al di Meola 1978

The recording you have in your hand documents the start of John McLaughlin’s journey towards his ideal acoustic guitar trio. For various reasons neither Larry Coryell or Christian Escoudé made it to the end of the journey, being replaced by Al Di Meola and Paco De Lucia, but both were more than capable of holding their own as this concert shows. Escoude, a gypsy-jazz child progidy, came to international attention at the 1978 Nice Jazz Festival; Coryell, a legendary jazz-rock pioneer with virtuosic acoustic skills, was already well known to McLaughlin. The concert was performed at the Den-en Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan July 24,1980, and broadcast by NHK radio.

Paul Rose is without doubt one of the most unique and talented guitarists in the world today. Fundamentally a rock guitarist, his extraordinary playing style touches on blues, country, jazz and folk, blended together into a style that is entirely his own. He was born in Newcastle and started playing at an early age. His natural gift shone through by the age of 16 with him playing regularly on the Newcastle live scene with some of the most popular local bands of the day. Hank Marvin was the first guitarist he saw play live in 1978.