Jeff Holdsworth is a musician who was a founding member of the rock band

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

. Founded at the Redstone campus dormitories of the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

(UVM) in the fall of 1983, the band originally featured Holdsworth and

Trey Anastasio Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish o ...

sharing lead vocal and guitar duties,

Jon Fishman Jon Fishman (born February 19, 1965) is an American drummer known for his work with the band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983, and which was, in part, named after him. He is credited with co-writing nineteen Phish songs, eight with a solo cre ...

on drums, and

Mike Gordon Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...

on bass guitar. Holdsworth left the band in 1986 after graduating from UVM to pursue a career in electrical engineering, shortly before the band recorded their debut self-produced album, ''

The White Tape ''Phish'' (also known as ''The White Tape'') is a demo album released by the American rock band Phish on cassette in 1986. Often cited as the first Phish "album", ''The White Tape'' was originally a collection of original material that the ban ...

'', though he had played on some of the demo recordings (done in a dorm room) that would later be re-recorded for that album. His songs "Possum" and "Camel Walk" continue to be Phish live show favorites. After a transformative journey to Alaska in the summer of 1986, Holdsworth settled in the Philadelphia area and decided to pursue purely acoustic music within a spiritual context. On December 1, 2003, at the Pepsi Arena in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

, one night before the band's 20th Anniversary concert, Holdsworth appeared onstage with Phish for the first time in 17 years, performing several of his originals and a few covers. During his sit in, he performed on both the Phish originals the band continues to perform, "Camel Walk" and "Possum."https://jambands.com/news/2003/12/02/phish-co-founder-returns-to-the-stage-with-the-group-after-17-year-absence-holdsworth-seeded-extended-12-1-84/ Jambands.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holdsworth, Jeff American rock singers Phish members University of Vermont alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)