AL DI MEOLA INTERVIEW
Summum Concert Series
28
Octubre, 2024
Photos: Summum Concert Series
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In collaboration with Summum Concert Series, we had the privilege of having a brief dialogue with the renowned Al Di Meola.
In a brief conversation, we touch on interesting topics: Di Meola’s upcoming European tour and his gig in Madrid, the members of his band, the purpose of his music, his compositional approach, and the music that has been influencing him lately.
In&OutJazz: Hey, there, hello, oh there you are, hey there Al. How are you?
Al Di Meola: Yeah, yeah, how are you? I’m good, very good thank you.
Man it’s a pleasure to have the opportunity of interviewing you for In&OutJazz magazine. I’m José Cabello…
Nice to meet you José.
I’m member of this journal that covers all types of music but draws its main focus from the avant-garde and fresh music that is going on in this era we’ve got up to fifteen collaborators working to give a shout-out to all the artists out there that are pushing the edge.
Oh great.
And the name Al Di Meola stands out significantly…
Oh, that’s good hahahaha.
Since you’ve had an amazing career so far. So, it’s amazing. We’re also supported by Europe Jazz Media and we’re truly honored to have been invited to this Summum Concert Series. And yeah, let’s go ahead. It’s gonna be a short so don’t worry, it’s not gonna take long at all.
Okay.
Tell us man are you looking forward to coming to Madrid under this exciting program by Summum?
Sure, yeah sure. I don’t remember the last time I played there, with the electric band. So, it’ll be a different format. It will be mostly focused on my very early records, the ones that were the most popular you know, those first years in the 70s. And, you know we’ll play some also we’ll mix in some of the new record as well. You know, one with the band and then I’ll do some solo acoustic.
Beautiful.
Of some of the new stuff. And in fact I’m going to have a special guest from Valencia. He’s his name is Iván López from Siuxx
Okay.
And he’s an amazing singer and he’s featured on the new record on one piece called Eden.
Yeah.
So we’re gonna do two pieces and Eden is one of them so it’ll be a…, you know a special guest in the show.
Man that’s super cool, super cool. Tell us a little bit about the project you’re bringing. It’s the electric band, right?
Yeah.
Tell us a little bit about the musicians you gathered.
The musicians are…, it’s like an alumni band because I had…, my first keyboard player I had with me in 1978, he was from Paris and I sponsored him in the United States and he then went on to play with you know so many well-known jazz and pop and rock figures, in those 40 years in between. So, now we’re back together and it’s really nice. His name is Philippe Saisse. Philippe Saisse on keyboards. I have a great drummer who was also an alumni he’s, played with everybody from Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Kenny Loggins, you know, the list is very long.
Oh wow, yeah all you guys.
Yeah, yeah. So, he’s now back with me which is like old friends coming back together you know, that you haven’t seen in a long time. Tommy’s a powerhouse drummer, really amazing, a crazy wild drummer. And then we have Gumbi Ortiz who is my percussionist and he’s been with me in most of my bands…, well a good portion of them, so, since 35 years
Oh wow, that’s a long time, there you go.
Yeah, yeah, the longest one of them all, you know. And then, the bassist is from Venezuela, we have a bassist named Elias Tona, really great. And that’s the band.
Man what would you say you appreciate most about each one of them. Like what element, what aspect would you like underline, right?
Well you know…, what element… I can’t. All right, Tommy brings a lot of fire, he’s the engine to the to the whole thing. And, so I’m very very specific and I write everything out so I…, you hopefully have players which I do, that can bring something else to the table you know. And you know Philippe’s a veteran player and he’s played with in every kind of musical situation so he’s another one that can bring something to the table. But what’s great about everybody in the band is their respect for the music and they take…, you know, for me it’s…, if you’re working with musicians, if they take good direction from me, that’s a good thing, you know what I mean. Because, especially with the drums and the percussion, I’m very particular. What needs to be played. So I think I wind up teaching them different ways of approaching parts you know, that they might not be…, they might not play normally if you didn’t give them any direction, you know. So, very specific because, to me you know, we come from a world of you know improvising and all that. And technique and all of that. But really, for me the composition is the most important thing. That keeps the attention of the audience…, it’s the composition not a night of only this, you know.
