Telarc SACD 63543
Anthony Jackson electric contra bass
Gumbi Ortiz congas & cajone
Mario Parmisano piano, synth, calliope
Ernie Adams Drums
Alejandro Santos flutes
Gonzalo Rubalca fender Rhodes
Jean Valdes alto sax
Guillermo Luiz alto sax
Williams Poledo trumpet
Al Di Moela is a famous guitarist since his participation to "Return to Forever" back in 1974 when he was only 19 years old. He has also recorded extensively with his guitar trio with John McLaughin (also of Return to Forever) and Paco de Lucia the virtuoso of the flamenco guitar. Al Di Moela lists Chick Corea and Piazolla as his two principal mentors (this is reflected in the content of this album).
In terms of sound recording, the solo instruments are generally in the main loudspeakers, the center channel is often used by the low guitar, or the keyboard. The surround loudspeakers are used more for percussions and background effects. The LFE channel is used by the low percussions mainly to support rhythm,
Obviously the playing of the guitarist soloist is splendid. Al Di Meola is a master of the guitar and this fact justifies buying this SACD. Either when "singing" main themes or exploding in virtuosi variations, the guitarist stimulates our listening from beginning to end of this SACD (except for one track that I did not like, see below).
The sound recording was made in a studio and it is the kind of recording where several separately recorded tracks are combined. This makes it possible to the soloist to seem to play more than one guitar at a time. But this kind of technique often does not yield a natural sonority for all the instruments. It is not surprising that the sound of the guitar is always at the forefront and sounds splendid. But not all instruments are so lucky. In particular the flute is afflicted with an artificial reverb which is very annoying. The sax and the trumpet are so badly recorded that I believed that they were a bad synthesized rendition of saxs and trumpets (before checking their name in the musician list).
Contrary to many recording of this style, the boring electronic drums with their metronomic tempos are fortunately absent from this recording. The music is rhythmic but in a complex and changing ways. Tempos transform and accelerate and change in complex patterns. This complexity is what makes this a Jazz album. There is also a good contrast between the different the musical selection.
In addition to the not perfect sound recording approach, another negative is related to how certain musical motif are so excessively "peace and love" 60s type music that this flower power type sound deter enjoyment after a while.
In some longer tracks at around 8-10 minutes the music has time to develop, to express itself through transformation, variations, etc. The first track is a good example of this.
The Second track is the only one that I did not like at all in the album. It never seems to rise or to go anywhere.
The third "girls" (reference to the two girls of Di Moela) is very evocative. I do not know the original tune but its a very beautiful stroll with a Brazilian flavor.
Track four gives its title to the album and with track five is the centerpiece of the album. The track starts kind of badly with music I would qualify as too simplistic.. But it is a kind of musical trick , the whole thing starts to accelerate and musical motifs are shortened, it becomes a kind of perpetual motion swirling into some kind of fugue like transformation. That is jazz with its capacity to take ordinary material and to do something out of the ordinary with it.
My favorite track of the album is the fifth. It is inspired by a tango of Piazolla of which I knew the original version. This jazz version respects the original and transforms it through jazz. It definitively take a more rhythmic and accented flavor while nearly using the exact same notes written by Piazolla.. This is also the track with the best use of the surround channels. I could not stop playing this track during several days.
The sixth track is very short and would have found its place in a recording of Santana.
The seventh is inspired by the "Cirque du Soleil". Indeed this piece sounds as if a spectacle is drawing our attention in to a ring full of action.
Finally the last piece is a new version of a 1978 tune of Chick Corea ( Di Meola had play in the original version) "senor mouse". It is the most blusy tune of the album which is a good conclusion to this musical journey.