Al Di Meola
Encyclopedia
Al Di Meola is an acclaimed American
jazz fusion
and Latin
guitarist
, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date. Albums such as Friday Night in San Francisco
have earned him both artistic and commercial success with a solid fan base throughout the world.
Di Meola grew up in Bergenfield
, New Jersey
, and attended Bergenfield High School
. He is now a resident of Bergen County, New Jersey
.
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 Magazines Reader Poll.
Guitar historian Robert Lynch states: "In the history of the electric guitar, no one figure has done more to advance the instrument in a purely technical manner than Mr. Di Meola. His total command of the various styles and scales is simply mind-boggling. I feel privileged to have been able to study his work all these years."
In addition to a prolific solo career, he has engaged in successful collaborations with bassist Stanley Clarke
, keyboardist Jan Hammer
, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty
, and guitarists John McLaughlin
and Paco de Lucía
. He also guested on "Allergies" from Paul Simon
's Hearts and Bones
'" album (1983).
In the beginning of his career, as evidenced on his first solo album Land of the Midnight Sun
(1976), Di Meola was noted for his technical mastery and extremely fast, complex guitar solos and compositions. But 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 on albums like Casino
and Splendido Hotel
. He exhibited a more subtle touch on acoustic numbers like "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
. The latter album became one of the most popular live albums for acoustic guitar ever recorded and was sold more than two million times worldwide. 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
(later 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 guitars and synthesizers on albums such as Soaring Through a Dream
. By the 1990s, Di Meola recorded albums closer to World music
and modern Latin styles than jazz.
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He has continued to tour, playing in smaller venues like The Birchmere
in Alexandria, Virginia
, and House of Blues
in Las Vegas, Nevada
. Recent concerts have included a sampling of his newer material (an engaging mix of acoustic, "distorted acoustic music", 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 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. Because of his early recordings, Di Meola became arguably the most important pioneer of shred guitar
,
influencing guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen (with whom he appeared on keyboardist Derek Sherinian
's solo album Black Utopia
in 2003), Richie Sambora
of Bon Jovi
with his speed runs as a child and Dream Theater
's John Petrucci
. However, in most cases after the early 1980s, Di Meola has largely distanced himself from this approach. In various interviews, Di Meola has stated that his reason for stepping away from the electric guitar is due to hearing damage (manifested as tinnitus
) from years of playing at excessive volumes; the acoustic guitar does not aggravate his condition.
But in 2006 he rediscovered his love of the electric guitar, and the DVD of his concert at the Leverkusen
Jazz Festival 2006 bears the subtitle Return to Electric Guitar.
As Producer
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
and Latin
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is the general term given to jazz with Latin American rhythms.The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:# Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date. Albums such as Friday Night in San Francisco
Friday Night in San Francisco
Friday Night in San Francisco is a 1981 live album by Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía. It was recorded at The Warfield Theatre on 5 December 1980, in San Francisco.-Side one:#"Mediterranean Sundance/Río Ancho" – 11:25...
have earned him both artistic and commercial success with a solid fan base throughout the world.
Di Meola grew up in Bergenfield
Bergenfield, New Jersey
Bergenfield is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 26,764.Bergenfield was formed on the basis of a referendum held on June 25, 1894, from portions of Englewood Township and Palisades Township at the height of the...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and attended Bergenfield High School
Bergenfield High School
Bergenfield High School is a four-year, comprehensive public high school serving students from Bergenfield, in Bergen County, New Jersey, operating as part of the Bergenfield Public Schools...
. He is now a resident of Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
.
Career
In 1971, he enrolled in the Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1974 he joined Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
's band, Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
, 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 Magazines Reader Poll.
Guitar historian Robert Lynch states: "In the history of the electric guitar, no one figure has done more to advance the instrument in a purely technical manner than Mr. Di Meola. His total command of the various styles and scales is simply mind-boggling. I feel privileged to have been able to study his work all these years."
In addition to a prolific solo career, he has engaged in successful collaborations with bassist Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
, keyboardist Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s...
, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...
, and guitarists John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
and Paco de Lucía
Paco de Lucía
Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez , is a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist and composer. He is considered by many to be one of the finest guitarists in the world and the greatest guitarist of the flamenco genre...
