Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Venue: Cvetličarna MediaPark / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: 11/16/2008
Attendance: 1100
Ticket price: €40.00
After not one but two postponed dates (first announced back in November 2006, then unsuccessfully pushed to May 2007, and finally third time lucky; sincere congratulations to the organizer of this event for that), the legendary guitar virtuoso Al Di Meola has at last returned to our capital. Mr. Di Meola hardly needs a long-winded introduction, but for anyone not familiar with his life and work, he’s one of the most respected and influential guitarists of our time, best known as a master of countless innovative guitar techniques, especially in jazz fusion and Latin jazz, even though he’s tried his hand at plenty of other styles over the course of his career. Ever since he first rose to fame as a member of the legendary jazz fusion band Return To Forever, countless fans of the six-string have regarded him as one of the greatest technical masters of the electric guitar, including for his influence on many renowned rock guitarists who first made a name for themselves in the 80s.
His show at Cvetličarna turned out to be an evening of many highlights, one that delighted most of us who came to watch the guitar giant at work, whether we were fans of musical perfectionism or of the fusion of traditional jazz and Latin melos. It could easily have gone quite differently, though, because the signals before the show weren’t exactly promising. Because of a flight delay, the concert started an hour late, and the soundcheck hadn’t even been done yet. The devil could easily have had his fun and we’d have ended up with a much worse performance than usual, but Al and his crew proved themselves not just true professionals, but were also in great spirits throughout the entire show, after some initial reservations. Through the organizers, Al apologized for the unfortunate mishap and invited everyone present to sit in on the soundcheck, which would be followed directly by the concert. When the maestro himself finally strode onto the stage, the soundcheck suddenly morphed into a full-blown performance, an acoustic one of course, since on this tour Al is presenting some of his favorite Latin jazz creations under the traditional rhythmic influence of tango.
Al’s backing band featured Italian Faust Beccalossi on accordion and occasional vocal improvisations, his compatriot Peo Alfonsi on second acoustic guitar, and longtime collaborator, Cuban Gumbi Ortiz, on percussion, who after more than 20 years of working together is without a doubt a crowd favorite. Gumbi is above all a master of an unusual Afro-Peruvian percussion instrument called the cajón. You could describe it as a big wooden box that Gumbi sat on, coaxing vibrating sounds out of the front of the instrument with dynamic slaps of his hands, the kind you most often hear in African-Latin ethno music. Beccalossi’s accordion also slotted perfectly into the fiery blend of tango and traditional jazz, and he complemented it with passionate vocal improvisations that easily whisked us off to the cafés on the evening streets of Buenos Aires. Although Alfonsi mostly held down the rhythm on the second acoustic guitar, the maestro also gave him a few moments where he showed, with his fast-fingered technique and lightning-quick runs up and down the scales, what an excellent guitarist and student he is.
Of course, most people at this show came first and foremost for the maestro’s breathtaking guitar artistry. In recent years, well, actually for quite a while now, Al has been steadily moving away from the electric guitar and prefers to enjoy quieter acoustic waters, which was bad news for anyone expecting a demonstration of the electrified jazz fusion of his early solo career, or even a classic or two from the reunited Return To Forever. Al gave up that kind of electric expansiveness a good few years back, although every so often he still gets the urge to pick up the instrument that made him famous. By his own account, it’s mainly because of hearing problems caused by years of exposure to (way too) many decibels. As expected, his guitar artistry was once again a feast for the eyes and a real treat for all lovers of musical perfectionism. On his guitar, the man served up an incredibly energetic fusion of traditional jazz and Latin rhythms, all with a remarkable technique for moving between fast, energetic runs and calm, tender moments of pure romance. It was precisely this display of astonishing speed, which he himself popularized far and wide in the 80s (for better and for worse), together with an incredibly soft touch when picking the strings, that took the audience’s breath away again this evening. Even today the maestro easily remains a phenomenon unto himself and a subject of all kinds of guitar-theory debates.
There was also a very funny moment during the show, when Al suddenly praised a guy in the front row and asked if he happened to be a drummer, since he always claps in such a tight, on-the-beat way. The guy shook his head, pulled out his wallet, and took out a bunch of picks to hint that he’s a guitarist, though it was also a very sly tactic for scoring concert souvenirs. Al, of course, proposed swapping picks with each other. The guy obviously couldn’t hide his joy.
Most of the performances this evening leaned on Al’s current live album “World Sinfonia – La Melodia” (2008), which is in many ways a tribute to the famous Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla, since it features quite a few of his rearranged pieces. Of course, there was no shortage of Al’s solo works either, like “Infinite Desire”, “Misterio”, “Turquoise” and the indispensable classic “Mediterranean Sundance”, which comes from his jazz fusion era, specifically from the legendary album “Elegant Gypsy” (1977). That one was played as an encore, after the maestro, following thunderous ovations, had almost been ready to slip off the stage, but he simply couldn’t let down such loyalty, having become convinced over the whole show that the audience was with his band to the very end. A special, I’d even say obligatory, moment of the evening was also a short “duel” between Al and Gumbi over who would hit or miss a certain note first. The maestro and his crew wrapped up their set with a moving rendition of the traditional Argentine piece “No Potho Reporsare”.
The whole thing flew by in a flash. Al’s superb performance left no one indifferent in the jam-packed Cvetličarna hall, which also had a surprisingly high percentage of young people (not a negligible detail at a jazz concert), as he and his backing band confirmed, acoustically, his reputation as one of the best guitarists in the world. Anyone who happened to be worried he might repeat that catastrophic show from 1994, when he performed without a backing band in a half-empty Tivoli hall and said goodbye after just an hour, could breathe a proper sigh of relief, because tonight the maestro was in dazzling form and charmed the entire hall with his combination of jazz and acoustic Latin melos in tango rhythms, along with breathtaking technical guitar acrobatics. Although he came across as genuinely friendly and approachable the entire evening, Al is often considered a rather moody musician too, one who can walk off the stage at the first opportunity if the vibes from the crowd aren’t right. This time there was no need for such a drastic measure for even a moment, as he was probably himself surprised by the incredible loyalty of the Ljubljana crowd, who also deserve praise for the wonderful flow of positive vibes from the stage and back. Let’s hope this evening stays in the maestro’s fond memory for a long time and that he’ll honor us with another visit very soon.
photos: Barbara Milharčič
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