in San Diego on Aug.2 and I am absolutely estatic over it, as Allan Holdsworth has always been an influence as well as Virgil Donati. Anthony Crawford you bring amazing expression to this music.

No matter how extremely unusual his playing is, it always sounds WARM and groovy, full of life, not human to my ears.

What a stunning rendition of his classic song. Virgin Donati and Anthony Crawford: what a team. Virtuosity at its best.

The bass guitar solo in "Letters of Marque" by Mr. Crawford is killer! Love the sound and action.

That's a great sound... the rhythm section are super funky and heavy.

The plaid shirt was a good look for Allan 👍🏻

The sounded sensational! ☆☆☆☆☆ 💯

Invación extraterrestreeee !!! El dueto es una cacería en dialogo con Virgil que es un fanático de las matemáticas. Nunca visto ni escuchado. Allan el mejor improvisador lírico que escuche en mi vida. Tuve la suerte de escucharlo en varias oportunidades. Cuando estuvo en Buenos Aires, pude invitar a almorzar al cuarteto al sindicato de músicos y compartir el momento y anécdotas emocionantes. Lo que mas me llamó la atención fue cuando le pedí que me firme su primer álbum como solista, que tiempo atrás, había comprado en NYC. Al verlo se puso mal y esa situación despertó curiosidad en sus músicos que quisieron verlo con sorpresa, porque no lo conocían. Ahí me enteré que no estaba en su biografía. NO entiendo porque motivo. (1976) Velvet Darkness

Ridiculously good. Smooth as silk.

What a great recording. Crawford is a monster and I LOVE his tone; one of the few six-string bassists that actually sounds like a "bassist". I love this lineup.

My favourite Holdsworth lineup!!

I am do glad I got to see Allan Holdsworth before he passed away! I LOVE MUSIC THAT MAKES YOU THINK AND THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!; Thanks for posting!!!!!!!!

I can finally hear Allan!!! Normally his sound is buried beneath the drums… Cool!

Allan showing at almost 70 whatever he can still deliver genius music on top form & his tone's amazing too. Inspiring. Chord sequences to die for delivered flawlessly. Yet he had to leave the UK to survive. The music business is a sick joke!

The first chord Allan played to begin his solo at 1:39 was enough for me to get out of my chair in utter amazement.

Really well done! Excellent bass player, way to keep Allan chugging along.

Is any other drummer that can play this stuff "this" good ??? Virgil is really incredible.

Never heard of you before Anthony...until now! You add some SERIOUS funk to Holdsy's tunes....killer job!

i love your groove Anthony!!

RIP Allan

Just imagine if Allan & Virgil came from the same time peaking together and what sorta super group they would have come up with?!

I'm absolutely thrilled by this songs. I am not joking when I say I have already heard this video 11 times consecutively. How can I learn to play this kind of musica!?!?

Performances like this are the reason I keep practicing. Thanks so much for posting!

Mr. Crawford, your playing with Allan is excellent and I hope to hear you play live some day soon. Fantastic concept.

It's of course, an enormous pleasure (ditto the incredible footage and audio from Rome). Have just heard that 2013 UK tour is no more. Please send best wishes to whoever has the problem. Greetings from Derbyshire (home of several new real ale breweries, tell AH!).

Wow! that solo you played on Letter of Marque.... great melodic sense and rhythm.

Wow! the mix is great...when they were in Buffalo, NY all I could hear was Virgil banging away and Jimmy Haslip's muddy, chorused bass....Yikes! Kudos to Mr. Crawford he is killing it with subtle genius! It brings a wee tear to my eye.... Sweet Bass Solo!

My God what a band! Amazing!

out of this world!

Incredible trio in the history of jazz guitar!

Hey Anthony. Your bass sounds really great! I have seen Allan play many times and this band is so exciting and fresh! I am also so pleased to see Allan looking happier than I have seen for years! I wish you all be very best. You are a beast of a player and I know you are valuing playing with Virgil and the Lizst of the 21st century - The Brewer - Allan Holdsworth.

Love your trio Anthony! Thank you guys!

You sound amazing. You really bring a special lift to Allan's music. Just wonderful...

That's how a Kick Drum should sound like !

Just Brilliant "this is from another world " :)

'' ONE OF A KIND ''....... PERIODDDD ! ''

Absolutely amazing musicians all. Being someone who played drums for 20 years I am forever at a loss for words to describe Virgil's amazing abilities. Simply otherworldly.

Holdsworth has worked with some of the best drummers ever.Hard to choose a favorite.This is a better mix than a lot of live Holdsworth.Awesome listening!

Pure Gold!

This is one of my favourite versions of "Letters of Marque"... the way the changes seem to "hang" and yet the players are all in synch.... beautiful... full sound too...

Still so very Awesome and even better with this line up!!!

Smooth. Tasty. Brilliant. Powerful. Thank you for this vid. Lightened my mood!!#

Anthony Crawford is just ..….awesome. Man!

Hi Anthony! I'm a gardener from Sweden, and a amateur musician. Bass is my main instrument and I'm really amazed by your (and Virgil's) approach to Allans music. A new dimension for sure! Can't wait until I'll be able to see you live! All the best!

Virgil is amazing. Saw him last year with Allan & Jimmy Johnson. Wow what a night of music!!

Thank you for the upload. This is my favorite intro for this particular song out of all its renditions this far. You guys were amazing.

I used to think it was the notes but it’s the sound. Wow. Thank you to all the musicians involved.

lovely rich bass tone

Thanks for kicking our asses! Most exciting shit on youtube; pardon my french.

My ears had molten down!!! Music for the experienced jazz fusion ears! :D

To je, prostě, nádhera !!

Please guys put all this amassing material in a formal DVD, it is not the same in this virtual media . I'm sure all of the fans agree with me.

This is FREAKY GOOD

How does he have so much hair at almost 70 lol? He must massages his hair with those magic fingers of his!

Allan holdsworth ,the king of the uncommon scales.

Killer performance!

Wow anthony crawford has a great tone and i love his playing...mega nice =) wohooo!

BEASTS. AH MAN ...back in ny york right now...CD101.9 late 80s missed good music, and great musicians.