. He also guested on "Allergies" from Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's Hearts and Bones
Hearts and Bones
Hearts and Bones is the sixth solo album by Paul Simon. It was released in 1983.The album was originally intended to be a Simon & Garfunkel reunion album called Think Too Much, following their Central Park reunion concert in 1981, and the world tour of 1982 - 1983. In fact, some of the songs...
'" album (1983).
In the beginning of his career, as evidenced on his first solo album Land of the Midnight Sun
Land of the Midnight Sun (album)
Land of the Midnight Sun is the first album by Al Di Meola, released in 1976. The complex pieces show Di Meola's range even at this early stage.-Track listing:#"The Wizard" – 6:46#"Land of the Midnight Sun"...
(1976), Di Meola was noted for his technical mastery and extremely fast, complex guitar solos and compositions. But even on his early albums, he had begun to explore Mediterranean cultures and acoustic genres like flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
. Good examples are "Mediterranean Sundance" and "Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil" from the Elegant Gypsy
Elegant Gypsy
Elegant Gypsy is the second album by American jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 1977. It was a follow-up album to Di Meola's debut release, Land of the Midnight Sun. The distinctive music in the album is a speedy fusion of jazz and rock, with lightning-fast guitar riffs intermixed with...
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
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
genre on albums like Casino
Casino (Al Di Meola album)
Casino is a 1978 album by Latin jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola.-Track listing:#"Egyptian Danza" – 5:56#"Chasin' the Voodoo" – 5:05#"Dark Eye Tango" – 5:23#"Señor Mouse" – 7:21...
and Splendido Hotel
Splendido Hotel
Splendido Hotel is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola released in 1980 as a double LP, and later CD.-Track listing:All songs by Al Di Meola unless otherwise noted.#"Alien Chase On Arabian Desert"...
. He exhibited a more subtle touch on acoustic numbers like "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
Friday Night in San Francisco
Friday Night in San Francisco is a 1981 live album by Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía. It was recorded at The Warfield Theatre on 5 December 1980, in San Francisco.-Side one:#"Mediterranean Sundance/Río Ancho" – 11:25...
. The latter album became one of the most popular live albums for acoustic guitar ever recorded and was sold more than two million times worldwide. In 1980, he also toured with fellow Latin rocker Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
.
With Scenario
Scenario (album)
Scenario is a 1983 album by jazz fusion guitarist, Al Di Meola. It furthered the musical direction that became apparent on his previous album Electric Rendezvous and saw a greater influence of keyboard player Jan Hammer on the album...
, he explored the electronic side of jazz in a collaboration with Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s...
(later of Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
theme fame). Beginning with this change, he further expanded his horizons with the acoustic album Cielo e Terra
Cielo e Terra
Cielo e Terra is the title of the 1985 solo album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola. Airto Moreira plays all percussion on "Traces ", "Cielo e Terra", "When You're Gone" and "Solace".- Track listing :...
. He began to incorporate guitars and synthesizers on albums such as Soaring Through a Dream
Soaring Through a Dream
Soaring Through a Dream is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 1985.-Track listing:#"Capoeira" – 9:21#"Traces " – 9:00...
. By the 1990s, Di Meola recorded albums closer to World music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
and modern Latin styles than jazz.
The Birchmere
The Birchmere is a concert hall in Alexandria, Virginia, known for presenting performers in the bluegrass, country, folk, and jazz genres. The main stage has table seating with dinner service. The room seats 500 people and the tables in front are about two feet from the stage...
in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, and House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Recent concerts have included a sampling of his newer material (an engaging mix of acoustic, "distorted acoustic music", 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 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. Because of his early recordings, Di Meola became arguably the most important pioneer of shred guitar
Shred guitar
Shred guitar or shredding is lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast guitar solos. While some critics argue that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ... whammy-bar abuse", several guitar...
,
influencing guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen (with whom he appeared on keyboardist Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X...
's solo album Black Utopia
Black Utopia
Black Utopia is the third solo album by keyboard player Derek Sherinian. In addition to the returning members Zakk Wylde, Simon Phillips and Steve Lukather, three new musicians joined Sherinian: bass guitarist Billy Sheehan and guitarists Yngwie Malmsteen – with whom Sherinian had toured in 2001 –...
in 2003), Richie Sambora
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer, and songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the rock band, Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band...
of Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
with his speed runs as a child and Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
's John Petrucci
John Petrucci
John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Along with his former bandmate Mike Portnoy, he has produced all Dream Theater albums since their 1999 release, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory...
