We arrived at the Capital Theater in Clearwater with a beautiful breeze and perfect temperature, it would prove to be very nice evening for a stroll. The theatre is located in the heart of Scientology Country a few blocks from the Scientology’s planetary headquarters referred to as “The Flag Land Base.” But that’s a topic for another time and article. The mission for tonight was to hear a virtuoso guitarist, one Albert (Al) Di Meola.

With seating for about 700, The Capital Theatre is an elegant and beautiful venue. It seemed that this engagement was close to a sellout. The crowd was mostly over 55. Lots of long grey hair and beards apparently carry overs from the Free Love Hippie era. Not surprising as Di Meola’s first foray into the big league Jazz/Fusion arena was in 1974 when recruited by Chic Corea, the founder of band Return To Forever. He was the tender age of 19.

The stage plot consisted of two classical guitars, a percussionist kit and a Tabla set up. This seemed more like a world music stage plot than a Jazz ensemble. If you’re a Di Meola fan, you have witnessed the transformation in his music over the last few decades leaning more and more towards acoustic music in the classical Spanish style mixed with Jazz chording and world rhythms.

The Band:
Al Di Meola – Guitar (New Jersey)
Guitar – Peo Alfonsi (Sardinia, Italy)
Percussion – Sergio Martinez (Barcelona, Spain)
Tabla drums – Amit Kavthekar (Bombay, India)

“Fandango” from Al’s soon-to-be-released album was performed early in the first set. His accompanying guitarist, Peo Alfonsi, was a perfect match for Al’s compositions. Sergio’s primary axe (instrument) this night was the cajon embellished by various world drums, a few cymbals, and several chimes. Amit’s Tabla playing was so impressive. His rhythm patterns, although complex, merged with Di Meola’s lightning fast runs seamlessly. Overall, the music that emitted from this group was intense and fiery yet soothing and beautifully melodic. The old hippies seemed to be swept up in the music’s mystical power. Admittedly, at times I was as well.

What seemed to be the end of the show was suddenly, to the audience’s surprise, turned over to a completely different group of musicians to accompany Al. The Electric band. They dove right in the Raucous Classic Return to Forever Track “Captain Senor Mouse.” Al and the electric band played two more shredders from the past. In the end, the crowd was spent. Of course. It was ten o’clock, a good hour past most of their bedtimes. I however, had a two-hour drive home and was quite wired. A great show. I recommend checking the soon-to-be released newest Al Di Meola album. He may have mentioned it during the show but I don’t recall the album name. It should prove to be very impressive in a World Music way of course. Cheers.

Al Di Meola Interview

[Listen To The Audio Here]

Al: Hi, Perry. It’s Al Di Meola.

SIGT: Al Di Miola man, how are you feeling?

Al: I’m doing good today.

SIGT: So, good shows yesterday night?

Al: Yeah. Very nice.

SIGT: That’s wonderful. Hey, first I want to thank you for granting me and Shows I Go To this interview today.

Al: Oh, yes, you’re welcome.

SIGT: I’m a lifelong fan of your playing, your artistry. I saw you live for the first time with RTF in 74 in Philly, at the Playhouse in the Park. I don’t even know if you remember that venue, but that’s a long time ago. Okay, so I don’t want to keep you. I know you’re waiting on a plane and you had an amazing run with Chic and Returned to Forever.

Al: Yes.

SIGT: How do you see your subsequent collaborations?

Al: It was mostly Chic’s compositions, and now it’s mostly my composition. I’ve evolved over time and I’ve got like, over 30 records now. So the evolution in composing and the importance of composing took precedence over the initial thing that caught people’s attention, which was technique and velocity and all that high powered stuff. Right. It’s just taken on. The titles have just switched around. I would label myself more of a composer guitarist than a guitarist, period. You know what I mean?

SIGT: Yeah. I hear that. You have a great catalog, a great body of work. So focusing on your musical ideas and creativity has been pretty paramount over the last few decades. Do you consider it more fulfilling?

Al: Yeah, it’s more fulfilling. What drives me is being able to play my stuff, both recording it and then playing it live. Of course, recording today takes on a whole new meaning because of the lack of stores, or almost no stores selling records anymore. I think musicians make music regardless because they just need to get it out. Musicians that have composing kind of goals, I think it’s more of an artistic thing. They need to get it out, but it doesn’t have the same drive or incentive as making it with the intent to sell, expecting big sales, those are not going to happen anymore because the world has changed. That goes for all of the very big artists, like on a Rolling Stones category. But the Live thing will always seem to be an attraction. So you get to play Live and hopefully sell a few products at the show.

SIGT: I know the industry has changed radically. I even think back to about 20 years ago when I was really concerned about the future of Jazz as a genre. I guess from what you’re saying, really the only way to make a living. I don’t care who you are anymore. Youjust got a tour.
Al: You got to play all if you have a name. So if you built a name during the heyday of the recording industry, you are likely to have a continued career in live music. In our case, like when I started at 19 with RTF, we became quite popular around the world, in every country.

SIGT: Yeah.

