8364 - 11 - AL DI MEOLA - SCENARIO (1983)

AL DI MEOLA
''SCENARIO''
1983
40:28

1 Mata Hari (Al Di Meola) 06:04
2 Afrikan Night (Jon Hammer, Al Di Meola) 04:48
3 Island Dreamer (Jan Hammer, Al Di Meola) 04:04
4 Scenario (Al Di Meola) 03:56
5 Sequencer (Jan Hammer) 04:06
6 Cachaca (Al Di Meola) 05:35
7 Hipnotic Conviction (Jan Hammer, Al Di Meola) 03:52
8 Calliope (Al Di Meola) 04:17
9 Scoundrel (Jan Hammer, Al Di Meola) 03:44

William Alexander/Fairlight CMI, Programming
Bill Bruford/Drums, Drums (Electric), Guest Artist, Simmons Drums
Phil Collins/Drums, Guest Artist
Al di Meola/Drums, Fairlight CMI, Flute, Guitar, Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Synthesizer), Mandocello, Multi Instruments, Roland Synthesizer, Saxophone, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Flute, Synthesizer Saxophone, Tom-Tom
Jan Hammer/Bass, Drums, Fairlight, Fairlight CMI, Guest Artist, Keyboards, Linn, Linn Drum, Moog Bass, Organ, Piano, Roland Synthesizer, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Drums
Tony Levin/Bass, Bass (Electric), Guest Artist, Guitar (Bass), Stick Bass

REVIEW
by Robert Taylor (AMG)
With this recording, Al di Meola thankfully left behind the pop-fusion sound that he had perfected with Jan Hammer. This was his first venture using the Roland guitar synthesizer and a drum machine. The technology used on this recording sounds dated, but the intent seems genuine. Jan Hammer's Miami Vice sound can be heard throughout, especially on "Sequencer"; di Meola places more emphasis on composition and production than on his famous technique. This turns out to be a refreshing change, but it would have been nice to hear him jam with Phil Collins on "Island Dreamer" rather than lying back on what turns out to be a disappointing collaboration. "Calliope" finds di Meola aligned with Bill Bruford and Tony Levin, although this too turns out to be a disappointment. Certainly a turning point in di Meola's career, but hardly at the level of his later output.

5892 - AL DI MEOLA - All Your Life: A Tribute To The Beatles Recorded At Abbey Road Studios, London (2013)

AL DI MEOLA
''ALL YOUR LIFE: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES RECORDED A ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS, LONDON''
SEPTEMBER 26 2013
54:34

1. In My Life /3:51
2. And I Love Her /4:30
3. Because /4:07
4. Michelle /5:12
5. I Will /2:52
6. Eleanor Rigby /2:51
7. Penny Lane /5:42
8. Blackbird /4:39
9. I Am the Walrus /4:04
10. Day in the Life /3:01
11. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite /3:09
12. With a Little Help from My Friends /4:15
13. If I Fell /2:59
14. She's Leaving Home /3:22

Al Di Meola's latest release "All Your Life" is an acoustic tour de force that has him revisiting the music of the Beatles. A virtual one-man show of virtuosity, it features the guitar great interpreting 14 familiar Beatles tunes in the stripped down setting of strictly acoustic guitar. "I've come full circle with this Beatles project. I started out my life loving the Beatles, and I never stopped, just like so many other guitarists from my generation. In the middle, we all went into whatever music we pursued in our careers - fusion, jazz, whatever it might be. We all wanted to further our craft. But when you come back to the Beatles' music, it's like, 'Man, this stuff is still happening!' All of it!"

BIOGRAPHY
by Greg Prato
Guitarist Al di Meola first rose to prominence as a blazing jazz fusion player before his playing matured and he began to conquer other styles, such as acoustic Latin music. Born on July 22, 1954, in Jersey City, NJ, di Meola briefly studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston during the early '70s before accepting a job replacing guitarist Bill Connors in fusion trailblazers Return to Forever (a group that included such monster instrumentalists as keyboardist Chick Corea and bassist Stanley Clarke) in 1974. It was with di Meola that Return to Forever enjoyed their greatest commercial success, as such releases as 1974's Where Have I Known Before, 1975's No Mystery, and 1976's Romantic Warrior cracked the U.S. Top 40 before di Meola jumped ship to launch a solo career.

What followed remains some of the finest jazz fusion guitar-based recordings ever: 1976's Land of the Midnight Sun, 1977's Elegant Gypsy (which would eventually earn gold certification in the U.S.), and Casino, plus 1979's Splendido Hotel. di Meola then united with fellow guitar greats John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía for 1980's Friday Night in San Francisco. Throughout the '80s and '90s, di Meola racked up numerous accolades (including earning yearly top honors in Guitar Player magazine polls), kept on issuing solo releases on a regular basis, and played with others, including releases by Stomu Yamash'ta, Paul Simon, Stanley Jordan, and David Matthews, as well as further work with such former bandmates as Corea, Clarke, de Lucía, and McLaughlin.

During the '90s, di Meola turned his back almost entirely on fusion to concentrate more on acoustic-based world music, as evidenced by such releases as World Sinfonia, Di Meola Plays Piazzolla, and Heart of the Immigrants, among others. Since that time, di Meola has continued this eclectic approach with releases like 2003's Revisited, 2006's Consequence of Chaos, 2007's Diabolic Inventions and Seduction for Solo Guitar, Vol. 1: Music of Astor Piazzolla, and 2008's live album He and Carmen with flutist Eszter Horgas. In 2011, di Meola delivered the Latin and world music-infused studio album Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody, featuring bassist Charlie Haden and Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

DoWnLoAd