"WE ARE BACK'!" - 36 years after the last concert in Budapest, the Al Di Meola Electric Band returns
Al Di Meola is one of the best guitarists of our time. A constant passion for complex rhythmic syncopations, provocative lyrical melodies and sophisticated harmonies has been at the heart of his music throughout his celebrated four-decade career.
Growing up in New Jersey on the music of the Ventures and the Beatles, Al Di Meola was drawn to the guitar from a young age and by his teens was already a proficient guitarist. His earliest role models were guitarists Tal Farlow and Kenny Burrell, but when he discovered Larry Coryell, who he later called "the godfather of fusion" for his unprecedented blend of jazz, blues and rock on his instrument, "I'd bus from New Jersey to see him in the little clubs in Greenwich Village, wherever he played, I was there." In 1972, Al enrolled at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and by his second semester he was playing in a fusion quartet led by keyboardist Barry Miles. In 1974, when a friend of Al's gave Chick Corea the band's concert recordings, the 19-year-old guitarist was recruited to join Corea's fusion supergroup, Return to Forever. After three landmark recordings with Return to Forever - 1974's Where Have I Known You Before, 1975's Grammy-winning No Mystery and 1976's Romantic Warrior - the group disbanded and Al subsequently began a career as a solo artist. His 1976 debut album, Land of the Midnight Sun, immediately featured star guests such as drummers Steve Gadd and Lenny White, bassists Anthony Jackson and Jaco Pastorius, and keyboardists Jan Hammer, Barry Miles and Chick Corea. With six more albums on Columbia Records - Elegant Gypsy, Casino, Splendido Hotel, Electric Rendezvous, Tour De Force and Scenario - Al became a major figure in contemporary music....
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"WE ARE BACK'!" - 36 years after the last concert in Budapest, the Al Di Meola Electric Band returns
Al Di Meola is one of the best guitarists of our time. A constant passion for complex rhythmic syncopations, provocative lyrical melodies and sophisticated harmonies has been at the heart of his music throughout his celebrated four-decade career.
Growing up in New Jersey on the music of the Ventures and the Beatles, Al Di Meola was drawn to the guitar from a young age and by his teens was already a proficient guitarist. His earliest role models were guitarists Tal Farlow and Kenny Burrell, but when he discovered Larry Coryell, who he later called "the godfather of fusion" for his unprecedented blend of jazz, blues and rock on his instrument, "I'd bus from New Jersey to see him in the little clubs in Greenwich Village, wherever he played, I was there." In 1972, Al enrolled at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and by his second semester he was playing in a fusion quartet led by keyboardist Barry Miles. In 1974, when a friend of Al's gave Chick Corea the band's concert recordings, the 19-year-old guitarist was recruited to join Corea's fusion supergroup, Return to Forever. After three landmark recordings with Return to Forever - 1974's Where Have I Known You Before, 1975's Grammy-winning No Mystery and 1976's Romantic Warrior - the group disbanded and Al subsequently began a career as a solo artist. His 1976 debut album, Land of the Midnight Sun, immediately featured star guests such as drummers Steve Gadd and Lenny White, bassists Anthony Jackson and Jaco Pastorius, and keyboardists Jan Hammer, Barry Miles and Chick Corea. With six more albums on Columbia Records - Elegant Gypsy, Casino, Splendido Hotel, Electric Rendezvous, Tour De Force and Scenario - Al became a major figure in contemporary music.
On tour, Al will be performing songs from his early albums including Land of the Midnight Sun, Elegant Gypsy and Casino, alongside songs from Return To Forever.
In addition to returning to early material, he says he also returned to his early guitar, pulling out his 1971 Gibson Les Paul Custom, which was featured on several songs. "I used this guitar on the first Return To Forever records when I joined the band at 19". "It was also on the cover of Elegant Gypsy. I also used it on Land of the Midnight Sun. It's kind of an iconic guitar now, but I haven't played it since the '70s."
"I ordered it from Manny's Music in New York when I was in my senior year of high school," he said of the instrument. "I originally ordered the guitar with a Bigsby tremolo arm and Varitone switch. After playing it for years, I wanted the Bigsby taken off. There was a guy named Tom Doyle who was a very good friend of Les Paul's and who did a lot of guitar work around New Jersey - he repainted it after he took those elements off. I used that on most of my early records... The sound of that guitar on my 50 watt Marshall is one of the most amazing sounds I've ever heard."
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