Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola | |
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![]() Al Di Meola at the Granada Theater, Dallas, Texas, December 6, 2006 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Albert Laurence Di Meola |
Born | Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. | July 22, 1954
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
|
Instrument | Guitar |
Discography | Al Di Meola discography |
Years active | 1974 – present |
Labels | |
Formerly of | Return to Forever |
Website | aldimeola |
Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954)[1] is an American guitarist. Known for his works in jazz fusion and world music, he began his career as guitarist with the group Return to Forever in 1974. From 1976 to 1978 he played with Stomu Yamashta in the supergroup Go on three records. The 1970s and 1980s saw albums such as Land of the Midnight Sun, Elegant Gypsy, Casino and Friday Night in San Francisco earn him both critical and commercial success.[2][3]
Early life
[edit]Born in Jersey City, New Jersey,[1] into an Italian family with roots in Cerreto Sannita, a small town northeast of Benevento, Di Meola grew up in Bergenfield, where he attended Bergenfield High School.[4][5] He has been a resident of Old Tappan, New Jersey.[6]
When he was eight years old, he was inspired by Elvis Presley and the Ventures to start playing guitar. His teacher directed him toward jazz standards. He cites as influences jazz guitarists George Benson and Kenny Burrell and bluegrass and country guitarists Clarence White and Doc Watson.[7]
Career
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Return_to_Forever_1974.jpg/242px-Return_to_Forever_1974.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Al_Di_Meola_%26_Chick_Corea.jpg/285px-Al_Di_Meola_%26_Chick_Corea.jpg)
He attended Berklee College of Music in 1971.[1] There, he practiced up to eight hours a day.[7] At nineteen, he was hired by Chick Corea to replace Bill Connors in the pioneering jazz fusion band Return to Forever with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White.[1] He recorded three albums with Return to Forever, helping the quartet earn its greatest commercial success as all three albums cracked the Top 40 on the U.S. Billboard pop albums chart.[2]
As Return to Forever was disbanding around 1976, Di Meola began recording solo albums on which he demonstrated a mastery of jazz fusion, flamenco, and Mediterranean music.[8] His sophomore album, Elegant Gypsy (1977), eventually went gold, certified by the RIAA in July 24, 1989.[9] In 1980, he recorded the acoustic live album, Friday Night in San Francisco, with Paco de Lucía and John McLaughlin.[2]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Tres_GUITARRISTAS_%28as%C3%AD%2C_con_may%C3%BAsculas%29.jpg/250px-Tres_GUITARRISTAS_%28as%C3%AD%2C_con_may%C3%BAsculas%29.jpg)
In the beginning of his career, as evidenced on his first solo album Land of the Midnight Sun (1976, on which Jaco Pastorius and the ex-members of RTF collaborated), 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. Notable examples are "Mediterranean Sundance" and "Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil" from the Elegant Gypsy album (1977).
His early albums were influential among rock and jazz guitarists. Di Meola continued to explore Latin music within jazz fusion on Casino and Splendido Hotel. He exhibited a more subtle touch on acoustic numbers "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, selling more than two million copies worldwide.[10]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Al_Di_Meola_-_Leverkusener_Jazztage_2016-AL1913.jpg/250px-Al_Di_Meola_-_Leverkusener_Jazztage_2016-AL1913.jpg)
In the mid-1980s, Di Meola began to incorporate the Synclavier guitar synthesizer into his compositions. Except for the occasional electric guitar foray on albums such as 1991's Kiss My Axe, he spent most of the next two decades exploring both acoustic and world music. He rediscovered his love of the electric guitar in 2006,[11] and the DVD of his concert at the Leverkusen Jazz Festival 2006 is subtitled Return to Electric Guitar.[12] In 2018, Di Meola was awarded an honorary doctorate of music from his alma mater, Berklee College of Music.[13]
Personal life
[edit]In July 2016, Al Di Meola married Stephanie Kreis[1] after meeting after a 2013 concert of his in Budapest.[14]
Al has two daughters from a previous relationship; Oriana[15] and Valentina.[16] He also has a daughter with Stephanie, named Ava.[17] Additionally he is a first-time grandfather with his grandson named Orion[18][19] from daughter Valentina.
