It’s good to have Al Di Meola back on the music scene and this album is a fine reminder of what a talented musician he is.
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Al Di Meola (guitars, bass, keyboards and percussion); Derek Wieland (piano, keyboards); Rodrigo G. Pahlen (harmonica); Hernan Romero (guitar, piano); Siuxx (Ivan Lopez) (vocals); Pere Munuera, Tommy Brechtlein (drums); Amit Kavthekar (tabla); Gisella Giufra (cajon), Gumbi Ortiz (congas)
Recorded Churchill Studios, NJ; Homer Center For The Arts, Homer, NY;
Millenia Studios, Valencia, Spain; Sound On Sound Studios, Montclair, NJ;
Officine Meccaniche, Milan, Italy. No recording dates
When Al Di Meola burst onto the music scene in the mid-1970s, he was something of a guitar wunderkind. Aged just nineteen, he was invited by Chick Corea to join jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever, which also included Lenny White and Stanley Clarke. It was the golden age for this genre of music, with Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Headhunters all riding high.
Di Meola released his first album – Land of the Midnight Sun – when he was just twenty-one, and it was the first of a trilogy of albums (the others being Casino and Elegant Gypsy) that were both a commercial and critical success. When he was just twenty-seven, he formed an acoustic guitar trio with Paco de Lucia and John Mclaughlin, and their album, Friday Night in San Francisco, went on to sell more than two million copies.
Al Di Meola arrived at a time when much of jazz-rock fusion seemed to be about the number of notes you could play as quickly and as loudly as possible. Di Meola is well known for his lighting runs and shredding (a term he dislikes), as heard on a number like ‘Race With The Devil On Spanish Highway’ from the Elegant Gypsy album.
As a result, some detractors claim he is all about speed and technique and less about soul and feeling. But in this writer’s view, that doesn’t do him justice. Di Meola can also play with great sensitivity and feeling, is a master of both acoustic and electric guitar, and has a gift for melody and time (one of my favourite tunes of his is the haunting ‘Pictures of The Sea’ from his first solo album). He is also a notable composer. This album arrives less than a year after Di Meola suffered a heart attack on stage in Bucharest. Fortunately, he has recovered well and has resumed touring.
Twentyfour is yet another album whose roots lie in the Covid-19 pandemic era. Originally conceived as a reflective acoustic guitar project, it now includes electric guitar and orchestral parts and was recorded in several studios across continents. It’s a double LP/CD release featuring 15 tunes, all composed and arranged by Di Meola.
A typical Al Di Meola album will include jazz, rock and flamenco, along with some Latin and world music. This album is no exception, although the emphasis is very much on an acoustic guitar/jazz-flamenco sound. If you’re one of those Di Meola fans who enjoy lots of fast, scorching guitar lines and dizzying runs, then you’ll find little of it on this album. But if you prefer the softer, melodic, more meditative side of Di Meola’s playing, there’s plenty here to savour.
This is very much a commercial album and four tracks were released as singles, before the album’s official release (just several before Di Meola’s 70th birthday). One of these was the opening number ‘Fandango,’ which as the name suggests, merges flamenco with jazz. The track very much sets the template for much of the album; a midtempo tune with lots of flamenco flourishes accompanied by the steady beat of a cajon. On this and many numbers, Di Meola either plays along with a second rhythm guitarist or double tracks acoustic guitars, with one playing the rhythm and the other, the melody, or sometimes the two of them doubling up on the head. Horn lines are used to colour the sound discreetly. It’s a bright, uplifting number, and is excellently recorded and mixed – as is the rest of the album.
The following several numbers are in a similar vein, although ‘Capriccio Suite’ also includes the constant beat of a tabla, an instrument that appears on several more tracks. ‘Ava’s Dance in the Moonlight’ was inspired by Di Meola’s daughter popping into the recording studio to say goodnight, and has a very pretty melody, which explains why it was also a single. ‘Immeasurable’ is a nineteen-minute, three-part suite (part one lasts ten minutes; part two three, and part three, six) and is another cajon-driven acoustic piece. ‘Eden’ (another single) is a sublime ballad featuring the vocals of Spanish musician Iván López. ‘For Only You’, also a single release, is a lovely solo acoustic guitar ballad.
Fans of Di Meola’s electric guitar sound will enjoy several numbers that come late into the album: ‘Paradox of Puppets,’ ‘Genetik’ and ‘Testament 24’ all of which feature the electric guitar as the lead instrument, with acoustic guitar in the supporting role. I think the album’s producers have missed a trick in not placing these higher up the track order, as it would have given the album a little more variety earlier on. However, the album closes on a strong note with ‘Precocious’ an acoustic guitar piece with backing from both tabla and cajon. It has a little more grit and energy than the other acoustic pieces. It’s good to have Al Di Meola back on the music scene and this album is a fine reminder of what a talented musician he is.
