di Meola al

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's first so-called Christmas album is a relaxed, flowing, intensely musical affair that jazzers, world music buffs, and new agers will feel equally comfortable with. Mostly, he steers away from the often-cracked chestnuts, composing several nice tunes of his own ("Zima," the leadoff cut, is especially inviting), playing acoustic guitar and a battery of percussion instruments and keyboards in a graceful one-man band, thanks to multi-track tape. Other tracks feature duets between di Meola (with overdubbed additional instruments) and Roman Hrynkiv, who plays a Ukrainian zither-like instrument called the bandura.

All Your Life may be the loveliest album Al Di Meola has ever done. His affection for the Beatles material that comprises the album was no doubt amplified by recording at Abbey Road Studios where the iconic foursome did the bulk of their work. In producing this tribute to the Beatles, Di Mieola remains true to his previous recorded efforts by working in the acoustic vein within which his flamenco skills allow him to find nuance in melodies like that of “In My Live” and “And I Love Her.” Yet however much he embroiders upon the melody and rhythm at the heart of such great songs, all selections are almost immediately recognizable and Di Meola never succumbs to technique for its own sake. In fact, it’s only in the wordy essay inside the digi-pak where he overstates his enthusiasm for his subjects.

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").

Al Di Meola - La Melodia: World Sinfonia Live In Milano (2008) {Valiana}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 441 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 171 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 29 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 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!

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.

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.

Al Di Meola’s latest release, “All Your Life” is an acoustic tour de force that has him revisiting the music of the Beatles. A virtual one-man show of virtuosity, it features the guitar great interpreting 14 familiar Beatles tunes in the stripped-down setting of strictly acoustic guitar.