Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola (born Al Laurence Dimeola July 22, 1954 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an Italian American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist.
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.
In the beginning of his career, as evidenced on his first solo album Land of the Midnight Sun, 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. His early albums were very influential among rock and jazz guitarists alike. In 1980, he also toured with fellow Latin rocker, Carlos Santana.
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.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.
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."
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