18 Years Old! That’s how old Gary Husband was when he recorded “Letters of Marque,” our featured transcription this month from Allan Holdsworth’s recording I.O.U.—and we’re all in for an incredible lesson. When I started to transcribe this piece, I was immediately struck by its melody and rhythmic structure. You could certainly try to count through it, lining up each time signature with the phrasing, but the phrasing itself feels almost otherworldly— there are countless ways to interpret it rhythmically. So I thought, why not go straight to the source, and ask Gary Husband himself, how he counted it? After all, he was the first drummer ever to play it. According to Gary, there was no real fixed structure to the piece. “He (Allan) had just written it when I met him back when I was 18,” Gary explained. “After that, it was up to each player to feel it in their own […]

November 2025 Issue