Articles

Al Di Meola, Richie Cole, Oscar Peterson and More

By Joe Dimino

This week we feature guitarist Al Di Meola with music off his 2020 Tribute to The Beatles, Across the Universe. We pay deep respects to the late Richie Cole and honor the spirit of Bootsie Barnes. We continue bringing you jazz in all its current and progressive forms to cope with this COVID-19 world. Playlist Al Di Meola “Here Comes the Sun" Across the Universe (earMUSIC) 00:00 Host talks 3:40 River Cow Orchestra “Word Is'" First Bliss (Fieldinfoserv ...

Al Di Meola: Across the Universe

By Doug Collette

Al Di Meola's Across The Universe reaffirms how ideally the music of the Beatles translates into the eclectic style he forged early in his career. It's not as if the multi-instrumentalist/composer hadn't already made the point with All Your Life (inakustik, 2013), but this second, similarly conceived album is not only worth savoring repeatedly on its own terms, but as a reliable point of departure to rediscover both the source material and Di Meola's own discography. The mix ...

Al Di Meola trio "Opus & More" at Cremona Jazz Festival 2019

By Danilo Codazzi

Al Di Meola At One World Theatre

By Jed Vaughn

Al Di Meola One World Theatre Austin, TX September 25, 2018 One World Theatre in Austin, Texas, is a unique and intimate little venue to catch great musical performances in the self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World." Every seat provides a great view with perfect sound and acoustics. With a mere 300 seats, it is impossible to land in one that would not be described as superb. World-class guitarist Al di Meola performed there ...

Al Di Meola: Opus

By Doug Collette

Guitarist/composer Al Di Meola explores his heritage musically and otherwise in the near hour-long Opus. Largely a solo project, the music becomes all the more compelling for an intricacy mirrored in the deceptively ornate cover art. The intimacy arising from the very first tones of “Milonga Noctiva (Wandering in the Dark)" eventually alternates overdubs of acoustic and electric guitars with orchestral punctuation. As flamenco flourishes introduce the sounds of classically-tinged piano, the musicianship conjures an air of formality ...

Al Di Meola at Balboa Theater

By Jim Worsley

Al Di Meola Balboa Theater San Diego, CA September 22, 2017 Most of us have been on many journeys in life. It might be globetrotting or a trip to the grocery store or all and everything in between. A journey can be filled with a myriad of the expected and unexpected. Of stops and starts. Of turns and curves. Of upgrades and downslopes. There are bumps in the road and detours. Al Di ...

Al Di Meola: Elysium

By Doug Collette

Virtually all of guitarist Al DiMeola's recordings since the days of Return to Forever are listenable to a greater or lesser degree, but his last couple have been truly exceptional. A genuine affection for the Beatles permeates All Your Life (In-Akustik, 2013) and the comparably deep, lush textures of the ever-so-appropriately titled Elysium are rooted in a spontaneity that is unusual for a musician so technically adept he sometimes has to fight to play with genuine abandon. Not ...