Al Di Meola

Al Di Meola, Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke – Live At Montreux 1994 (2005/2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · October 6, 2022 · Comments off

Al Di Meola, Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke - Live At Montreux 1994 (2005/2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz] Download

The Montreux Jazz Festival is notorious for bringing out the best performances from even the most seasoned pros, but the 1994 performance of Al DiMeola (guitars), Jean-Luc Ponty (violin), and Stanley Clarke (bass), is by far one for the ages.

An impressive performance is made even more so upon the confession of DiMeola, who states these 3 virtuosos have not performed the material together yet. The trio performs 7 songs together and each has their own solo in the middle, making this performance a must-have for any jazz aficionado.
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Al Di Meola – Saturday Night in San Francisco (Live, Expanded Edition) (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · September 18, 2022 · Comments off

Al Di Meola - Saturday Night in San Francisco (Live, Expanded Edition) (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz] Download

Friday Night In San Francisco is a 1981 live album by Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia. It was described by jazz author and critic Walter Kolosky as “a musical event that could be compared to the Benny Goodman Band’s performance at Carnegie Hall in 1938…(it) may be considered the most influential of all live acoustic guitar albums. All the tracks except “Guardian Angel” were recorded live at The Warfield Theatre on December 5, 1980 in San Francisco.
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Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco De Lucia – Saturday Night in San Francisco (Remastered) (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · August 24, 2022 · Comments off

Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco De Lucia - Saturday Night in San Francisco (Remastered) (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco De Lucia – Saturday Night in San Francisco (Remastered) (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 50:38 minutes | 1,10 GB | Genre: Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Latin Jazz, Guitar Virtuoso
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia – Legacy

The beloved, historic & previously unreleased recording by the famous Guitar Trio: Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin & Paco De Lucia – ‘Saturday Night in San Francisco’ will be released on July 1st, 2022.

The iconic precursor “Friday Night In San Francisco”, recorded at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco on December 5, 1980 (and originally released in 1981), is considered one of all-time best-selling jazz/instrumental albums. Treasured for capturing three legendary and diverse guitar virtuosos at the height of their unparalleled mastery, it is a milestone album that went beyond the niche audience with its unique mix of jazz, fusion, flamenco, and Mediterranean music.
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Al Di Meola – Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody (2011) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · August 24, 2022 · Comments off

Al Di Meola - Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody (2011) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

Al Di Meola has enjoyed an impressively long career as a recording artist. The guitar virtuoso was only 22 when he recorded his first album as a leader, Land of the Midnight Sun, back in 1976 (although he had joined Chick Corea’s Return to Forever at 19), and a 56-year-old Di Meola was still going strong when 2011 arrived. Di Meola’s playing has evolved along the way; the shredding, intensity, speed, and pyrotechnics of his early albums were replaced by a more lyrical and introspective approach that shows some awareness of Pat Metheny yet is distinctively Al Di Meola. But one thing about the guitarist that hasn’t changed is his affection for world music, which was a major influence on early albums such as Land of the Midnight Sun, Elegant Gypsy, and Casino, and is also a strong influence on his 2011 release Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody. This excellent album is jazz-rock fusion, but it is also world jazz; Di Meola maintains a decidedly international perspective throughout the CD, incorporating everything from Argentinian tango to Spanish flamenco to Middle Eastern and North African music. Afro-Cuban salsa is also part of the equation, and two of Di Meola’s guests are people with definite Latin credentials: bassist Charlie Haden (let’s not forget Haden’s Revolution Music Orchestra of the ’60s and ’70s, or the boleros he played on 2000’s Nocturne), and Havana-born pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The Afro-Cuban influence is especially strong on “Gumbiero” and “Destination: Gonzalo,” although “Gumbiero” also incorporates flamenco and tango elements. Most of the material on Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody was composed by Di Meola himself, but two exceptions are the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields” and Harold Arlen’s “Over the Rainbow.” And Di Meola, behaving like the jazz improviser that he is, genuinely interprets those well-known popular songs and brings something personal to the table instead of playing the type of lame, note-for-note covers that smooth jazz (which Di Meola has adamantly stayed away from) is infamous for. Granted, Di Meola is by no means a jazz purist or a straight-ahead bebopper; he never claimed to be Barney Kessel or Tal Farlow, but his mentality is very much an improviser’s mentality, and that mentality serves him consistently well on Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody.
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Al Di Meola – Flesh On Flesh (2002) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · June 13, 2022 · Comments off

