Al di Meola's passion for the acoustic guitar has not diminished his love of electric music.
Upon collaboration with Gibson, the Al di Meola Jazz Guitar was issued.
In stark contrast to his customary Les Paul, this guitar is a large hollow-body similar to an L-5.
The jazz guitar allows di Meola to achieve a warmer tone; however, he seemed to be going through a Pat Metheny stage at the time of this recording.
The upside is that di Meola's solos combine his remarkable control with a newfound sense of swing, the downside being that he seems to have lost some of his identity.
"Chilean Pipe Song" stands as one of di Meola's most memorable compositions.
The supporting cast of Mario Parmisano and Peter Erskine greatly enhance the music, as each is a distinguishable and tasteful musician.
Erskine particularly shines on "Summer Country Song." The one burner here is "Casmir," a fast-paced tune reminiscent of the Elegant Gypsy days.
"On My Own" features di Meola's debut on piano.
It is by no means anything spectacular, but it does reaffirm his continued exploration and growth.
The strong playing and quality of the compositions make this recommended despite the Metheny flavorings.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ParadisioAl Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 07:18 | 16 MB | 45 MB |
| 2 | Chilean Pipe SongAl Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | Ta'alina ChantAl Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 01:55 | 4 MB | 11 MB |
| 4 | Orange and BlueAl Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 07:31 | 17 MB | 44 MB |
| 5 | This Way BeforeAl Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | Summer Country SongAl Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 05:29 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 7 | CyprusGeorge Dalaras, Al Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 8 | Theme of the Mother ShipChick Corea, Al Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 05:24 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 9 | Precious Little YouAl Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 10 | CasmirAl Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | On My OwnAl Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 12 | If We Meet Again, Part One | Al Di Meola | Play | 01:29 | 3 MB | 8 MB |
| 13 | If We Meet Again, Part Two | Al Di Meola | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 59 mins | 136 MB | |||||
| 59 mins | 358 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Philippe Allard | Project Assistant |
| 2 | Andres Boiarsky | Saxophone |
| 3 | Greg Calbi | Mastering |
| 4 | Roy Clark | Engineer |
| 5 | Chick Corea | Composer |
| 6 | George Dalaras | Composer, Vocals |
| 7 | Al Di Meola | Composer, Cover Design, Crowd Noise, Cymbals, Drums, Duduk, Finger Snaps, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Classical), Guitar (Electric), Hands, Koto, Percussion, Piano, Piano (Grand), Piccolo Flute, Pipe, Primary Artist, Producer, Santouri, Shaker, Shakuhachi, Synthesizer, Tabla, Tom-Tom, Violin |
| 8 | Peter Erskine | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 9 | Steve Gadd | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 10 | Tommy Galligan | Engineer |
| 11 | Andy Grassi | Engineer |
| 12 | Conrad Herwig | Trombone |
| 13 | Scott Hull | Mastering |
| 14 | Marc Johnson | Bass, Bass (Acoustic), Guest Artist |
| 15 | Marc Johnson's Bass Desires | Bass (Acoustic) |
| 16 | Manu Katché | Drums |
| 17 | Ted Kurland | Project Assistant |
| 18 | Matthew "Boomer" La Monica | Engineer |
| 19 | Michelle Laurencot | Art Direction, Design |
| 20 | Mark Levinson | Project Assistant |
| 21 | Barbara Lipke | Engineer |
| 22 | Bill Meho | Engineer |
| 23 | Gordon Meltzer | Executive Producer |
| 24 | Jody Miller | Project Assistant |
| 25 | Victor Moore | Project Assistant |
| 26 | Wolfgang Müller | Project Assistant |
| 27 | George Nauful | Project Assistant |
| 28 | Noa | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 29 | Gumbi Oritz | Percussion |
| 30 | Gumbi Ortiz | Bongos, Congas, Percussion |
| 31 | Eugene Otsuka | Project Assistant |
| 32 | Pino Palladino | Bass, Fretless Bass |
| 33 | Mario Parmisano | Associate Producer, Bass, Composer, Finger Snaps, Guest Artist, Keyboard Bass, Keyboards, Organ, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Piano (Grand), Strings, Synthesizer |
| 34 | Mike Pinera | Trumpet |
| 35 | Red Meat | Engineer |
| 36 | Rory Romano | Engineer |
| 37 | Hernan Romero | Bells, Charango, Composer, Finger Snaps, Guest Artist, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Instrumentation, Multi Instruments, Piano, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 38 | Shunya Sawada | Engineer |
| 39 | Simon Shaheen | Violin |
| 40 | Jim Snowden | Project Assistant |
| 41 | Laurel Wicks | Project Assistant |
| 42 | Zoe Yanakis | Project Assistant |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |