Al Di Meola (born July 22, 1954 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is a jazz fusion guitarist, known, among other things, for his incredible technique and the discipline with which he plays.
Di Meola was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. In 1971, he enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1974 he joined Chick Corea's band, Return to Forever, and played with the band until a major lineup shift in 1976.
Di Meola went on to explore a variety of styles, but is most noted for his Latin-influenced jazz fusion works. He is a four time winner as Best Jazz Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine's Reader Poll.
In addition to a prolific solo career, he has engaged in successful collaborations with bassist Stanley Clarke, synthesizer player Jan Hammer, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, and guitarists John McLaughlin and Paco de Luca.
In the beginning of his career Di Meola was noted for his technical mastery and extremely fast, complex guitar solos and compositions, although even on his early albums, he had begun to explore Mediterranean cultures and acoustic genres like flamenco. Good examples are "Mediterranean Sundance" and "Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil" from the Elegant Gypsy album (1977). His early albums were very influential among rock and jazz guitarists alike. Di Meola continued to explore Latin music within the jazz-fusion genre with albums like Casino and Splendido Hotel. He exhibited a more subtle touch on acoustic numbers like "Seor Mouse" and "Fantasia Suite for Two Guitars" from the Casino album, and on the best-selling live album with McLaughlin and de Lucia, Friday Night in San Francisco. In 1980, he also toured with fellow Latin rocker, Carlos Santana.
With Scenario, he explored the electronic side of jazz in a collaboration with Jan Hammer (of Miami Vice theme fame). Beginning with this change, he further expanded his horizons with the acoustic album Cielo e Terra. He began to incorporate guitar/synthesizers on albums such as Soaring Through a Dream. Beginning in the 1990s, Di Meola recorded albums closer to World music and modern Latin styles than jazz.
He has continued to tour, playing in smaller venues like The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia. Recent concerts have included a sampling of his newer material (an engaging mix of acoustic, "distorted acoustic", and guitar/synthesizer with a looser format than the songs on the early solo albums) along with a selection of electric guitar numbers from the early albums. Di Meola often closes out shows with an energetic rendition of one of his most challenging (to play, that is) pieces, "Race with Devil on Spanish Highway", from the Elegant Gypsy album. Even in technical showcases like this, he combines blindingly fast scalar runs with subtle, dazzling rhythms, and melodic phrases.
When I first moved to Maui, I lived in Kihei but worked in Lahaina (45 minute drive), and what that beautiful and amazing journey sounded like was Kiss My Axe by Al DiMeola. The whole album not just the song. As usual i didnt get it at first, but as always,i came to understand. *which isnt that much of a surprise since i had just been listening to Orange And Blue over and over and over... Take me to the M<othership
When I first moved to Maui, I lived in Kihei but worked in Lahaina (45 minute drive), and what that beautiful and amazing journey sounded like was Kiss My Axe by Al DiMeola. The whole album not just the song. As usual i didnt get it at first, but as always,i came to understand. *which isnt that much of a surprise since i had just been listening to Orange And Blue over and over and over... Take me to the M<othership
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