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Al Di Meola

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Al Di Meola is an American guitarist, born in 1954 in Jersey City and raised in Bergenfield, New Jersey. He began playing guitar at eight after hearing Elvis Presley and the Ventures. Meet the Beatles! then decided that he wanted to be a musician. As a teenager he practised eight to ten hours a day. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in 1971 and at nineteen was asked by Chick Corea to join Return to Forever, in place of Bill Connors.

Music and breakthrough

He played in that band for a few years with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. Three albums with him reached the American top forty, and Romantic Warrior appeared in 1976. When Corea disbanded the group, Di Meola began his solo career. Land of the Midnight Sun came out in 1976 and Elegant Gypsy in 1977, followed by Casino in 1978 and Splendido Hotel in 1980. Later he made the World Sinfonia albums and Di Meola Plays Piazzolla, among others. He collaborated with Paco de Lucía, John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius and Paul Simon, and won a Grammy.

Influence

His music is known for technical mastery, complex compositions and Latin American influences. He brought the fast electric guitar of fusion closer to world music, flamenco and tango. In terms of pop history he shows how jazz and rock came together in the 1970s.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Elegant Gypsy and notice the lightning-fast guitar playing and the Latin influences in rhythm and melody.

Discography

Studio albums

Other work

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: ArtistsFusion and jazz rock