Twentyfour

Al Di Meolas Across the Universe was released in March 2020, just as COVID-19 spread globally. In solitude, Di Meola fully engaged with his creativity. He began writing and demoing an acoustic album that reflected on the period. During the next year, his aesthetic plans began morphing into new shapes. Four years later -- and less than one since suffering a heart attack on-stage -- Twentyfour is released by Ear Music, three days before his 70th birthday. A 15-track, double-length offering, Twentyfour features Di Meolas acoustic and electric guitars (the latter a bit less prominently). Hes accompanied alternately by a quintet, woodwinds, reeds, strings, organic percussion, and a chamber orchestra. First single and opener "Fandango" is an excellent display of flamenco-jazz fusion. His nylon string flourishes accompanied by the kinetic pulse of a cajon occasionally wanders into East Indian and North African traditions. Alternately, Di Meola double-tracks his guitars, playing rhythm, lead, and harmony simultaneously. Orchestral horns add texture, color, and drama. "Capriccio Suite" joins Di Meolas wonderfully idiosyncratic nuevo flamenco and tango styles to rhythmic syncopation provided by tabla, then veers off into modal improvisation. Arguably, "Avas Dance in the Moonlight" (a single inspired by his daughter dancing in the studio) is the sets finest cut. Flamenco meets jazz meets classical as keys, Elias Tonas bass, Luis Aliceas drum kit, with subtle winds, horns, strings, and the guitarists soulful fills, create accented juxtapositions across the intricate cinematic melody. "Immeasurable" is a 20-minute, three-part suite interspersed across the album. Its three parts offer detailed explorations of mode, lyric, and harmonic themes on acoustic guitars accompanied by either cajon or tabla. "Immeasurable Part 1," the longest movement, sets up the suites musical motifs, blending classical technique with jazz improvisation. In the second, Di Meolas guitar opens the gate to the inner workings of the complex melody while increasing his playing speed; the third features jazz guitars playing in tandem in balladic tango form. The lush, elegant romantico "Eden" features the sublime vocals of Ivan Lopez to moving effect. Di Meolas acoustic guitar moves around the bands gentle, quietly shuffling accompaniment. He answers with "Close Your Eyes," a jazz lullaby grafted onto a cinematic fantasia painted by chamber orchestra, keyboards, and percussion. "For Only You," a solo nylon guitar piece, gracefully stitches chord shapes and pointillistic single-line runs through several genres and styles. Its answered by "Genetiki," a scorching fusion number that melds electric and acoustic guitars in front of a full band; it cuts across searing electric jazz and Asian and Afro-Latin rhythms. "Testament" follows suit, yet is vastly more orchestral. The closer, "Precocious," is a jazz exercise performed with Di Meolas double-tracked nylon guitars and a tabla. Twentyfour began life as an intimate acoustic meditation on a health crisis. The guitarist/composers restless artistic shift to this kaleidoscopic offering is simultaneously disciplined, technically dazzling, lyrical, deeply moving, and above all, adventurous. ~ Thom Jurek