Search - Al Di Meola :: Electric Anthology

Al Di Meola: Plugged In!

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 01/04/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an economical way to introduce yourself to the electric side of Al di Meola's guitar playing from his 1976-1983 tenure on Columbia. This is mostly jazz-fusion material which first earned di Meola his reputation as a guitar slinger in Chick Corea's Return to Forever. [Although "Elegant Gypsy Suite" retains some of the flamenco stylings that influences much of his acoustic material.] These are all di Meola originals, except "Sequencer" and the two live tracks, "Advantage" and "Cruisin'." These were composed by keyboardist Jan Hammer who was in Di Meola's band at the time. Hammer also performs on "Cahchaca." Still in his twenties on even the most recent tracks here, di Meola has proved himself to be one of the more distinctive guitarists in jazz music today. RECOMMENDED"