brandx@ihu1m.UUCP (Howard D. Weisberg) (04/15/85)
Last Friday night I saw Al DiMeola with Airto Moreira (perc.) and Phil Markowitz (keys.). To say that I've been disappointed with solo DiMeola music for the past few years would be an understatement. Splendido Hotel really only had about 2 1/2 sides of good stuff. Electric Rendezvous wandered from hopeless rock parodies to some okay acoustic stuff. The live album was Al trying to be a rockstar. Scenario was Al trying to be Peter Gabriel (except that to be Peter Gabriel you have to play with feeling and make human sounds out of machines). Needless to say, I went to the Park West with no expectations (the best way to go to a concert.) First Airto comes out and does a couple of amazing solo pieces. He has never sounded better. His trademark "drum solo on a tambourine" was awesome. All very musical. Then DiMeola strolls out. Who is this guy with the guitar that's all clean-shaven and wearing a red bandana? He sits down and starts playing. What's this? I guess the chair keeps him from feeling like he's a rock star. Too bad. This guy doesn't even play the same fast scales over and over. During one composition he picks up his Synclavier guitar. It sounds like a human voice coming out of the guitar. (Beats the hell out of "I Can Tell"). The next time he plays it, it sounds like a xylophone. For the very first time in a long time, DiMeola's sounding human. Playing great compositions instead of mechanical "Romantic Warrior" influenced exercises ( I guess he gave up trying to be Chick Corea). The only thing I could compare this to (if you want a comparison) is Pat Metheny. This music holds its own. The only old stuff he did was "Scenario" and "Short Tales of the Black Forest." I guess Columbia must have dumped Al (he didn't produce a hit single in his allotted time). His new record will be out on Manhattan Records this month. Al is back. I'll be
dat@hpcnoa.UUCP (dat) (05/11/85)
> Last Friday night I saw Al DiMeola with Airto Moreira (perc.) and > Phil Markowitz (keys.). What an amazing coincidence! I saw him live about a week ago too! > First Airto comes out and does > a couple of amazing solo pieces. He has never sounded better. > His trademark "drum solo on a tambourine" was awesome. All very > musical. It was good, but Airto got a bit carried away in the Fort Collins Lincoln Center (which, incidentally has the best acoustics of any concert hall I've ever been in) and in fact the whole concert was TOO LOUD for most everyone in the hall, but, alas, I digress... > Then DiMeola strolls out. Who is this guy with the guitar that's > all clean-shaven and wearing a red bandana? It took me a while to realize that it wasn't one of the stage crew too - last time I saw DiMeola was about a year ago and he had the beard and all that other facial hair (a strange phrase, lad!) > He sits down and starts > playing. What's this? I guess the chair keeps him from feeling > like he's a rock star. Too bad. This guy doesn't even play the > same fast scales over and over. Wow. Must have gone to a different concert musician...I wonder which one of us had the stand in? Actually, though, considering that Al was on electric he was somewhat restrained... > During one composition he picks > up his Synclavier guitar. It sounds like a human voice coming out > of the guitar. (Beats the hell out of "I Can Tell"). The next time > he plays it, it sounds like a xylophone. One Composition???? After the first ten minutes of the concert, it seemed like Al couldn't put the darn thing DOWN! And boy is that puppy BRIGHT and HARSH on the high end (this relates to my previous comment that the hall was very LOUD). I have to admit, though, that I would kill to have one of those Synclaviers...what an awesome in- strument to play on! The only problem I had with it, other than the quality of the sound, was that with certain voices Al seemed to be playing the same music, regardless of what actual song they were playing...a couple of the voices got repetative rather quickly... > For the very first time in a long time, DiMeola's sounding human. Ack! (as Bill the Cat would say) DiMeola did NOT sound notably human to me - in fact if I was asked to comment on Al, I would say that he is probably the most technically proficient guitar player that I have ever heard, but he doesn't have any soul - he doesn't put any emotion into his playing... Contrast his music with that of Paco De Lucia (now THERE'S an awesome guitar player!!! It's hard to get him on vinyl though...). Paco is a musician who pours his heart and soul into his instrument and you can EMPATHIZE when he plays. When Al plays, it's more of a 'wow. what a quick guitar player' thing. > Playing great compositions instead of mechanical "Romantic Warrior" > influenced exercises ( I guess he gave up trying to be Chick Corea). Thank God for that. Chick Corea is a terrific musician, but Al didn't make a good imitation Chick! > The only thing I could compare this to (if you want a comparison) > is Pat Metheny. Funny, thats the conclusion that we came to after we talked post-concert. Poor Al - a wandering minstrel in search of a genre to fit in to... > This music holds its own. I don't know, I think that Pat can play the stuff better than Al can... > The only old stuff > he did was "Scenario" and "Short Tales of the Black Forest." I caught about two riffs from music that I was familiar with...nothing else was anything I had heard before... More general comments: I was very impressed with Phil Markowitz on piano - while he had a (typical jazz pianist) tendency to dance around the melody and never actually HIT the notes, he was a very promising keyboard player! In fact I was suitably slack-jawed when I heard him keeping up, note-for-note, with DiMeolas' frenetic string pounding!!! Anyone else heard Phil and have anything to say? Airto, on the other hand, I was very UNimpressed with. It almost seemed at times that Markowitz and DiMeola were playing one type of music and Airto another...when Phil soloed on the piano, Airto would come back from offstage and pound like a lunatic on the cymbals and basically look like a candidate for the 'white coat' institute...I must admit, though, that he had some WILD instruments (if we can call them that)! Another problem I had was that Airto didn't seem to be playing 'Brazilian' music... he kept wandering about in search of a consistent beat and tempo.. Overall, though, with the exception of the appalling job done by the lighting crew and the overly loud and poorly done mixing job, the concert was quite worthwhile, and an interesting musical experience. Dave "Jazz or Die" Taylor "but wait! It's no WONDER you aren't buying the 'USA for Africa' album then! It's *retch* rock!!!!" (the plot thickens)
fritz@hpfclp.UUCP (fritz) (05/14/85)
Re: Al DiMeola & Airto live
I also enjoyed the concert, but I wish they'd put Airto in another room.
Sure, he's a great percussionist and all, but he seemed to be into a
mode of "let's see how many weird noises I can make with all these funky
percussion instruments" with very little regard for what Al & Phil were
playing. If he wants to do a one-man show, he shouldn't do it while
other people are trying to play together.
It's kind of like a comparison between Pat Metheny's tours with Nana
Vasconsuelos and his First Circle tour with (I forget his name). Nana
was trying to take over the band, but the First Circle percussionist,
while equally (if not more) talented, used his skills to blend in with,
and add to, the music.
It seemed at times that Al was trying to be Pat Metheny. He shouldn't
try; it doesn't quite work, and Al has his own unique style anyway.
Phil Markowitz, though talented, is not Lyle Mays by a LONG shot.
In spite of these complaints, it was a good show. It's amazing to
watch DiMeola's fingers from 8th row center!
Gary Fritz
Hewlett Packard
Ft Collins, CO
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz