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.

Di Meola grew up in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and attended Bergenfield High School. In 1971, he enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and joined Chick Corea's band, Return to Forever, in 1974 and played with the band until a major lineup shift in 1976.

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.

In addition to a prolific solo career, he has engaged in successful collaborations with bassist Stanley Clarke, synthesizer player Jan Hammer, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, and guitarists John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía. He also guested on "Allergies" from Paul Simon's "Hearts and Bones" album (1983).

In the beginning of his career, as evidenced on his first solo album Land of the Midnight Sun (1976), 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 (1977). His early albums were very influential among rock and jazz guitarists alike.

Di Meola continued to explore Latin music within the jazz-fusion genre on albums like Casino and Splendido Hotel. 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. In 1980, he also toured with fellow Latin rocker, Carlos Santana.

With Scenario, he explored the electronic side of jazz in a collaboration with Jan Hammer (of Miami Vice theme fame), and further expanded his horizons with the acoustic album Cielo e Terra. He began to incorporate guitar/synthesizers on albums such as Soaring Through a Dream.

He has continued to tour, playing in smaller venues like The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, and House of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada. Di Meola often closes out shows with an energetic rendition of one of his most challenging (to play, that is) pieces, "Race with Devil on Spanish Highway", from the Elegant Gypsy album.

Further resources on Di Meola:

The Internet Archive, 2 multimedia files
File 1
File 2
The Official Website
Al Di Meola guitar tabs

Lucia, McLaughlin & Di Meola
Mediterranean Sundance



Al Di Meola - Egyptian Danza (Live)



Al Di Meola - Misterio (Live 2004)

Selected Discography


1976 Land of the Midnight Sun


Elegant Gypsy


1978 Casino


1980 Friday Night in San Francisco


1980 Splendido Hotel


1990 World Sinfonia


1991 Kiss My Axe

Sources: wikipedia, the internet archive, official web, youtube, amg.

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