It seems that guitarist Al Di Meola can’t stop relighting the fuse to fusion, and justifiably so. Billing this tour as the “Elegant Gypsy Meets Romantic Warrior”, the jazz-rock pioneer keeps the candle lit in the window as he makes songs from 40 years ago sound more contemporary than 90% of what’s on today’s iphones.
Long time compatriots Philippe Saisse/keys and Gumbi Ortiz/perc served as a welcoming committee to relative newcomers Elias Tona/b, Luis Alicea/dr and recent discovery from Detroit Evan Garr/violin. Di Meola himself was in vintage form, displaying jaw dropping technique on the kinetic “One Night Last June” but never indulging in the attack for its own sake. His hard driving “Flight Over Rio” had mano-a -mano rapid unison lines between the leader and the rookie violinist on the white knuckler, while “Dark Eye Tango” mixed mysterious chords from Saisse with frenetic fretwork.
Di Meola makes the allure of fusion simple; the inclusion of rock riffs from “Sorcerers” never gets overblown, as Saisse’s jazzy piano hip adds texture and style, while Ortiz adds dashes of flavors from triangles to shakers to keep the ideas dynamic. And speaking of dynamics, Di Meola is a master of taking a recent piece such as the elegant “Adour” and go from tasty understatement valleys, and climb high to climactic panoramas at the crest of the mountain. The funky bass and guitar lick of “Medieval” from his days with Return to Forever felt as fresh as an early morning baguette with an exciting pax de deux between Di Meola and Saisse and sharp turns that rival any NASCAR race.
The 100 minute show, which also included exciting “Electric on Acoustic” treatments of “Babylon” and “Danza” is billed as a “Back By Popular Demand” tour; any chance of a “Back to Back” by popular demand?
Upcoming shows at the Canyon Club include Carl Palmer 07/08, The Yardbird 07/21 and Robben Ford 09/17