Gary Husband (b-1960)
My good friend John Rakestraw turned me on to Allan Holdsworth. Rake was a manufacturers representative for Hoshino – Ibanez Guitars and Tama Drums. I had not entered the sales rep jungle. I’m sure John had discovered Allan from his NAMM Show duties. Allan was usually there in some capacity. I met and had several chats with him at those events. We had some communication pertaining to my Drum Track Library.
I was at Johns house and he was playing the I.O.U record. When I heard the solos, I thought it was a violin. I had not heard anything like this. The bass and drums were unbelievable…and there were vocals. The drum tracks were amazing,
I had no clue about Gary Husband, Paul Carmichael, Paul Williams or Allan Holdsworth. This record was released in 1982. I wore the IOU record out…playing it through my classic JBL 4333A speakers---at a very loud volume. I’m listening again as I type this on my MacBook. It’s still as intriguing as it was then. Even the solid red record jacket has a certain attitude.
As I’m gathering my thoughts about this entry, I remember seeing a Real Book tune called Fred, written by Allan Holdsworth. I’m also non-AI searching for information about it. The search machine reminds me that “Fred” was on the Tony Williams- “Believe It” record. I need to revisit that record.
After discovering the I.O.U. record…I bought every Allan Holdsworth record available at the time. I discovered he had collaborations with Tony Williams and Jack Bruce.
I’ve never seen an Allan Holdsworth songbook or any sheet music of his compositions. They have remained a mystery to me. The forms and structure)
In 2023+ I know that Gary Husband is a master genius of the drums and keyboards. The drum tracks on I.O.U are brilliant. I’ve seen enough of Gary Husband’s videos that I can visually imagine him playing them.
Until I saw him live in person, I didn’t know he was a righty playing open grip. Even more than open grip, more ambidextrous with any hand on the high hat or ride cymbal.
In my opinion…Gary Husband created the template for other drummers as they performed Allan Holdsworth’s music. Every note from the drums is perfect in its designed location. Every audio recording released by Allan Holdsworth was / is special. I haven’t studied the complete discography of Allan Holdsworth…outside of his group records. (Tempest, Soft Machine, John Stevens, Bill Bruford and others.
The Allan Holdsworth Quartet I saw---included…Gary Husband, Allan / I think - Jimmy Johnson on bass. They played downtown Orlando. That location has changed names several times. It may have been called Sapphire Supper Club. Watching Gary Husband from a distance was phenomenal.
Since the pandemic, Gary Husband and many drummers have energized their social media platforms. I’ve seen Gary on several podcast and drummer content streams. His web site is very up to date with information. Gary has shows booked with Billy Cobham and John McLaughlin. He plays keyboards in both of those ensembles. (garyhusband.com)