Al Di Meola’s celebrated career has encompassed many emotions and created a unique style that reflects the artist’s world-inspired influences. From the speed and heat of his solo efforts to the triumph of the “Di Meola / McLaughlin / De Lucia (“Guitar Trio”)”, from the Brazilian explorations of Cielo e Terra and “Soaring through A Dream”, to the global romanticism of Al’s acoustic band “World Synfonia”, self-titled debut, and the second “World Sinfonia,” recording Heart of the Immigrants. His solo career began with records such as “Land of the Midnight Sun”, Elegant Gypsy”, and “Casino”, which were among the most popular instrumental artists of the time. Al Di Meola continues making remarkable achievements in music pioneering, while U.S. radio’s decline continues to be a barrier to most of the best contemporary music. Al Di Meola is a gifted and experienced contemporary composer, and a musician of profound grace and evocative lyrics. Many of the most prominent Music critics in the world have repeatedly praised his guitar playing and compositions. Al’s fascination with complex rhythmic syncopation and provocative lyrics is what makes these deeply felt, but serious works so compelling. His amazing technique and musical depth are well-known. He made his debut in 1974 with Chick Corea. 1980 saw the triumph of John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucia’s “Super Guitar Trio”. The landmark record “Friday Night In San Francisco” was a huge success and received wide acclaim. This record sold more than two million copies. They toured together from 1980 to 1983, and then reunited in 1996 for the release of their third CD “Guitar Trio”. This was followed by a worldwide tour. Al Di Meola, jean Luc Ponty and Stanley Clarke (The Rite of Strings) formed a new trio in 1996. Di Meola describes this group as the “best fit” in his career. This new group’s name is “Al Di MeolaWorld Sinfonia 2000”. This group features musicians from Argentina and Cuba. His 21-disc collection of CD’s includes his solo acoustic guitarist record, “Winter Nights”. This intimate recording features Di Meola playing between two vintage acoustic guitars (and a bandura, a Ukrainian harp-like instrument with 48 strings) and Di Meola. The music is focused on the holiday theme of winter with four originals, four Christmas-related pieces and two popular pop songs. One is “Mercy Street” from Peter Gabriel and the other “Scarborough Fair”, by Paul Simon. This record has a special concurrent theme because of Di Meola’s music selections and his originals. Al says this record has the best audio quality he’s ever heard. Al is assisted by Roman Hrynkiv, his musical partner, on production and acoustic rhythm guitarist on two tracks. Al has worked with many famous musicians over his long career. These include Chick Corea and Luciano Pavarotti. The Argentinian tango master Astor Pintolla influenced the evocative melodies of “World Sinfonia” as well as “Heart of the Immigrant’s”, and their rhythmic diversity and rhythmic variety. He shows a wider cultural and musical range on “Kiss My Axe”, in “Infinite Desire”, and “Orange and Blue”. The friendship between Astor Piazzolla, Al Di Meola, and before his death, was a great motivator for the guitarist to deepen his ties with the music of Argentina, and the classical world. “Piazzolla had an enormous impact on my growth as a musician as well as as a person. They became good friends and communicated by mail frequently. Later, my admiration for this great man grew. “Chick Corea has been an important influence in my life. He has been a great supporter, major musical inspiration, and friend. “Playing with Chick was my first step towards becoming a better player. Al Di Meola was born in Italy to an Italian family. As a teenager, he spent his time playing guitar and going to salsa clubs. Di Meola was greatly influenced by Larry Coryell, a jazz guitarist. He enrolled at Berklee College of Music, Boston. There, he practiced marathons for over a year. We had three men in one space: one in one bedroom, one in the bathroom, and one in the closet. After a brief time with Barry Miles keyboardist, Di Meola was 19 when Chick Corea tapped him for “Return to Forever” in 1974. His star rose quickly. Al Di Meola has released twenty-one recordings and won countless awards (including three gold albums), and six million albums. “Infinite Desire”, his 1998 release, “Winter Nights”, the end of 1999 release, World Sinfonia 2000 and The Grand Passion,” 2000 releases, and “Flesh on Flesh,” his May 2003 release. Consequence of Chaos is his fifth Telarc album. It will be released in September 2006. This collection features 15 original compositions as well as guest appearances by Chick Corea (pianist), Steve Gadd (drummer), Barry Miles (keyboardist) and John Patitucci (bassist). Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
