Gregory Howe is an American guitarist and composer. An active musician across four decades, he has released ten studio albums in addition to collaborating with a wide variety of artists.
Allan Holdsworth was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer.
Shawn Lane was an American musician who released two studio albums and collaborated with a variety of musicians including Ringo Starr, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reggie Young, Joe Walsh, Jonas Hellborg and many others. After studying the piano, he mastered the guitar, which he played with exceptional speed.
Jens Ola Johansson is a Swedish keyboardist and pianist who currently plays in the Finnish power metal band Stratovarius and Ritchie Blackmore's rock project Rainbow. He is notable for his high-speed neoclassical and fusion style.
One of a Kind is the second solo album by the drummer Bill Bruford, and the first proper album by his band Bruford. Released in 1979 on EG Records, it is a collection of instrumentals in a style that can loosely be defined as jazz fusion. Bruford features guitarist Allan Holdsworth, bassist Jeff Berlin, and keyboardist Dave Stewart. "Forever Until Sunday" and "The Sahara of Snow" had originally been performed at 1978 concerts by Bruford and Holdsworth’s previous band U.K. They were intended for a studio album, but were never properly recorded by U.K. as Bruford kept the pieces for himself when he and Holdsworth exited the band. U.K. bandmate Eddie Jobson co-wrote "The Sahara of Snow" and reprises his violin part on "Forever Until Sunday". Stewart's "Hell's Bells" utilizes a fragment penned by his former National Health colleague Alan Gowen. Holdsworth's "The Abingdon Chasp" is the only piece he wrote for Bruford.
Derek Sherinian is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X and also one of the founding members of Black Country Communion and Sons of Apollo. He has released eight solo albums that have featured a variety of prominent guest musicians, including guitarists Slash, Yngwie Malmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Lukather, Joe Bonamassa, Billy Sheehan, Zakk Wylde and Al Di Meola.
Planet X was an instrumental rock supergroup, founded by keyboardist Derek Sherinian and drummer Virgil Donati. They were active for a decade, releasing three studio albums and a live album, each with a variety of guest musicians and oft-changing lineups.
Anders Johansson is a Swedish musician, best known as the former drummer of HammerFall and Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force. He currently plays in the power metal band Tungsten. He is the son of jazz pianist Jan Johansson, and brother of Stratovarius and Rainbow keyboardist Jens Johansson.
Gary Husband is an English jazz and rock drummer, pianist, keyboards player and bandleader. He is also a composer, arranger and producer.
The Tony Williams Lifetime was a jazz fusion group led by jazz drummer Tony Williams.
I.O.U. is the second studio album by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, released in 1982 through Luna Crack Records/I.O.U. Records originally on vinyl; a CD edition was reissued in 1985 through Enigma Records, and a remaster in 2008 through Belle Antique. Holdsworth’s band consists of drummer and pianist Gary Husband, bassist Paul Carmichael and singer Paul Williams, with whom Holdsworth had worked in Tempest. A previous solo album, Velvet Darkness, was released in 1976 without Holdsworth's consent, therefore making this his first official solo release. Many tracks from Velvet Darkness were refined, re-recorded and retitled for I.O.U., whilst "The Things You see" takes its name from an earlier album of the same name, made in collaboration with keyboardist Gordon Beck.
Road Games is an EP by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, released in 1983 through Warner Bros. Records originally on vinyl only; a CD edition was reissued through Gnarly Geezer Records in 2001.
Atavachron is the fourth studio album by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, released in 1986 through Enigma Records and JMS–Cream Records (Europe). It features Holdsworth's first recorded use of the SynthAxe, an instrument which would be featured prominently on his future albums. The album's title and seventh track, as well as the cover art, are references to the Atavachron alien time travel device from the Star Trek episode "All Our Yesterdays". "Funnels" refers to the three funnels of the RMS Queen Mary.
Hard Hat Area is the eighth studio album by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, released in 1993 through Polydor Records (Japan), JMS–Cream Records (Europe) and Fred Bloggs Music, and in 1994 through Restless Records ; a remastered edition with expanded liner notes was reissued on 15 May 2012 through MoonJune Records.
Secrets is the sixth studio album by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, released in 1989 through Intima Records; a remastered edition was reissued in 2008 through Eidolon Efformation. The album features drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, rather than regular collaborator Chad Wackerman; Wackerman did, however, write and perform drums on the song "Peril Premonition".
No Sacrifice, No Victory is the seventh studio album by Swedish heavy metal band HammerFall, released 20 February 2009. It was partly recorded at PAMA Studios, Torsås and partly at Andy La Rocque's Sonic Train Studios in Varberg. This is the first album featuring the band's new lead guitarist Pontus Norgren, the return of bassist Fredrik Larsson who played bass from 1994 to 1997, as well as the first to have the band tuning all of their guitars in all songs to D tuning as opposed to the E-flat tuning seen on most songs from all previous albums.
Truth in Shredding is the first studio album by the Mark Varney Project (MVP), released in 1990 through Legato Records and reissued on November 4, 2003, through Tone Center Records. MVP was a short-lived collaborative project put together by Mark Varney, brother of Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney. Mark founded Legato in the 1980s, which served as a jazz-oriented counterpart to the rock stylings of Shrapnel. This line-up of the group features guitarists Frank Gambale and Allan Holdsworth. Besides one track written by Gambale, the rest are covers of existing jazz fusion compositions.
Fission is a studio album by keyboardist Jens Johansson, released in 1997 through Heptagon Records (Europe); February 18, 1998 through Pony Canyon (Japan); and on March 24, 1998 through Shrapnel Records. According to Johansson, the album went through an extremely troubled recording process due to several mishaps with Andy West's bass parts, which ultimately never made the album. On his website, Johansson also revealed that the indistinct image on the cover art is actually a heavily zoomed-in section of ice on a car window.
Forty Reasons is the first studio album by drummer Chad Wackerman, released in 1991 through CMP Records; it was later reissued together with Wackerman's 1993 album The View as a limited edition double-disc compilation.
Bruford were a band assembled and led by British drummer Bill Bruford, originating in the late 1970s.
