The maestro returns to Israel with his trio for a mind-blowing acoustic guitar spectacular
Al Di Meola. His concert in Jerusalem last night showed his genius. His technical proficiency is unequalled. He accomplishes things on the guitar that others wouldn’t even attempt. And on an acoustic guitar with no distortion or effects to hide behind.
Sure, he occasionally hit a note with the side of his finger and missed the tone, but flying at that crazy speed the odd flub is inevitable. When you shoot for the moon you may not quite make it but you are still flying further and pushing harder than anyone who doesn’t aim past the ceiling.
He was accompanied by Richie Morales on drums and Amit Kavthekar on tabla who would take their cues from him — a wave of his hand or a nod of his head and they would switch tempo in a heartbeat.
Jazz is not my normal cup of tea, but I’ve been a fan of Di Meola since the 80s when they published a transcription of one of his songs in Guitar Player Magazine. He has played with some of the greatest — Chick Corea obviously, who came him his first big break when he invited Al to join Return to Forever (and according to the story Al told last night, only gave him three days to rehearse for his first big show at Carnegie Hall), Stanley Clarke, Jaco Pastorius, John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucia, Jan Hammer, Tony Levine and Bill Bruford to name just a few.
My daughter asked me how people chose names for songs if there are no lyrics, and the answer is I don’t know. I also could not recognize or name the songs from last night (but then again, neither did Google, so I’m in good company). He told us he opened with Fandango, I definitely recognized Norwegian Wood, and Señor Mouse which he dedicated to the late Chick Corea who passed away less than a year ago. And his final song was Mediterranean Sundance, which he said started it all for him.
More than that, how does one know when the song is finished and it is time to clap? Like in a symphony where only a fool would clap between movements of a symphony, there was a nervous hush every time the music paused for a moment. Luckily, almost every song ended with a thurrrum of a chord and his right hand flying up in the air.
After he played his last song and said goodnight (at 11 pm on the dot) everyone started leaving. I guess nobody in the crowd had heard of an encore, because Di Meola had to hurry back onstage quickly to play one last song before the place was totally empty.
Acoustic guitar sometimes sounds dull, colorless, bland. Di Meola put his heart and soul into every note. There were colors, there was texture, there were crazy sweet string bends. All the right-hand action was in his wrist — his forearm never seemed to move. He would sometimes get so into the music that he would tap both feet alternately, as if he was running to keep up with himself.
This was a masterclass in guitar performance. It is impossible to watch him perform and not be blown away.
The Al Di Meola Trio performed in Jerusalem on June 16th. They will play the Haifa Auditorium on June 17th, Kav Rakia at Ariel Sharon Park on June 18th and the Performing Arts Center in Beersheba on June 20th.