. However, in most cases after the early 1980s, Di Meola has largely distanced himself from this approach. In various interviews, Di Meola has stated that his reason for stepping away from the electric guitar is due to hearing damage (manifested as tinnitus
Tinnitus
Tinnitus |ringing]]") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period , ear...
) from years of playing at excessive volumes; the acoustic guitar does not aggravate his condition.
But in 2006 he rediscovered his love of the electric guitar, and the DVD of his concert at the Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Leverkusen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the South, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne and to the North is the state capital Düsseldorf....
Jazz Festival 2006 bears the subtitle Return to Electric Guitar.
Solo works
- Land of the Midnight SunLand of the Midnight Sun (album)Land of the Midnight Sun is the first album by Al Di Meola, released in 1976. The complex pieces show Di Meola's range even at this early stage.-Track listing:#"The Wizard" – 6:46#"Land of the Midnight Sun"...
(1976) - Elegant GypsyElegant GypsyElegant Gypsy is the second album by American jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 1977. It was a follow-up album to Di Meola's debut release, Land of the Midnight Sun. The distinctive music in the album is a speedy fusion of jazz and rock, with lightning-fast guitar riffs intermixed with...
(1977) - CasinoCasino (Al Di Meola album)Casino is a 1978 album by Latin jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola.-Track listing:#"Egyptian Danza" – 5:56#"Chasin' the Voodoo" – 5:05#"Dark Eye Tango" – 5:23#"Señor Mouse" – 7:21...
(1978) - Splendido HotelSplendido HotelSplendido Hotel is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola released in 1980 as a double LP, and later CD.-Track listing:All songs by Al Di Meola unless otherwise noted.#"Alien Chase On Arabian Desert"...
(1980) - Electric RendezvousElectric RendezvousElectric Rendezvous is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola released in 1982. It features Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía who also recorded Friday Night in San Francisco with Di Meola.-Track listing:...
(1982) - The Guitarist (Germany) (1982)
- ScenarioScenario (album)Scenario is a 1983 album by jazz fusion guitarist, Al Di Meola. It furthered the musical direction that became apparent on his previous album Electric Rendezvous and saw a greater influence of keyboard player Jan Hammer on the album...
(1983) - Cielo e TerraCielo e TerraCielo e Terra is the title of the 1985 solo album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola. Airto Moreira plays all percussion on "Traces ", "Cielo e Terra", "When You're Gone" and "Solace".- Track listing :...
(1985) - Soaring Through a DreamSoaring Through a DreamSoaring Through a Dream is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 1985.-Track listing:#"Capoeira" – 9:21#"Traces " – 9:00...
(1985) - Tirami SuTirami SuTirami Su is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola and the Al Di Meola Project, released in 1987. Musicians on this album include long time associate of Al Di Meola, Anthony Jackson on bass guitar, Japanese-American pianist Kei Akagi, Tommy Brechtlein on...
(1987) - Kiss My AxeKiss My AxeKiss My Axe is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 1991. Musicians include Barry Miles on piano and keyboards, Anthony Jackson on six string contrabass guitar, Rachel Z on synthesizer and Gumbi Ortiz on conga.-Track listing:All songs by Al Di...
(1991) - World SinfoniaWorld SinfoniaWorld Sinfonia is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 1991.-Track listing:# "Perpetual Emotion " – 3:30# "Orient Blue" – 2:57...
(1991) - Heart Of The ImmigrantsHeart Of The ImmigrantsHeart of the Immigrants is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 1993.-Track listing:# "Nightclub 1960 " – 5:46# "Vistaero" – 4:36...
(1993) - Orange and BlueOrange and Blue (album)Orange And Blue is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 1994.-Track listing:All songs by Al Di Meola unless otherwise noted.# "Paradisio" – 7:19# "Chilean Pipe Song" – 4:52...
(1994) - Di Meola Plays Piazzolla (1996)
- The Infinite DesireThe Infinite DesireThe Infinite Desire is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 1998.-Track listing:All songs by Al Di Meola unless otherwise noted.# "Beyond The Mirage" – 7:18# "Shaking The Spirits" – 6:30...
(1998) - Christmas: Winter Nights (1999)
- World Sinfonía III - The Grande PassionWorld Sinfonía III - The Grande PassionWorld Sinfonía III - The Grande Passion is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 2000.- Track listing :All songs by Al Di Meola unless otherwise noted.#"Misterio" – 7:53...
(2000) - Flesh on FleshFlesh on FleshFlesh on Flesh is a 2002 album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola. The album contains new compositions and reworkings of older ones as well...
(2002) - Al Di Meola Revisited (2003)
- Vocal Rendezvous (2006)
- Consequence of ChaosConsequence of ChaosConsequence of Chaos is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 2006. The album features guest appearances by Chick Corea, Steve Gadd, John Patitucci and Barry Miles.-Track listing:...
(2006) - Diabolic Inventions And Seduction For Solo GuitarDiabolic Inventions and Seduction for Solo GuitarDiabolic Inventions and Seduction for Solo Guitar, Vol. 1: Music of Astor Piazzolla is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 2007.-Track listing:All songs by Ástor Piazzolla#"Campero" – 4:50...
(2007) - Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody (March 2011)
Collaborations
- Venusian Summer (1975) Lenny White, Al Di Meola, Larry Coryell
- Go (1976) with GoGo (band)Go was a supergroup conceived in 1976 by Stomu Yamashta , which also included Steve Winwood , Al Di Meola , Klaus Schulze and Michael Shrieve ....
Stomu Yamash'ta, Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola - Go Live From Paris (1976) with GoGo (band)Go was a supergroup conceived in 1976 by Stomu Yamashta , which also included Steve Winwood , Al Di Meola , Klaus Schulze and Michael Shrieve ....
Stomu Yamash'ta, Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola - Go Too (1977) with GoGo (band)Go was a supergroup conceived in 1976 by Stomu Yamashta , which also included Steve Winwood , Al Di Meola , Klaus Schulze and Michael Shrieve ....
- Friday Night in San FranciscoFriday Night in San FranciscoFriday Night in San Francisco is a 1981 live album by Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía. It was recorded at The Warfield Theatre on 5 December 1980, in San Francisco.-Side one:#"Mediterranean Sundance/Río Ancho" – 11:25...
(1980) with John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (musician)John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
and Paco de LucíaPaco de LucíaPaco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez , is a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist and composer. He is considered by many to be one of the finest guitarists in the world and the greatest guitarist of the flamenco genre... - Passion, Grace and FirePassion, Grace and FirePassion, Grace & Fire is the second album by John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola and Paco de Lucía released in 1983. Unlike their first album "Friday Night in San Francisco", this album consists entirely of studio recordings.-Side one:...
(1983) with John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (musician)John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
and Paco de LucíaPaco de LucíaPaco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez , is a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist and composer. He is considered by many to be one of the finest guitarists in the world and the greatest guitarist of the flamenco genre... - Latin (1987) with George DalarasGeorge DalarasGeorge Dalaras , also possibly spelled as Yorgos or Giorgos Dalaras, is a Greek singer. He is of international fame and has recently been selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Nea Kokinia, Piraeus. His father was Loukas Daralas, a singer of rebetiko.-Early...
- Super Guitar Trio And Friends (1990) with Larry CoryellLarry CoryellLarry Coryell is an American jazz fusion guitarist.-Biography:Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby...
and Biréli LagrèneBiréli LagrèneBiréli Lagrène is a French guitarist and bassist. He came to prominence in the 1980s for his Django Reinhardt-influenced style on the classical guitar, as well as for being a jazz fusion virtuoso on the electric guitar... - Rite Of Strings (1995) with Stanley ClarkeStanley ClarkeStanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
and Jean-Luc PontyJean-Luc PontyJean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano... - Dance of FireDance of FireDance of Fire is the third album released by Azeri jazz artist Aziza Mustafa Zadeh. It was released in 1995 with the sales of over 2.000.000 copies worldwide...
