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Al Di Meola

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Biography

Infobox musical artist | name = Al Di Meola| image = Al Di Meola 2006 1.jpg| caption = Al Di Meola| landscape = Yes| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name = Al Laurence Dimeola| alias =| birth_date = Birth date and age|1954|7|22|birth_place = Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City , New Jersey
United States | death_date =| instrument = Guitar , keyboard instrument|keyboards , Drum kit|drums , cello , Singing|vocals , Percussion instrument|percussion | genre = Jazz fusion , Latin jazz , world fusion | occupation = Musician , songwriter , Record producer|producer | years_active = 1974–present| label = Columbia Records|Columbia , Telarc International Corporation|Telarc , Tomato Records|Tomato Milestone, Di Meola/Inakustik, Valiana Records| associated_acts = Return to Forever | website = http://www.aldimeola.com/new-site/index.php www.AlDiMeola.com| notable_instruments = Gibson Les Paul PRS Guitars|PRS McCarty
PRS Guitars|PRS Al Di Meola

Al Di Meola (born Al Laurence Dimeola, July 22, 1954, in Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City , New Jersey ) is an acclaimed United States|American jazz fusion and Latin jazz 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 http://www.allmusic.com/artist/al-di-meola-p69373/biography Biography, 'Greg Prato, allmusic.com', December 21, 2010. with a solid fan base throughout the world. http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/al-di-meola-world-sinfonia-australian-tour-march-2010/ Australian Tour March 2010, 'Toby Smith, musicfeeds.com.au', November 06, 2009.

Di Meola grew up in Bergenfield, New Jersey|Bergenfield , New Jersey , and attended Bergenfield High School . http://www.jazz.com/encyclopedia/di-meola-al Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians, jazz.com. December 21, 2010. He is now a resident of Bergen County, New Jersey . http://www.nj.com/greatday/stories/more.html The State of Jazz: Meet 40 More Jersey Greats, The Star-Ledger , September 28, 2004.

Career


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.

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." http://www.italkguitar.com/heroes/al-di-meola Al Di Meola bio at http://www.iTalkGuitar.com
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 (musician)|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 (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 (Al Di Meola album)|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. http://www.novaconcerts.com/aldimeola.html Al Di Meola New World Sinfonia, Nova Concerts International , June 15, 2011. In 1980, he also toured with fellow Latin rocker Carlos Santana .

With Scenario (album)|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 (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.

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 ,Citation needed|date=April 2010influencing 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 .cite web|url= http://www.thefunkygibbons.net/John%20Petrucci.html|title=The Funky Gibbons, "John Petrucci page" 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;AL DiMEOLA Speaks About His Tinnitus - http://www.youtube.com/user/ATAJD YouTube: American Tinnitus Association's Channel the acoustic guitar does not aggravate his condition.

But in 2006 he rediscovered his love of the electric guitar,"In Conversation with Al Di Meola" - special feature on the Speak A Volcano DVD and the DVD of his concert at the Leverkusen Jazz Festival 2006 bears the subtitle Return to Electric Guitar .Speak A Volcano: Return to Electric Guitar (2007) DVD

Discography


Solo works


  • Land of the Midnight Sun (album)|Land of the Midnight Sun (1976)

  • Elegant Gypsy (1977)

  • Casino (Al Di Meola album)|Casino (1978)

  • Splendido Hotel (1980)

  • Electric Rendezvous (1982)

  • Scenario (album)|Scenario (1983)

  • Cielo e Terra (album)|Cielo e Terra (1985)

  • Soaring Through a Dream (1985)

  • Tirami Su (1987)

  • Kiss My Axe (1991)

  • World Sinfonia (1991)

  • Heart Of The Immigrants (1993)

  • Orange and Blue (album)|Orange and Blue (1994)

  • Di Meola Plays Piazzolla (1996)

  • The Infinite Desire (1998)

  • Christmas: Winter Nights (1999)

  • World Sinfonía III - The Grande Passion (2000)

  • Flesh on Flesh (2002)

  • Al Di Meola Revisited (2003)

  • Vocal Rendezvous (2006)

  • Consequence of Chaos (2006)

  • Diabolic Inventions And Seduction For Solo Guitar (2007)

  • Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody (March 2011)


    • Collaborations


  • Venusian Summer (1975) Lenny White, Al Di Meola, Larry Coryell

  • Go (1976) with Go (band)|Go Stomu Yamash'ta, Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola

  • Go Live From Paris (1976) with Go (band)|Go Stomu Yamash'ta, Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola

  • Go Too (1977) with Go (band)|Go

  • Friday Night in San Francisco (1980) with John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía

  • Tour De Force – Live (1982) with Jan Hammer , Anthony Jackson, and Steve Gadd

  • Passion, Grace and Fire (1983) with John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía

  • Latin (1987) with George Dalaras

  • Super Guitar Trio And Friends (1990) with Larry Coryell and Biréli Lagrène

  • Rite Of Strings (1995) with Stanley Clarke and Jean-Luc Ponty

  • Dance of Fire (1995) - Aziza Mustafa Zadeh

  • The Guitar Trio (1996) with John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía

  • Winter Nights (1999) - Roman Hrynkiv

  • Inspiration (Aziza Mustafa Zadeh album)|Inspiration - Colors & Reflections (2000) Aziza Mustafa Zadeh

  • Nylon & Steel (2001) Manuel Barrueco

  • The Running Roads (2001) with George Dalaras

  • Black Utopia (2003) with Derek Sherinian

  • Cosmopolitan Life (2005) with Leonid Agutin

  • 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

  • O és Carmen (He and Carmen) (2008) with Eszter Horgas


    • As Producer
  • Magic Touch (album)|Magic Touch (1985) Stanley Jordan


    • Return to Forever albums featuring Al Di Meola


  • Where Have I Known You Before (1974, Polydor)

  • No Mystery (1975, Polydor)

  • Romantic Warrior (1976, Columbia)

  • Returns (Return to Forever album)|Returns ( 2009 , Eagle (Fontana))


    • References


    Reflist

    External links


    commonscat|Al Di Meola
  • http://www.aldimeola.com/new-site/index.html Al Di Meola Official Web Site


    • Persondata | NAME = Di Meola, Al
    | ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
    | SHORT DESCRIPTION = An acclaimed United States|American jazz fusion and Latin jazz|Latin guitarist , composer, and record producer
    | DATE OF BIRTH = July 22, 1954
    | PLACE OF BIRTH = Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City , New Jersey , United States
    | DATE OF DEATH =
    | PLACE OF DEATH =
    DEFAULTSORT:Di Meola, Al Category:1954 births
    Category:American jazz guitarists
    Category:Berklee College of Music alumni
    Category:Jazz fusion guitarists
    Category:Jazz-rock guitarists
    Category:American jazz musicians of Italian descent
    Category:Living people
    Category:Lead guitarists
    Category:People from Bergenfield, New Jersey
    Category:Return to Forever members
    Category:Columbia Records artists
    Category:Reprise Records artists

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    Copyright Citations

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