Al: So then and that continued on even after the band broke up and I was doing my early records and tours, we were able to go anywhere in the world because we were known. Now it’s different. It’s really hard for a new young artist who is phenomenal and there’s so many great young artists to get that same exposure. They get it online and everything, but it’s not the same because the promoter wants to know that a new artist has a track record. And how can they have a track record if they can’t sell any records?

SIGT: Yeah.

Al: So it’s a dilemma for the new generation.

SIGT: Particularly in jazz.

Al: Yeah, particularly jazz or jazz, rock or fusion, whatever they want to lead with.

SIGT: Yeah, just changing up a little bit. Opus and Across the Universe are wonderful recordings. Do you plan to play any of those tracks at your Clearwater show on Sunday?

Al: Yeah, we’re going to do a few from both records. There’ll be performances. There’ll be a surprise performance at the end of the show, too.

SIGT: That sounds fun.

Al: We want to think of something that could be a really wild surprise.

SIGT: So I know your birthday is July 22, and by the way, we’re both Cancers.

Al: Yeah, I’m right on the cusp.

SIGT: You’re on the cusp. That’s true.

Al: Last day. Last day.

SIGT: Yeah, I’m the 18th. But do you think the stars on that vein of astrology might have brought you and brought you to Chick’s attention? Or was it just fade?

Al: It could very well be. I don’t know. No one knows for sure. But I never believed in this stuff at all until I went to a Risoli bookstore, which is a high end bookstore years ago. And I saw this very attractive looking book on astrology. And I just said, what the hell? I’m just going to leaf through it. Of course I go to my birthday. And then everything they said about that day was pretty much summing up with what happened to me and how I am.

SIGT: Isn’t that interesting as a person?

Al: So then I went to my daughter’s, my oldest daughter’s birthday, and the same thing, I said, oh my God, I’m buying the books. I bought an astrology book. How about is it coincidence or is it there is something to it? Who the hell knows? But sometimes I’ve been palm reading, sometimes just for the fun of it. And sometimes they are like, right on the money. What the hell?

SIGT: Wait, you’re reading palms or you’re having your palms?

Al: I had mine read. Just thought there’s a fun thing to do, right? But sometimes they’re write on the money and it’s like, wow.

SIGT: So another question that I find always interesting to ask. Do you find that kids, the younger generation and let’s limit that to college age, I guess, are they discovering your music and the genre? Do you find that happening coming to your shows or reaching?

Al: Yeah, I think so because we post a lot on both FaceTime and what do you call it? Not FaceTime, but Facebook.

SIGT: Facebook, Instagram..

AL: Instagram. My wife has a lot of this posting like almost daily, and we’re up to like almost 4 million people.

SIGT: Well, that’s amazing. So what you’re saying is there’s hope.

Al: I’ll tell you, there’s hope to expand the audience to a younger generation. And also I discover young musicians that are phenomenal. It’s just that they’re going to have a different kind of stumbling block. They get an exposure to the Internet somewhat and so people will know about them. But record companies, they’re almost out of business.

SIGT: I tell you, when I come across young players that are really hot, I get emotional. When I get like, kids that are like 19 or in their early twenties, I get, wow, it’s so exciting that these young people are embracing music in general. And then the genre, whether you want to call it Jazz or Jazz fusion or whatever, it’s like, wow, there really is hope. This music could really be around for a long time.

Al: Yeah, it’ll be around. What I noticed is the level of passion that they have. And I remember that time in life there wasn’t a home owned with a lot of builds and a family with a lot of concerns and time taken away from the instrument. So I see some of these young guys who were back in the position that I was in way back when I was a teenager. And there’s something about the added time that you have and the energy, the youthful energy is sometimes I look at that and go, oh wow, man, look at that. I remember when we were the same.

Al: Well, our parents were depressionary parents, and we had to suck it up and deal with their middle class challenges. And I like the kids today always have a little more opportunity.

Al: Some will come through. Of course there’s always someone out of 20 or something that might make it get a break from somebody. And if they do enough of postings and what they do, they’ll be noticed. But it’s a harder thing because they won’t be picked up by a record company so easily. There’s two record companies that will spend any money to develop an artist’s career like we had back in the well.

SIGT: So many kids are making it by just, YouTubing to get discovered.

Al: But record wise, they’ll never really experience the glory days of the record industry by going into a store and seeing their CD stock high. Beautiful feeling. I mean, there’s still something that exists in Europe and I get to see that. It reminds me of the good era we had. But the thing that is a hindrance nowadays, that we didn’t have early on with our cell phones and computers, to take at least five to six, 7 hours of our day away because we’re constantly looking at these things. That was five to six, seven more hours we had to practice to make a record. Now it’s so much harder because of all the distraction, networking, things of that nature.

SIGT: A very distracted world we live in.

Al: We can’t go back. I understand, and there’s a lot of advantages to having it, but, my God, you really have to divide the day up between practice becomes shorter sessions than there was in the past. That’s just because of the new technology. OK, I have to run to the gate.

Al Di Meola Interview & Concert Review by Perry Goldman.

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