Al Di Meola - One of These Nights / 2CD set

DI Meola works a range between chamber music and symphonic rock, all of it heavily laced with jazz and world music, during this 100-minute May 2004 concert in Ludwigsburg, Germany. He performs with a highly interactive quartet consisting of pianist and keyboardist Mario Parmisano, percussionist Gumbi Ortiz and drummer Ernie Adams, and gets exceptional texture contributions from the Sturca String Quartet Of Hungary.

Auditioning the opening four minutes of "Innamorata (video store preview, anyone?) is helpful, as the group does a solid job of capturing the feel of the upcoming show. Di Meola and the ensemble shifting stylings and sound several times between cinematic prelude to pop symphonic to rock to ethnic interludes, but in a connected rather than abrupt manner. Di Meola feeds his acoustic guitar through a synth, switching between electric chord crunching, delicate lyricism and blazing fingerpicking to match appropriate stylings such as classical and mainstream jazz.

The rest is, as they say, very similar and yet very different. It's always modern chamber jazz, but constantly changing - sometimes feeling original, sometimes bringing to mind snippets of past works. Nearly all are based on easily accessible concepts and pleasing soundscapes - as a work of art think Andrew Lloyd Webber, not classic Greek theater - but it's more substance than guilty pleasure.

Much as I dislike making too many Pat Metheny comparisons, the influence is unquestionably there on "Misterio in the lyricism of Di Meola's solos and "First Circle -like background. Di Meola's takes a few simple Latin and Asian concepts and stretches them into a lengthy duet with Ortiz on "Orient Blue, sounding like a Spanish guitar at the low end of the fret board and a steel drummer in the upper registers. The Latin influence remains strong throughout, perhaps not surprising since the only compositions not penned by Di Meola are Argentinean tango master Astor Piazzolla's "Fugatta and "Libertango.

The players stand out for their boldness, always strikingly clear and well played even when they're essentially contributing a series of bit parts. Ortiz almost by default has the second most noticeable role by providing much of the rhythmic pacing and texture. Parmisano gets chances to run high-speed excursions on songs like "Beyond The Mirage. But the Sturca quartet's work is one of the biggest and most surprising pleasures, offering everything from percussive backings to darkly intensive solos that consistently go beyond the expectations of a supplementary ensemble.

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/al-di-meola-one-of-these-nights-al-di-meola-by-mark-sabbatini/