He came from the 'Land Of The Midnight Sun', sparkled on the
jazz-rock stage as an 'Elegant Gypsy', came up trumps in the 'Casino' with all
the right chords and melodies, and his 'Splendido Hotel' was the number one
address for fusion fans around the globe. He finally achieved immortality
together with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia on 'Friday Night In San Francisco'.
For guitar lovers, the name Al Di Meola carries the same guarantee of quality
that Ferrari does for sports car enthusiasts or Chateau Mouton-Rothschild for
wine connoisseurs.
Al Di Meola was born in New Jersey in 1954 to an Italian-American family,
and from his early days as a rising star in Chick Corea's legendary fusion
combo Return To Forever right up to the present day, he has continually managed
to refine his qualities: breathtakingly fast picking, skilful percussion
effects the like of which had never been heard before, the effortlessness with
which he can instantly switch from muscular axe-man rock to spinning gentle,
romantic webs of melody. In the nineties, inspired by his love of the acoustic
sounds of Latin America and the works of nuevo tango pioneer Astor Piazzolla,
he made some delightful chamber music recordings with his group World Sinfonia.
On more recent albums such as 'Consequence Of Chaos' (2006) and 'Pursuit Of
Radical Rhapsody' (2011), all these penchants, influences and musical movements
have fused into an unmistakeable sound: jazz rock meets world jazz. It's a
stylistic aerobatics display, circling up to dizzying heights reminiscent of
the boisterous solos Al used to play in his youth.
'Elysium' is the climax of this process so far. The artist has
arrived where he always wanted to be. He himself thinks of Elysium as a 'place
of perfect happiness'. A paradise where acoustic and electric components,
triumphant rock and finely entwined jazz, delicate and pumping rhythms, guitars
and keyboards, wide panoramas of rock and diaphanous carpets of sound come
together in harmony. In this magical Elysium, everyone complements each other.
Al Di Meola has brought together a five piece band with no bass. While he plays
all the guitar parts himself, both acoustic and electric, including
unbelievably fast and elegant riffs and effervescent rocking chords, three
keyboard players and pianists provide shades of colour. This trio includes new
recruit Philippe Saisse, who also contributes the composition 'La Lluvia'. The
others have shared musical accomplishments with their band leader going back
decades. Barry Miles has known Al since the seventies. Mario Parmisano can be
heard on recordings such as 'Orange And Blue' (1994) and 'Flesh On Flesh'
(2002). Two new rhythm players have now joined the team: percussionist Rhani
Krija and drummer Peter Kaszas. Both of them are wide awake and always right up
with the beat. ~ Amazon
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