Seems like you’ve entered my mind because one of the questions I had for you was what approach do you give to this project compositional wise? So could you tell us a little bit more about how you put together the parts, how you think it all…, I don’t know.
Well I went back after…, it was more than a year ago, I went back and I listened to my early records and just to see how it would feel after 30 solo albums, 30 plus…, maybe 35 records.
Yeah man, amazing career.
And there’s been an evolution in writing, that you know of course I’m happy for that because I wanted to grow of course, like any other musician. So, I wanted to go back and revisit how I started and, what it was. Because it’s not like I listen to those records very often. And I heard the energy in it and the movement, and the energy and also the compositions. Considering I didn’t even have my own house, I was living with my parents, so I found the charts. The charts were so…, almost 99 to 100 percent perfect. Written. It was probably because, I was a member of Return to Forever, with Chick Corea and his charts were always perfect. So I was, basically trying to accomplish the same aesthetic in the way that the charts were made. So, the charts were in perfect condition and I listened to the songs. “Wow, this could be exciting again, I hope I have the energy to do it”. And we’re doing it. In fact, we’re doing it with more energy than we did when we were kids.
There you go, man.
So, it’s another side of me that especially in Europe, they haven’t seen in a long time because I’ve been last 20 to 30 years, I’ve been playing mostly acoustic, you know.
That’s great, man. I’m so excited to see you. It’s gonna be awesome for sure. So, man, in Spain, we’re pretty aware about your relationship with Paco de Lucía. And I’d like to know, what would you highlight from the time you spent together? What did you learn from him and what did he learn from you, if you would say anything?
Oh, we well, we definitely absorbed and learned. But for me, it was great because we had a sympathical when it came to rhythm. Paco really liked playing with me because of my understanding of latin rhythm and syncopation and everything. John came from another dimension, which was great because it kind of rounded out the trio, it made it more diverse and musically. But Paco’s approach was so, let’s say, different for John and me. And it was so great that every night when we played, we were on that stage to impress one another. The audience was after the fact, the audience got that. We were just playing that…, if it was Paco’s turn to take a solo, we’re thinking to ourselves, “oh, my God, how am I going to follow that?”. And then and then it would make us stretch, would make us go outside of the limits of what we were doing and really like search and try to impress the other guys, with a killer solo, you know. And then John would do the same. So, it made you grow to be in the environment of great players for sure. And Paco got the same from us because Paco in his world felt limited in the Flamenco cadence kind of world, where they don’t play necessarily through jazz harmony changes. They had their own language and he was the probably the and still is the king of that whole idiom. And, you know, to play alongside of him, the amount of time that I did, really had a great effect. I’ve become a better player because of that, you know.
Man, it’s always great to hear you guys talk about the time you spent together on the stage and the first time you got together. And yeah…
It wasn’t just music. We were a little bit like brothers at times, and we were also like friends. So, we would hang out after the show. And Paco had he had his alter-side, you know, the other side, which was to have a good time. And he was funny and he was mischievous. He was that he was everything only above, you know. So, he was he was not a boring guy.
Man, that’s great, that’s great, that sounds amazing. Ok, so last question, man. I’m curious to know what music you’re listening to these days. What music is in your streaming app or whatever or in your CDs? What music are you…?
Well, you know, I listen every day to The Beatles.
Oh, yeah.
Because you rediscover just how great they were. You know, and I’m not talking from a technical side or I’m not talking from a virtuoso-technical side. No, that wasn’t the thing. It was just…, the music was even though we could say it was simpler, there was an aesthetic to most of that music.
Yeah, for sure.
That you could really evaluate more now than you could at the at the moment and they were doing it at a time that was just hysteria in the 60s. And it was like something so new that, yeah, we were all everybody was impressed. But, when you listen to it now, they’re beautiful songs and a lot of aesthetic to it. The thing is, I went off into a whole different direction when they went solo. And that’s where my getting turned on to all different forms of jazz, classical and everything above, happened right after their breakup. And that’s why I do what I do. So, when I met George Martin, he was a fan of Return to Forever, the producer of The Beatles. And he couldn’t believe that I was influenced or I grew up, you know, liking The Beatles. He just couldn’t…, he didn’t hear it in my playing. Well, it’s because the nature of my music is so different. But in reality, I listen to them. Now, as far as a contemporary player, someone who is cutting edge to the max, and I think will probably wind up only being liked by musicians, is this Armenian pianist, composer, phenomenal. It’s just his name is Tigran Hamasyan.
