Customer Reviews

Al Di Meola - One of These Nights

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Those who have kept up with Al DiMeola's career will know just by looking at the song titles and the list of musicians what kind of concert this is going to be. Most are from the post Tirami Su period during which Gumbi Ortiz has been a fixture on percussion. That, and the fact that he is playing before a sophisticated audience backed by a string quartet ought to tell us that One of These Nights is going to be no thrash-fest a la Casino or Electric Rendezvous.
And indeed it is not. Instead, it is an exquisite presentation of some of the best DiMeola pieces of the last ten years. I could carp about what was left out, but I can't fault most of what is here. My favorites are Innamorata, Azzurra, Fugatta, Libertango, and the big nod to his past that closes the set, Egyptian Danza. The Sturcz String Quartet strengthens the selections, while the well-rehearsed interplay between DiMeola and Ortiz is often dazzling
DiMeola is generally relaxed and in control, but his very occasional lapses into sloppy play knock a star off of the rating. That being said, I will enjoy One of These Nights for many nights to come. I have seen DiMeola many times in concert, but it has been several years since the last time. This DVD quenches my thirst for a live performance in the interim.

I eagerly awaited the release of this DVD. When I received it in the mail I immediately popped it in the DVD player. The DVD was filmed and produced in Germany. The sound quality is very good and the picture quality as well. The DVD comes with a little booklet that is in German and English and briefly discusses Al's career. There are 11 Songs spanning several of his albums. All the songs are played on Acoustic guitar, and Al has a traditional acoustic sound or electric and synth sound all played with the acoustic guitar.
Al's performance is just brilliant. And I think the addition of the string quartet is phenomenal and adds immensely to his performance. The string quartet consists of 2 violins, 1 viola, and 1 cello. The rest of the band is rounded out with a keyboardist (Mario Parmisano), a Drummer (Ernie Adams), and finally a percussionist (Gumbi Ortiz). The bands performance is awesome, and the lead violinist (Gabor Csonka) trades licks with Al was the highlight of the video.
The few minor complaints I have with the video are: 1) Al doesn't speak to the audience, he clearly is enjoying himself and appreciates the applause, but he doesn't say anything to them.
2) The extra features are great, the bio, and the making of the video with interviews, but Al talks about how many encores he will do and you really don't get that at all. Unless they did the encores and just were all combined with the regular set. 3) I wish the DVD had more songs. I just love Al's music so much I could watch 10 Hours of his music without blinking an eye.
If you have not ordered this DVD yet I would recommend dropping everything you are doing now and order it right away. Even if you are not a big fan of Al (how could you not be), you will still love this DVD because the songs cover so many periods of his music development you will truly get a sense of his musical journey.

Okay before I review this DVD, I just want to clarify why I said this is for fans of Al Di Meola only. The songs he performs are not the same kind of "fusion" flare that you, the casual listener, are going to be accustomed to. He was a jazz fusion pioneer, sure, but things have changed since then. He's more into the classical side of arranging and playing now.

Having said that, his playing on this DVD is amazing. The sound quality and video are also good. The band he's playing with are all very well-versed musicians. The pianist he's playing with, I think he's name is Mario Parmisano, suprised me greatly. Al wouldn't be playing with a musician that isn't fantastic, so hats off to Al for his choice in musicians. Very strong rhythmic presence throughout.

As to comment on something a reviewer said in the review prior to mine, he mentioned how he was disappointed that Al Di Meola didn't talk to the audience more. Look, I think I can say wholeheartedly that you DON'T want Al Di Meola talking to the audience! Trust me folks, you couldn't bare it. Not only does he seem a bit stand-offish, but I honestly don't think he would know what to say other than something weird.

No offense to Al, but I don't want hear him talk. I want to hear him play, and that's the reason I purchased this DVD. To me, it's good enough to actually have something of him playing on DVD. If he doesn't talk or if he does really shouldn't be a valid complaint anyway. The review of any concert DVD should be a review of what it is, not what it could be.

This DVD is worth every penny, and fans of Al Di Meola are going to especially like this.

Overall, this DVD is definitely a great pick for guitar lovers, be it jazz, classical, rock or even world music. The unique set-up of this concert - Al's guitar, an amazing keyboardist, two percussionists (no bass!) and a string quartet - make the sound this band produces something quite unique and not easily definable. Add to this the fact that Al plays an acoustic guitar, synthesizing its sound to be an electric guitar sound in high pitches - which makes it quite a unique sound as well. Sound quality as well as picture quality is excellent, and Al is in top performance technically. Only draw back of this DVD is a typical drawback to 'jazz-oriented' concerts: For the most part, unless you have a very intimate familiarity with every note in Al's tune (which most he wrote plus a couple by Astor Piazzloa) the overall sound becomes repetitive and somewhat dull as the concert grows, with no peaks or major moves to create excitement. Still, due to the good parts of the DVD it's a must for Al's lovers and a good pick for guitar lovers in general.

This concert performance is excellent. This is a performance of his acoustic world music style, although the songs cover a wide range of his career including things he did on his electric.

From the time he steps on stage he is on fire. His band is tight, spontaneous and gets a huge sound for only a few musicians. The first few songs he does with the whole group including the string quartet and are nice. Then starting with Orient Blue he cuts loose on guitar with Gumbi Ortiz on congas and various percussion. He plays some really cool improve lines that show his blazingly fast, intricate and syncopated technique. Gumbi and Al get into a musical dialog and challenge each other, with Gumbi egging him on. This is worth the price of the DVD if you like virtuoso guitar work. Then they go on to play some more songs with the entire group off of various CDs. On Libertango Gumbi and Al get into it again for some spirited playing dialog.

I think the sound quality is excellent for 2 channel stereo and the camera work is fine. They just have a few camera positions covering the concert and they focus on Al a lot but give the other players and the whole stage some footage when appropriate.

The music on this dvd is amazing, my only advice to Di Meola is that he lose those midi effects that he interchanges constantly on his guitar. The plain acoustic sound is great, the electric sound is unbelievable, but those synth sounds are annoying most of the time. If you want a bandoneon, hire a bandoneon player, the synth bandoneon sounds cheesy.
The same problem appears on his "Grande Passion" album. The compositions are amazing, but they suffer from those 80's-like synth sounds that sound both artificial and dated.

It is quite different from Rite of Strings. But I liked it a lot.
Sounds Great!!

The adition of the srting quartet turned the concert I had seen in Lisbon into a more sophisticated perfomance.

I have been waiting years to see Dimeola in a setting like this...this is Dimeola at his best...I love it!

Thank you.

I had the great pleasure of finally seeing Al in Atlantic City with the Rites of Strings - and had to get this after being completely blown away. Yeah, Al is definitely headed to a more classical direction but the playing is just phenomenal on this DVD - beautifully done. And on a technical basis I thought this DVD is about as good as it gets!