Al di Meola continues to broaden his musical horizons with Flesh on Flesh, his fourth release for the Telarc recording label. The great guitarist is joined by two members of his World Sinfonia acoustic group — Gumbi Ortiz on percussion and Mario Parmisano on keyboards — in addition to such stellar musicians as Gonzalo Rubalcaba, flutist Alejandro Santos, and bassist Anthony Jackson, who recorded with di Meola on his best-selling Elegant Gypsy album in the mid-’80s. Offering classic guitar lines on an array of guitars (including a vintage Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster, and Conde-Romano acoustic), di Meola is memorable, timeless, and true to the beauty, culture and sensual imagery that inspired him to compose and arrange these eight great songs. Each song is a masterpiece, and such compositions as “Flesh on Flesh” (which features him on five different instruments), “Zona Desperata,” and “Fugata” (which showcases di Meola trading with Gonzalo Rubalcaba on their Fender Rhodes solo in part three) are just three of the musical statements befitting all who’ve been lucky enough to see or hear di Meola’s phenomenal sound “live.” To hear that same energy and excitement recorded “live” on Flesh on Flesh is especially gratifying since the music is developed and takes place in a new context, space, and time. You’ll find that every graceful musical curve, every dynamic concept, every technological update heard on Flesh on Flesh is a celebration of new forms and functions, of strict rhythmic reinterpretation and the inimitable di Meola sound and guitar virtuosity. A must-have.

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Al Di Meola – Elegant Gypsy (1977) [Japanese Reissue 2001] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · June 13, 2022 · Comments off

Guitarist Al di Meola’s second record as a leader is generally an explosive affair, although it does have a fair amount of variety. With Jan Hammer or Barry Miles on keyboards, electric bassist Anthony Jackson, drummer Lenny White (Steve Gadd takes his place on the “Elegant Gypsy Suite”), and percussionist Mingo Lewis on most of the selections, di Meola shows off his speedy and rock-ish fusion style. He was still a member of Return to Forever at the time and was a stronger guitarist than composer, but di Meola did put a lot of thought into this music. The brief “Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil” (an acoustic guitar solo) and “Mediterranean Sundance” (an acoustic duet with fellow guitarist Paco de Lucía) hints at di Meola’s future directions. A near classic in the fusion vein.

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Al Di Meola – Consequence Of Chaos (2006) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · June 13, 2022 · Comments off

The sticker on the disc’s cover states that this is “a return to his solid-body electric guitar,” and while that may be true in parts, Consequence of Chaos is still pretty far from the tense, nonstop electric sizzle of di Meola’s first three albums, which are landmarks in the jazz fusion genre. And while there is plenty of electric guitar here — and a musical reconnection with Chick Corea, Steve Gadd, and Barry Miles, all of whom have previously worked with di Meola — this is still dominated by the world music and more subtle framework that have characterized the guitarist’s playing for the last few decades. The performances are uniformly excellent, and even though the approach shifts from prog to acoustic to electric and world, di Meola’s distinctive style and classy approach congeal the music with authority. “Tao” alone takes more turns than a craggy mountain road, but never gets predictable or pretentious. di Meola knows when to hold back and when to unleash his precise, percussive, fret-shredding Latin lines, and it’s that sense of restraint that makes this disc, and much of his recent work, so successful. These instrumental pieces lay down a groove upon which di Meola solos with different combinations of musicians. Melodies are difficult to pinpoint, but the sublime playing keeps the listener’s interest despite a tendency to wander. Four brief, low-key interludes feature an unaccompanied di Meola playing all the instruments, and provide a more relaxed counterpoint to the busier band tracks. Percussionists Ernie Adams and Gumbi Ortiz’s standout work, especially on the subtle “Hypnose,” add hot, bubbling flavor to the project. Chick Corea only appears on two tracks, but both are highlights. The lovely acoustic duet on “Cry for You” brings out the best in both musicians as their interplay reaches new heights. di Meola calls the nine-minute “Tempest” his most complex piece — which is saying a lot — as it twists through different moods and tones utilizing varying rhythms in an impressive display of the guitarist’s dazzling skills. It’s a summation of this album that shows di Meola, after 30 years as a solo artist, to be on the top of his game.

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