In September 2023 while performing on stage in Bucharest, Romania Di Meola suffered a heart attack. He was admitted to a local hospital where he was treated for ST elevation myocardial infarction.[20] He took some time off from performances, but began performing again in January 2024.[21]
Musical style and influences
[edit]Besides the impressive speed and accuracy of his alternate picking, another hallmark of Al di Meola's style is his palm muting.[22][23] In an interview to Rick Beato, di Meola explained how he developed and practiced this technique: "[...] when I was younger, and the neighbors downstairs in the next yard, I didn't really want them to hear me play. So I would mute my strings. So I got kind of got used to the palm on the bridge and muting. But I also liked the fact that the notes popped".[24]
Di Meola espouses the advantages of palm muting when playing the electric guitar:
If you're playing, let's say, a Les Paul or a guitar with a lot of amplification in a sustained setting, and you go down low, it's pretty messy. So I would try to clean that up by muting so that you don't have this 'wash' of sound, if you know what I mean. It cleans up the wash, in a sense. So that kind of became a thing.[24]
In regard to his right-hand picking technique, Al di Meola advocates for the importance of picking all notes as much as possible. He stear clears from sweep picking and hammer-ons, which he deems as "shortcuts". In his opinion they're detrimental, in the long run, for playing more intricate kinds of music.[25]
Legacy
[edit]Al di Meola made an impression on a whole generation of hard rock and heavy metal "guitar heros". The list includes neoclassical legend Yngwie Malmsteen, Mr. Big's Paul Gilbert, Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt and Dream Theater's John Petrucci.[22][26]
Guitar World magazine included Al di Meola on their top 50 fastest "shredders" of all time list. Di Meola personally dislikes the term, though, which he finds "limiting". He was featured alongside other rock and jazz luminaries, such as Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale and others.[27]
Al di Meola, along with former bandmates Return to Forever, received in 2008 the BBC Jazz "Lifetime Achievement Award" by Beatles producer George Martin. They performed Romantic Warrior's title track at the event.[28] In the same year he received a honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater, the Berklee College of Music.[29]
Discography
[edit]Awards and nominations
[edit]Grammy Awards[30]
- 1976: Best Jazz Performance By A Group – "No Mystery" with Chick Corea & Return to Forever
Guitar Player Magazine[31]
- 1977: Best Jazz Guitarist
- 1978: Best Jazz Guitarist
- 1979: Best Jazz Guitarist
- 1980: Best Jazz Guitarist
- 1977: Best Guitar LP - "Elegant Gypsy"
- 1978: Best Guitar LP - "Casino"
- 1980: Best Guitar LP - "Splendido Hotel"
Berklee College of Music
- 2008: Honorary Doctorate Degree
BBC Jazz Awards
- 2008: Lifetime Achievement with Chick Corea & Return to Forever
Latin Grammy Awards[32]
- 2011: Best Instrumental Album – "Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody"
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 697. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ a b c Prato, Greg. "Al Di Meola". AllMusic. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
- ^ Smith, Toby (November 6, 2009). "Al Di Meola, World Sinfonia Australian Tour – March 2010". Music Feeds. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
- ^ Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians, jazz.com, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 26, 2009; accessed September 11, 2017. "Di Meola was born to an Italian family with roots in jazz fusion on July 22nd, 1954 in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from Manhattan. He grew up in Bergenfield, New Jersey, located in Bergen County.... When Di Meola completed his studies at Bergenfield High School, he enrolled in classes at the Berklee College of Music in Boston."
- ^ Al Di Meola profile, Concord(entertainment company); accessed September 11, 2017.
"Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on July 22, 1954, Al Di Meola grew up with the music of The Ventures, The Beatles and Elvis Presley. ... 'In the '60s, if you didn't play like Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page, you weren't accepted,' he recalls of his high school years in Bergenfield, New Jersey." - ^ Stewart, Zan. The State of Jazz: Meet 40 More Jersey Greats, The Star-Ledger, September 28, 2003, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 29, 2007. Accessed September 11, 2017. "Al DiMeola – One of the most dynamic of contemporary guitarists, Jersey City native DiMeola lives in Old Tappan."
- ^ a b Guitar World Staff (July 22, 2016). "Al Di Meola: "It's Bullshit When Guitarists Say, "One Note Says So Much More Than 100"". Guitar World. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ Yanow, Scott (2013). The Great Jazz Guitarists. San Francisco: Backbeat. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-61713-023-6.
- ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ Scheel, Christian. "Al Di Meola World Sinfonia". Nova Concerts. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
- ^ "In Conversation with Al Di Meola" – special feature on the Speak a Volcano DVD
- ^ Speak a Volcano: Return to Electric Guitar (2007) DVD
- ^ "Al Di Meola Gets Honorary Berklee Doctorate". JazzTimes. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ "US guitarist Al Di Meola suffers a heart attack on stage in Romania but is now in a stable condition". AP News. September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ a b Griffiths, Charlie (July 19, 2024). "'A relentless speed and accuracy rarely heard before on the electric guitar': Al Di Meola's peerless alternate-picking style changed the landscape of guitar playing – just ask John Petrucci and Nuno Bettencourt". Guitar World. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ Barnard, Simon (January 24, 2023). "How to palm mute on guitar: a metal and punk essential". Guitar World. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Slavković, David (March 8, 2022). "Al Di Meola Explains Why It's 'Torture' to Record an Album Today, Talks Unusual Way How He Developed Palm Muting Technique". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ Wyatt, Keith (1991). "Al di Meola: REH Master Series". REH Video. Retrieved August 25, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Sharma, Amit (December 26, 2019). "Yngwie Malmsteen: the 10 guitarists who impressed me most". MusicRadar. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ Guitar World Staff (March 11, 2015). "Need for speed: The 50 fastest shred guitarists of all time". Guitar World. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ Fordham, John (July 23, 2008). "BBC Jazz Awards 2008: A winning shindig". The Guardian. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ "Honorary Degree Recipients". Berklee College of Music. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ^ "Grammy Award winners – Al di Meola". Grammy.com. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ^ "Annual readership poll results", 1980, page 27.
- ^ "Latin Grammy Award nominees – Al di Meola". LatinGRAMMY.com. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
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External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- 1954 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American guitarists
- 21st-century American guitarists
- American jazz guitarists
- American lead guitarists
- Jazz fusion guitarists
- Jazz-rock guitarists
- Return to Forever members
- Columbia Records artists
- American jazz musicians
- Latin jazz guitarists
- Berklee College of Music alumni
- Bergenfield High School alumni
- American people of Italian descent
- People from Bergenfield, New Jersey
- Musicians from Jersey City, New Jersey
- People from Old Tappan, New Jersey
- Guitarists from New Jersey
- American male guitarists
- 20th-century American male musicians
- 21st-century American male musicians
- American male jazz musicians