Legendary jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola is the website’s artist of the month for August! I first want to thank my favorite guitarist who inspired me continuously Zakk Wylde.  If it wasn’t for him putting up a photo online with Al, I may have never known about the man and his great music! Ironically, the same thing happened when Tosin (Animals As Leaders) put a track online saying how great Gilad Hekselman is…..once your musical influences recommend others, you listen without hesitation! And as a result, Gilad is my favorite modern day jazz guitarist since Tosin praised his talents online years ago!

Al is not only a jazzy player, but quite a shredder too…..very in tune with himself and how to put together great songs.  He has great feel and is a very smart artist.  “Race With Devil on Spanish Highway” is a classic from his vast library of music he’s created over the years. I think it was time to promote great music that isn’t an instrumental or tech death style band as much as I love the genres.  I’ve had a growing interest in the experimental and fusion genres the last handful of years, and have been getting my feet wet in the midst of discovering great talent along the way.  Elegant Gypsy is the “Back In Black” (commercial comparison) of jazz fusion….it’s an instant cult classic.

He’s also very interested in classical guitar and flamenco (A Hispanic style of guitar).  The sound of nylon strings is absolutely beautiful, and he wields an acoustic as good as an electric! I think a great player like Al should be more prominent than others in the media but on the other hand such a unique artist should be for people that really appreciate his talents.  He’s been a growing influence on me and hope this brings his art to the forefront and people discover his music just like I did!

Yeah, I had to throw in a picture of him playing a PRS….my favorite guitar company.

https://www.aldimeola.com/