motion picture DVD - Al Di Meola World Sinfonia with Special Guests: Morocco Fantasia

Guitarist Al Di Meola seems to finally have found a musical voice and home. He’s made a name for himself as an AK-47 styled electric guitar gunslinger, a devotee of New Tango music, and an amalgam of sounds on his World Sinfonia records. The latter, which is featured here on a dvd that captures his band at a 2009 festival in Rabat, Morocco, seems to mix the best of all of Di Meola’s musical incarnations.

Together with his team of Peo Alfonsi/g, Fausto Beccalossie/acc, Gumbo Ortiz/perc, Victor Miranda/b and Peter Kaszas/dr, Di Meola does mastery on his acoustic guitar on pieces like the Andalusian “Misterio.” His fiery technical skills are well balance here by the acoustic and mediterranean musical enviornoment, as shown on the flamenco sketches on “Michelangeo’s 7th Child” and the luscious “Turquoise.” The mix of percussion and accordion make for a bohemian rhapsody, whle the complex “Gumbiero” includes some nice hand work on the congas by Ortiz. Guests Said Chraibi/oud, Abdellah Meri/violin an dTari Ben Ali/perc make for some delightful guests, as Chraibi’s oud on the encore is a Saharan delight. Di Meola finally plugs in for an electrifyingly closer “Egyptian Danza” reminding everyone how he got famous in the first place. An absolute delight for guitar fans. https://www.jazzweekly.com/2012/07/al-di-meola-morocco-fantasia-world-sinfonia-live-with-special-guests/