Comparing early Al di Meola dates like Land of the Midnight Sun and Casino to his albums of the 1990s, it's clear how much his playing has softened.
The exceptional World Sinfonia, an entirely acoustic CD, makes it clear that what hasn't changed is his unpredictable, spontaneous nature.
Di Meola's right-hand man throughout this highly introspective date is the soulful bandonean player Dino Saluzzi, with whom he enjoys an undeniably strong rapport.
A long-time lover of world music, di Meola incorporates South American, Spanish, and Middle Eastern elements, and makes Argentine tango a very high priority.
The improvisor's reverence for Argentina's musical heritage is especially evident on Astor Piazzola's haunting "Tango Suite" and di Meola's soul-bearing ode to the tango legend, "Last Tango for Astor." But World Sinfonia's standout track and most pleasant surprise of all is a 12-minute interpretation of Chick Corea's 1975 Return to Forever classic "No Mystery," which works quite well in an acoustic setting.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perpetual Emotion | Al Di Meola | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 2 | Falling Grace | Al Di Meola | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 19 MB |
| 3 | Last Tango for AstorAl Di Meola | Al Di Meola | Play | 06:20 | 14 MB | 31 MB |
| 4 | No Mystery | Al Di Meola | Play | 12:36 | 28 MB | 68 MB |
| 5 | Lustrine | Al Di Meola | Play | 09:11 | 21 MB | 50 MB |
| 6 | Little Cathedral | Al Di Meola | Play | 01:45 | 4 MB | 6 MB |
| 7 | La Cathedral | Al Di Meola | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 21 MB |
| 8 | Oriental Blue | Al Di Meola | Play | 02:57 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 9 | Tango Suite Part I | Al Di Meola | Play | 08:48 | 20 MB | 39 MB |
| 10 | Tango Suite Part III | Al Di Meola | Play | 08:50 | 20 MB | 38 MB |
| 63 mins | 144 MB | |||||
| 62 mins | 310 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Ansell | Engineer |
| 2 | Dave Baker | Engineer |
| 3 | Teri Bloom | Photography |
| 4 | Chris Carrington | Guitar (Classical) |
| 5 | Al Di Meola | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Primary Artist |
| 6 | Joe Ferla | Engineer |
| 7 | Milton Glaser | Design |
| 8 | Kip Kaplan | Coordination |
| 9 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 10 | Bill Milkowski | Liner Notes |
| 11 | Mike Nuceder | Assistant Engineer |
| 12 | Gumbi Oritz | Congas, Percussion |
| 13 | Gumbi Ortiz | Congas, Percussion |
| 14 | Astor Piazzolla | Composer |
| 15 | Dino Saluzzi | Bandoneon |
| 16 | Arto Tuncboyaciyan | Percussion, Voices |
| 17 | Steven Wilkes | Photography |
| 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). |