Al Di Meola

AL DI MEOLA, MAESTRO!



photograph by Patrick Farrell



REFLECTIONS .



No matter acoustic or electric, the 70s or today . classical, latin, rock, metal, or jazz . Al brings a level of virtuosity to whatever he chooses to play, assuring the highest quality of any project of which he's involved. In addition to starting his career in keyboardist Chick Corea's RETURN TO FOREVER, Al has produced 25 solo records (four gold, including "Land of the Midnight Sun" and "Elegant Gypsy"), and has collaborated with hundreds of diverse and talented artists including: Return to Forever bandmates Stanley Clarke and Lenny White, John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucia ("A Friday Night in SanFrancisco"), Phil Collins, Larry Coryell, Jan Hammer, Herbie Hancock, Anthony Jackson, Tony Levin, Milton Naciemento, Jimmy Page, Jaco Pastorius, Les Paul, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter, Steve Vai, Stevie Wonder, Tony Williams, Steve Winwood, Frank Zappa, and so many more.



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ELECTRIC WARRIOR .



After spending most of the 1990s concentrating almost exclusively on ACOUSTIC music ("The Rites of Strings" with Jean-Luc Ponty and Stanley Clarke, three records with his own World Sinfonia Band, "The Guitar Trio" reunion with John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucia, and "Di Meola Plays Piazzolla," Al, as the 21st Century turned, was getting the urge to reconnect with his ELECTRIC ROOTS. On 2002's "FLESH ON FLESH," he effectively integrated his acoustic, contemporary, and fusion styles, and re-established himself as a composer on what some call his most sophisticated record to date. At the same time, he was also more frequently playing his 1959 Les Paul, to overwhelmingly appreciative audiences. Then, like a bolt out of the blue, Paul Reed Smith (PRS) sent Al one of their company's prototype 513 model guitars . Since that day in 2004, the hand-made, tiger-striped, laquered Axe has become Al's electric weapon of choice. For the past three years, he's been tearing it up, and reminding the music world why he is, and will always be, GUITAR ROYALTY.



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"STRAWBERRY FIELDS/EGYPTIAN DANZA"



Orlando, Florida (February 6, 2010)



After the wildly successful Return to Forever Reunion Tour, but a decision not to immediately work on a new RTF album, Al assembled a new World Sinfonia Band, and embark on a non-stop world tour. "STRAWBERRY FIELDS," (which will appear on his new solo record (scheduled for release this summer), opened the encore at The Plaza Theater.



WORLD SINFONIA IS: Fausto Beccalossi (accordion), Victor Miranda (bass), Kevin Seddiki (2nd guitar), Peter Kaszas (drums), and of course GUMBI ORITZ (percussion), with Al continuously for the past 22 years.



— videos by dave.



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THE LAST RETURN?



Miami Beach (July 30, 2008)



Return to Forever closed their 2008 reunion tour shows with "Duel of the Tyrant and the Jester." If you were lucky enough to see the show, which was 25 years in the making, you might have witnessed the band's last tour.



And it was great to see Al in his fully charged electric mode. RETURN TO FOREVER "LIVE AT MONTREUX" now available. (www.return2forever.com)



— video by dave.



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MOSCOW NIGHTS



Al's collaboration with Russian singer Leonid Augutin ("Cosmopolitan Life") continued in 2008 with a live tour, highlighted by a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Much of that performance, in addition to interviews, videos, and tour documentation, is included on a DVD that is now available.



BUY IT HERE



Even considering all he's accomplished in the past three decades, it is still arguable that the past three years have been Al's most experimental, creative, and productive. "Consequence of Chaos" (on which his mentors, Chick Corea and Barry Miles appear) was another sophisticated effort, in the "Flesh on Flesh" vain, and further reinforces Al's reputation as a JAZZ composer. On the other hand, Al appeared on Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian's HEAVY METAL instrumental "Black Utopia," contributed to "The Royal Dan," a GUITAR FUSION tribute to Steely Dan and then made at least three high-quality excursions into POP. George Dalaras' "The Running Roads" recalled Carlos Santana's LATIN duets on "Supernatural," as do many of the tunes on Leonid Augutin's "Cosmopolitan Life," and maybe most interesting, is "VOCAL RENDEVOUS," maybe the most surprising, criticized, and fun of them all. Two young Russian producers, living in Sweden, after seeing Al play at a summer jazz festival in Warsaw, Poland, asked if he'd lay down some guitar tracks for a HIP-HOP/R&B record they were making. He agreed, and eventually a number of singers, including Angie Stone and Macy Gray, appear.



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IN THE BEGINNING .



RETURN TO FOREVER: Lenny White (drums), Chick Corea (keyboards), Al Di Meola (guitar), Stanley Clarke (bass). The most popular, and commercially successful lineup in Corea's fusion-founding band. Between 1974 and 1976, it produced "Where Have I Known You Before?," and the Grammys-winning "No Mystery" and "Romantic Warrior."



AL DI MEOLA was only 19 years old when he won his first GRAMMY AWARD and RE-DEFINED THE ELECTRIC GUITAR'S PLACE IN JAZZ. In 1974 he was a student at Berklee School of Music in Boston (listening to The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Cream) when he received a life-changing call from pianist CHICK COREA. Chick was the leader of a cutting edge ensemble called RETURN TO FOREVER, known for its uncompromising musical exploration and complexity . qualities that had already attracted Al's attention. He had recently joined a like-minded band with keyboardist BARRY MILES. Barry was a friend of Chick's, and fellow MILES DAVIS alumn, who suggested to Chick, when Return to Forever guitarist Bill Connors left the band, that his "young, cocky guitar player" could fill the vacancy. Taking Barry's advice, Chick called Al, and invited him to audition in New York. As Al puts it, he packed a bag, took the train to the city, and "NEVER SAW THAT TINY APARTMENT AGIAN." After only a week of rehearsals, Al played his first RTF show at Carnegie Hall, and the next night played before 40,000 at an Atlanta jazz festival.



AL PROVED TO BE EXACTLY WHAT CHICK HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR IN A GUITARIST. After a most inspirational three years in Miles Davis' band (recording "IN A SILENT WAY" and "BITCHES BREW"), Chick, like John McLaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra, was using synthesizers and hi-tech electronics in an effort to infuse complex jazz compositions with a supercharged rock 'n' roll energy. Barely out of his PSYCHEDELIC, HARD ROCK high school days, a young, disciplined Di Meola met the criteria. Along with drummer Lenny White (another "Bitches Brew" alumn), and "lead" bassist Stanley Clarke, Corea's Return to Forever, with Tony Williams, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Jeff Beck, and Carlos Santana went on to most dramatically shape the new genre of jazz called FUSION.



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w/GONZALO RUBALCABA



"En La Orilla Del Mundo"



Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Charlie Haden



photographs by Claudio Viezzoli (www.pbase.com/claudio_viezzoli)



(Februrary 2010) — In the middle of his World Sinfonia Tour, between New York, Texas, and California, and New Zealand and Australia, Al spent three days in Miami, at The Hit Factory/Criteria Recording Studio, working on his new solo record. On one of those days, pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba joined World Sinfonia (and engineer Katsu Naito) to play on a single tune. Al was so happy with the result, and so impressed with Gonzalo personally, that he we has invited him to review all the charts, and to contribute to any tune he's inspired to.



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