Yeah, for sure, he’s well known.
Tigran’s got some very, very complex, but really hip music. Some of which I think, you know, in Return to Forever, when I was with the group Return to Forever, we were considered that group. But that was 50 years ago. You know, so 50 years ago, we had that kind of allure, let’s say, with our audiences. Except I think our music was wider appealing, much more wider appealing. Tigran’s music is a little bit more centered towards…, a little bit more narrowed towards the, you know, I would say more esoteric jazz enthusiast. Cause it’s really, whoo, it can go over the head of most of the public. But if you if you understand it and you could feel it, it’s some of the, I think, the most cutting edge music I’ve ever heard.
It’s a true experience, yeah.
It’s just unbelievable. It’s not music that anyone can play.
Hahaha, oh, for sure.
The time signatures are all over the place.
I know.
So, he’s one of the new breed of not just player, but composer. See, that’s what interests me because there’s so many great soloists and improvisers today. More than ever, more than ever. So many great players on many instruments, not just a guitar, but not many, almost none inspire me from a compositional perspective, where Tigran has had that equal, like Chick Corea had that equal and that was always my goal. My goal was to not just be known as a technically proficient player, but also a composer. And I think, for me now at my age and my career as it is, right now, composing is, you know, I have a new album, Twentyfour…
Composing is at the top of all things…
I call that a composition record, you know. There’s so much composition and that’s where I’m at, I kind of put most of my attention in this area, you know, so…
Yeah, yeah, man, exciting, exciting. It’s, I mean, I guess The Beatles are the basis for us all, man. I’m happy to be a drummer, I play drums and I play all types of instruments, too.
Drums, now that we’re talking about drums…, last night and, you know, we didn’t realize when we were kids, you know, Ringo was the drummer. And, you know, we knew…, he wasn’t like a Steve Gadd or, you know, Clash drummer. But when you listen to them, we didn’t discover till decades later just how great he was.
He was creative, man.
Because…, super-creative. He played things that drummers normally would not play. Sometimes he wouldn’t even play. It would just be a hi-hat or he would be playing some kind of off rhythm like a Ticket to ride or Tomorrow never knows. And it’s still today extremely hip, you know.
Totally, I had a chance to do a tribute concert for to The Beatles and yeah, going through the parts, it was a true experience. And then again, Tigran Hamasyan, man, it’s I mean, me as a young cat, I’ve grown up hearing, you know, all his records and, you know, all the yeah, all the new breed you were talking about. It’s amazing to see how the tradition of music keeps going on, you know, with such strong vibes. It’s amazing.
It’s hard to find the middle ground. And maybe that’s not his idea. And that’s Ok. But where his music could be appreciated by a wider audience and just the serious musician. And that’s something that I think that, you know, my audience, for sure, it’s not just guitar players, and that is a good thing. Because if you if you are only known as a virtuoso player and the composition is not there, then you might just get an audience that’s smaller, more if you’re a guitarist, a guitar, more guitar players in the audience or something. You know what I mean? Like Allan Holdsworth. Allan Holdsworth had that. He had guitar players in the audience, that was it.
Yeah, I mean, he was hip, but yeah, I gotcha.
Yeah, very, very hip, very incredible, but the audiences were a small group of guitar players.
Yeah, I got some gotcha totally.
And no, no, no women, no, no ladies would like that kind of thing, you know. So, what holds the attention are the melodies, the rhythm, the composition, you know, then, you know, you got to give them something to sink their teeth into, you know.
Yeah, totally. All right, man, so that was all. Thank you a lot for tuning in. This was Al Di Meola, y’all talking about a lot of interesting stuff. You’ll be able to listen to him and his band live at the Teatro La Latina, on Monday, November 4th. Pull up, y’all, it’s going to be great for sure. Thank you again, Al, and thanks to Summum Concert Series for this opportunity. Thank you, Al. Thank you.
Muchas gracias.
It was awesome.
Adios.
Bye, man, I’ll see you November 4th, man.
Oh, good, good, good. Bye, man. Take care.
Thanks a lot.
All the best. Bye.
All right, bye. Bye-bye.
