mike.holmes's Full Review: The Infinite Desire by Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola is one of the greatest guitarists around. He went to the Berklee School of Music but quit early to replace Bill Connors in the fusion group "Return to Forever." Other members of that group included Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. At 19, Di Meola was thrust into one of the hottest groups around but much of the jazz world were put off my the group's rock-oriented style. Di Meola was criticized for playing too many notes
and lacking feeling in his playing. As he matured, those problems disappeared.
After RTF broke up, Al lead several groups on his own recording which were uniformly excellent. He also teamed up with two other wonderful guitarists for three years of touring and recording, namely, John McLaughlin and Paco DeLucia. Throughout the years and to this time, Di Meola has alternated between a blazing fusion electric guitar and the more quiet acoustic guitar. He also has explored numerous music styles from all around the world.
This album is no exception. African, Italian, Caribbean influences fuse easily into Al's jazz-rock playing with a touch of classical music. An extra bonus in this CD is the liner notes which are perhaps the best I've ever seen. Bill Milkowski from Jazz Times and other publications wrote the notes and the artwork of Venetian painter Andrea Vizzini provide a striking cover.
Al is joined by a virtual all-star cast including the following:
Tom Kennedy, bass
Mario Parmisano, piano and keyboards
Gumbi Ortiz, congas and percussion
Ernie Adams, drums
Rachel Z, piano
Pino Daniele, vocalist
Peter Erskine, drums
Herbie Hancock, piano
John Patitucci, bass
Steve Vai, electric guitar
All of the compositions on the CD are by Di Meola.
1. BEYOND THE MIRAGE (7:18)
On this one cut, Al plays the Gibson electric guitar, acoustic guitar with VG8, and acoustic nylon stringed guitar. As the title suggests, these is an air of mystery as the song begins strings. A musician I failed to mention plays the strings and provides the vocal: Kabuli Nitasa. But it is Di Meola's guitars that star here. From frantic explorations by the electric to subtle, beautiful, melodic visions on the acoustic, he is amazing. Rachel Z is also excellent on the piano. I suppose overdubbing is involves unless Al has four hands.
2. SHAKING THE SPIRITS (6:30)
Oriana Di Meola sings a short, but sweet intro before Rachel Z joins in on piano and Al quietly adds his acoustic axe into the mix. The song is named for a book written by a shamanistic author, Brad Keeney. Z follows Al's lyrical path at first and then the two of them join note for note on some complex unison lines. Al also furnishes the percussion here which is a driving rhythm that accentuates the melody perfectly. For the last two minutes of the song, Di Meola's playing is astonishingly beautiful. Rapid, cascading notes fill the air and the spirits are moved.
3. VIZZINI (4:54)
This song is dedicated to the talented modern artist from Italy, Andrea Vizzini. Without naming them all, Al plays five different instruments on the song. Kennedy on bass, Z on piano and Erskine on drums provide a wonderful background. Di Meola points out that "the counterpoint feel of this piece is, without words, poetic and lyrical in nature just like Vizzini's paintings." The song is one of the more introspective numbers on the album.
4. IN MY MOTHER'S EYES (4:41)
Perhaps the most beautiful song on the CD, it's dedicated to the Memory of Theresa. Backed by Z's keyboards and Paticucci's bass, Al plays only the acoustic guitar and he plays it beautifully. The song has a sensitive, moving melodic feeling that is perfect for a tribute to a loved one.
5. THE INFINITE DESIRE (5:26)
The same trio plays the title cut of the album, joined by a "unique rhythm track ingeniously created by looping the sampled sound of splashing water." This in itself is amazing. Without the liner notes, I probably would have gone nuts trying to figure out what that "instrument" was. On top the that gentle sound, Di Meola adds a cool, gentle melody as Z follows Al with sparse playing. Although this is definitely jazz, it has strong
classical elements. Fairly late in the song, Al doubles his own lines with a harmonica sample. The flowing water ends the song.
6. INVENTION OF THE MONSTERS (3:06)
Pure jazz at its finest, Al and drummer Ernie Adams provide a long intro and then Argentinian pianist Parmisano joins in with some fantastic unison work with Al. Pamisano
even plays horn arrangements on his keyboards.
7. ISTANBUL (8:00)
Look at the first sentence in the liner notes describing this song: "Istanbul is an evocative piece that features Al triggering Middle Eastern-sounding tamboura effects from the midi interface hookup on his Ovation acoustic guitar." Yep, he does that and he's joined by a
kickas* piano solo by Herbie Hancock and some strong drumming by Erskine. Al keeps the middle-Eastern motif going throughout the number, at times playing what sounds like a completely different instrument than an acoustic guitar. This song is the epitome of the vast influences on Al's playing.
8. AZZURA (2:55)
The opening of a two-part medley, Azzura has an air of mystery about it. The soft sounding intro to something more exciting is the message here as Al again plays multiple
instruments.
9. BIG SKY AZZURA (6:07)
Part two is dramatically different although the personnel remains the same with Kennedy on bass and Parmisano on piano. The tempo is over double that of the intro and Al again shows his amazing ability on a variety of axes. There is a constant tension in the song
due to the ever building rhythmic pattern and the unison work of the three musicians followed by point counterpoint.
10. RACE WITH DEVIL ON TURKISH HIGHWAY (4:03)
This song is a remake of "Race with Devil on Spanish Highway" from the 1978 album, Elegant Gypsy. Al is joined by fellow guitarist, Steve Vai, and the two of them race through the complex number in mind-boggling style and tempo. You can really tell these two cats like to wail at each other. Amazing!
11. VALENTINA (4:44)
What an incredible talent this man is! Here, Al "triggers" the sound of a trumpet of a VG8 and then plays three other instruments while Ms. Z provides the accompaniment for the four Al's. He's the old one man band vaudevillian routine come to life. But there is nothing
hokey about Al's play. He is a master in the art of music.
12. THE INFINITE DESIRE (5:27)
In addition to the water intro, Italian pop singer Pino Daniele sings in unison to Al's playing. The words are in both Italian and English. Pino is a fan of Al's and jazz and he reminds me of Bobby McFerrin just a little. Al and Ms. Z play some beautiful passages together and then a keyboard version of the accordion slides in. Pino finishes with Al and the running waters.
This is a wonderful album. It is not straightahead jazz but it is tremendous, world-encompassing music. 5 stars at least.
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