Music: Tory Slusher
A jazz-fusion guitarist in the vein of the incomparable Allan Holdsworth, Tory Slusher delivers the goods.
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In the way back time when I was early in my guitar playing journey, I read an interview of Eddie van Halen in one of the magazines. One of the questions was who did Eddie look to for inspiration.
The answer given was Allan Holdsworth, about as far from Eddie as you could get, but it was a great answer. Holdsworth was a jazz player, and he did a lot of experimental things with tapping and strange chord constructions. Also, he had a phenomenal stretch with his left hand, able to span up to 11 frets, and that was something to behold.
Still, it inspired me to buy a couple of CD’s and to listen to this jazz/fusion blend.
A couple of months ago, in my usual morning trawling of Youtube, I stumbled across a guitar player named Tory Slusher. She played a power blue Strandberg headless guitar, and when I closed my eyes, I could hear a lot of that Holdsworth style in her playing.
That punchy tone, that crisp voicing, and the effortless fill between the chords.
Here is an earlier video by her titled “Fred” that is very Holdsworth-esque:
That is just mesmerizing to listen to, and she makes it look so effortless.
A second track, a little newer is 10 minutes of improvisation:
Just divine.
I tried to look for details, but she seems to be on Facebook and Insta, so I am blind there. I do see her on Bandcamp, and naturally I bought a couple of her albums.
Her latest is a live recording in her neck of the woods (New Mexico), and low and behold, she has this as the liner notes:
This is a live solo guitar concert recorded in Santa Fe on May 31st, 2025... Yes, the title is a play on the classic / legendary record, "Friday Night in San Francisco" by McLaughlin, Di Meola and De Lucia.
That is a hat tip to one f my favorite albums of all time.
Highly recommend checking Tory out.
