Al Di Meola at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley

Al Di Meola Acoustic Trio
Dimitriou's Jazz Alley
Seattle, WA
June 15, 2023

On Thursday June 15th Al Di Meola brought an acoustic trio to Dimitriou's Jazz Alley in Seattle to perform a set of flamenco influenced jazz. The musicians in his group included Di Meola playing guitar, Italian flamenco guitarist Peo Alfonsi, and percussionist Sergio Martinez.

The set consisted of acoustic music that Di Meola has performed throughout his career as well as a tune by The Beatles and pieces written for a yet to be released album. The group also performed a rendition of the classic contemporary song "If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot as a tribute to the famed singer-songwriter who passed away in May.

The evening began with a low-key build-up to the mid-tempo composition "Ballad," guitars overlaying a percussive undercurrent. The music continued developing in complexity, its form at times reminiscent of Return to Forever's "Song To The Pharoah Kings." With Di Meola and Alfonsi trading solos, Martínez alternated between cajon and brushes on his drum kit.

"Fandango" opened as a guitar duet, Di Meola leading with bursts of speed and agility, his picking fluid and relaxed. Improvising and laying back into the rhythm augmented by percussion, the trio brought the music to crescendo. Turning the corner back to the theme and melody, Di Meola ended the tune with a run of explosive speed.

In contrast, "Milonga Noctiva" from 2018's Opus also began as a slow, melodic guitar duet conveying emotional depth. Martínez playing kit and bongos with his hands, the rhythm ebbed and flowed like a tide, the trio working together to create complex tapestries through velocity and dynamics.

On "Um Anja," after a slow lead-in by Di Meola, he and Alfonsi traded melodic lines that intertwined like braiding, shifting like daylight changing in late afternoon.

Di Meola introduced "Ava's Dream Sequence Lullaby" stating that it was inspired by a time when his daughter was five years old. The music emanated in the moment like a child walking and finding her way, Di Meola playing with expressive tonal sustain.

The final tune in the set, Di Meola introduced "Mediterranean Sundance" with a story about how, while he was studying at Berklee, he had gotten really stoned and recorded a cassette tape of some of the most intense playing he had ever done. A friend of his had heard that Chick Corea was looking for a guitarist to replace Earl Klugh in Return To Forever. Through his own connections, Di Meola's friend sent a copy of the tape to Corea who took the time to listen to it.

Corea called Di Meola at home and asked him if he would like to join without even an audition. Corea explained that they had an upcoming show at Carnegie Hall and they needed a guitarist. Di Meola initially thought it was a prank but he accepted the gig, the band performing an explosive set then proceeding to tour the US.

While touring Europe, Di Meola discovered the music of Paco de Lucia. During the sessions for his Elegant Gypsy album, he was able to get De Lucia hired to play on the track "Mediterranean Sundance." At the studio the two of them smoked a joint, got high, then recorded the first take. That was the take that made it onto the album.

Throughout the course of the evening Di Meola and Alfonsi improvised and switched off playing runs, the guitarists comping and soloing off of Martínez's percussion playing. Di Meola and the other two musicians in his trio are obviously as much scholars as masters of their respective crafts. While his albums are documents of his fine compositional skills, there is no substitute for seeing him perform live.

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