al di Meola

One has been repeatedly hailed as the world's best guitarist, the other is Russia's most successful musician. And together, Al Di Meola and Leonid Agutin are simply unbeatable. For their DVD "Cosmopolitan Live", the two have created a unique sound, giving crossover a new dimension. Is this sophisticated pop for adults, then? Or popular world music? No matter, the sounds created by this fantastic duo will seduce every music-lover. Dreamily beautiful pop tunes meld with Russian jazz, Gypsy rhythms and Argentinian tango.

Any time the likes of Stanley Clarke, Al DiMeola and Jean-Luc Ponty are assembled, there is a good chance the results are going to be impressive. Clarke and DiMeola had played together in the legendary Return to Forever, producing some of the most intense playing in all of fusion; Jean-Luc Ponty had also made several excellent, very diverse recordings. The chops of these three musicians are pretty much unsurpassed in the industry, which in itself makes Rite of Strings worthy of a listen. The real treat, however, is in the song selections. Three of DiMeola's more recent compositions are here, including the uplifting "Chilean Pipe Song." On this song, Clarke and Ponty's dual-bow sound provides a nice backdrop to DiMeola's introduction before DiMeola and Ponty state the melody together. Ponty has always been one of the more interesting violinists, mostly because he experiments with the instrument's tonal possibilities.

Al Di Meola - La Melodia: World Sinfonia Live In Milano (2008) {Valiana}
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© 2008 Valiene Music and Media
Jazz / Acoustic / World Fusion / Latin / Guitar

I listened to this music live just few months after this concert was recorded in Milano. Al Di Meola bring his new World Sinfonia (same line-up as on this album) to Kaunas Jazz Festival (during his La Melodia Live … promotional tour). Even songs track list during concert was the same as on album. So I have rare possibility to compare live recording with real live concert (no the same but very similar). And I can say - I like them both!

Essential: a masterpiece of fusion music
The day I heard these three musicians, I was literally "combed back." Well, is that this concert became part of the essential in guitar history (long before fashion "unplugged").

One of the guitar heroes of fusion, Al di Meola was just 22-years-old at the time of his debut as a leader but already a veteran of Chick Corea's Return to Forever. The complex pieces (which include the three-part "Suite-Golden Dawn," an acoustic duet with Corea on "Short Tales of the Black Forest," and a brief Bach violin sonata show di Meola's range even at this early stage. With assistance from such top players as bassists Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke, keyboardist Barry Miles, and drummers Lenny White and Steve Gadd, this was a very impressive beginning to di Meola's solo career.

Loose and spontaneous, this (mainly) live album is a meeting of three of the greatest guitarists in the world for an acoustic summit the likes of which the guitar-playing community rarely sees. Broken up into three duo and two trio performances, Friday Night in San Francisco catches all three players at the peaks of their quite formidable powers.

Al Di Meola - Casino (1978)
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© 1992 Sony Music / Legacy / Columbia | CK 47482
Jazz / Fusion / Jazz Rock

Following up the superb Elegant Gypsy was no mean feat, but Al di Meola gave it his best shot with the similarly styled Casino, released in 1978. Featuring a core band of Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, and Barry Miles (whom di Meola came up with before the guitarist was invited to join Return to Forever), the playing is sharp and fiery, matching the youthful intensity of the leader. Di Meola is a good composer in the fusion idiom, and the four original compositions on Casino, although clearly bearing the mark of Chick Corea's influence, are strong.

Talk about ambitious. This two-LP set finds guitarist Al di Meola performing with his quintet of the time (featuring keyboardist Philippe Saisse), with studio musicians, solo, in a reunion with pianist Chick Corea, singing a love song, and welcoming veteran Les Paul for a version of "Spanish Eyes." Most of the music works quite well and it shows that di Meola (best-known for his speedy rock-oriented solos) is a surprisingly well-rounded and versatile musician.