(1995) - Aziza Mustafa ZadehAziza Mustafa ZadehAziza Mustafa Zadeh also known as The Princess of Jazz, or Die Prinzessin des Jazz or as Jazziza is an Azerbaijani singer, pianist and composer who plays a fusion of jazz and mugam with classical and Avant-garde influences... - The Guitar TrioThe Guitar TrioThe Guitar Trio is a reunion album by Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucía and John McLaughlin, released in 1996 after 13 years without playing together...
(1996) with John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (musician)John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
and Paco de LucíaPaco de LucíaPaco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez , is a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist and composer. He is considered by many to be one of the finest guitarists in the world and the greatest guitarist of the flamenco genre... - Winter Nights (1999) - Roman Hrynkiv
- Inspiration - Colors & Reflections (2000) Aziza Mustafa ZadehAziza Mustafa ZadehAziza Mustafa Zadeh also known as The Princess of Jazz, or Die Prinzessin des Jazz or as Jazziza is an Azerbaijani singer, pianist and composer who plays a fusion of jazz and mugam with classical and Avant-garde influences...
- Nylon & Steel (2001) Manuel BarruecoManuel BarruecoManuel Barrueco is a Cuban virtuoso classical guitarist. He was born in 1952 in Santiago de Cuba, on Cuba's southeastern shore. He has toured in the U.S., Europe and Japan, and serves on the faculty of Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland.-Biography:...
- The Running Roads (2001) with George DalarasGeorge DalarasGeorge Dalaras , also possibly spelled as Yorgos or Giorgos Dalaras, is a Greek singer. He is of international fame and has recently been selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Nea Kokinia, Piraeus. His father was Loukas Daralas, a singer of rebetiko.-Early...
- Black UtopiaBlack UtopiaBlack Utopia is the third solo album by keyboard player Derek Sherinian. In addition to the returning members Zakk Wylde, Simon Phillips and Steve Lukather, three new musicians joined Sherinian: bass guitarist Billy Sheehan and guitarists Yngwie Malmsteen – with whom Sherinian had toured in 2001 –...
(2003) with Derek SherinianDerek SherinianDerek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X... - Cosmopolitan LifeCosmopolitan LifeCosmopolitan Life is an album by Russian singer and composer Leonid Agutin, featuring Grammy-winning American guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 2005...
(2005) with Leonid AgutinLeonid AgutinLeonid Nikolayevich Agutin is a Russian pop musician and poet, active since the 1990s. He has released 8 albums and 3 compilation albums.-Personal life:... - Midsummer Night In Sardinia (2005) with Andrea Parodi
- Mária (Égi szerelem) (2007) with Miklos Malek and Eszter Horgas
- The NYC Session: Beautiful Love (2007) with Eddie Gomez, Billy Drummond and Yutaka Kobayashi
- Ő és Carmen (He and Carmen) (2008) with Eszter Horgas
As Producer
- Magic TouchMagic Touch (album)Magic Touch is the Blue Note Records debut album by jazz musician Stanley Jordan. Allmusic critic Daniel Gioffre has described the album as "[a]n instant classic, and one of the definitive moments of modern jazz guitar."- Track listing :...
(1985) Stanley JordanStanley JordanStanley Jordan is an American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and pianist, best known for his development of the tapping technique for the guitar....
Return to Forever albums featuring Al Di Meola
- Where Have I Known You BeforeWhere Have I Known You BeforeWhere Have I Known You Before is the fourth album by Jazz-Rock Fusion band Return to Forever.While the style of music has not changed much since the previous album, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, important changes have taken place in the band's sound and line-up. Both keyboardist Chick Corea and...
(1974, Polydor) - No MysteryNo MysteryNo Mystery is the fifth studio album by influential jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever.Return to Forever's fifth album is their most varied. While the production is similar to the album's predecessor, Where Have I Known You Before, the sheer variety of compositions gives this record a...
(1975, Polydor) - Romantic WarriorRomantic WarriorRomantic Warrior is the sixth studio album of fusion band Return to Forever.Romantic Warrior is the band's best selling record reaching eventual sales of 500,000 copies. It was the group's first album made for Columbia Records, which may have had a positive effect on sales...
(1976, Columbia) - Returns (2009, Eagle (Fontana))