Guitar virtuoso Al Di Meola will be performing both his own songs and the works of The Beatles and Astor Piazzolla acoustically in Istanbul as part of the Yapı Kredi 75th Anniversary Concerts on November 21.
Let's take a closer look at one of the living legends of the guitar, Al Di Meola, before this amazing concert
Al Di Meola was born on July 22, 1954 in New Jersey… Di Meola, whose interest in music arose by playing drums at a young age, decided to turn to the guitar, the instrument in which he would really find himself, after listening to The Beatles at the age of 9.
As his interest in music increased, he entered the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1971, where he began working with the jazz-fusion band led by keyboardist Barry Miles.
Discovered by world-renowned jazz pianist Chick Corea in 1974 after his Berklee education, Di Meola began working and recording with Corea's legendary band "Return to Forever"
The super group Return to Forever, consisting of Chick Corea on keyboards, Stanley Clarke on bass guitar, Lenny White on drums and Al Di Meola on guitar, record three albums.
When the group disbanded in 1976, Al Di Meola decides to pursue his career alone. After the fame brought by Return to Forever, he started to give his own concerts in front of large crowds.
Another area of expertise of Al Di Meola is jazz fusion works with Latin influences. He discovers his own 'sound' thanks to his works with Latin guitar techniques on a jazz background
Thanks to his superior technique and musicality, Meola was chosen as the "Best Jazz Guitarist" four times by the readers of Guitar Player magazine.
After releasing his first solo album in 1976, he took with him Paco De Lucia and John McLaughlin, who are experts as well as himself, and released two albums with flamenco influence.
His interest in South American music increased after he became friends with the famous Argentine tango master Astor Piazzolla. After that, he directs his route to albums where tango music is intensely active.
In his albums, Di Meola, who showed that he is a strong composer as well as being a virtuoso, reunited with Paco De Lucia and John McLaughlin in 1996 and recorded the Guitar Trio album.
With the album All Your Life: A Tribute to the Beatles released in 2013, Meola shows her love for The Beatles, one of the teams that inspired her the most.
He recorded this album at the famous Abbey Road studios in London, which was also of great importance in the career of The Beatles.
When we come to 2018, he releases his album called Opus. Opus takes its place in collections as a rich album that embraces modern Latin music with jazz, jazz fusion and world music
Guitar historian Robert Lynch said of Meola, “No one in the history of the guitar has worked more technically to develop the instrument than Al Di Meola. His general command of various styles and sizes is mind-blowing. I feel privileged to be able to study his work for so many years.” says.
Indeed, if you have seen Al Di Meola on his guitar once, it means that your view of the guitar has completely changed. With its speed, technique and melodic structure intertwined, Meola manages to hypnotize its audience at every concert.
With the effect of his frequent visits to Turkey, Di Meola also updates the name of the famous Race With Devil On Spanish Highway track as Race With Devil On Turkish Highway. “You really feel like you are dancing with the devil in Istanbul traffic,” he explains in an interview.
At the concert that will take place on November 21 at Uniq Hall, an acoustic experience quite different from the Al Di Meola Turkey concerts we have watched so far awaits you.
