RAO,
Actually Holdsworth (Allan, not Allen) doesn't play all that much SynthAxe, and he almost always plays with a keyboardist.
Did you know he can play the violin too? But he very rarely does. When I first heard of him (in about 1971 with an English band named Tempest led by former Colosseum drummer Jon Hiseman), it was amazing -- talk about being blown away. He did one violin solo over a slow 5/4 groove that was just a gem. So I figured, oh, that's where those chops and such a different approach came from, he's probably played violin since he was 4 years old or something. Later I found out he'd only been playing guitar for a year or two at that point and picked up the violin after he started on guitar. If you can find this record, it's a revelation -- his fluid solos with note choices unlike anyone elses, singing full tone, etc. are all there, nearly full-formed.
My second Holdworth experience came when I went to a concert at the Academy of Music in NYC probably in 1973... some art-rock band named Renaissance was headlining, and I think maybe some other band who I can't recall, and Soft Machine was the opening act. My friends and I arrived late and the show was underway, and as we were escorted to our seats in the dark theatre, the guitar player in Soft Machine started playing a solo... well, I was staring, my jaw was dropping, as I tried not to stumble on the way to my seat and not fall over the poor folks in our row who had arrived on time... I have rarely been so riveted by an improvising musician, and will always remember that moment. the band never introduced themselves so it was some time later before I read that Allan Holdsworth was playing with Soft Machine. He was only with them a short time, and recorded the album Bundles with them before being tapped by Tony Williams, the great drummer... and the rest is history -- at least obscure amazing guitar playing history...
-AlChuck