CD review: Al Di Meola – Twentyfour – 2024: Video, CD cover

US guitar legend Al Di Meola has announced that he will release a brand new studio album, Twentyfour, through ear Music on July 19.

The album is he follow-up to 2020’s Across The Universe, a second album of Beatles interpretations, and you can listen to the first single from the new record, Fandango, below.

“Fandango takes listeners on a mesmerizing journey filled with intricate melodies, dynamic rhythms and spellbinding improvisation,” say Di Meola’s abel ear Music of the new single. “Di Meola’s technical prowess and emotive expression shines brightly in this exhilarating composition, leaving a lasting impression on all who experience its sonic tapestry. Drawing inspiration from traditional of flamenco music, Fandango fuses traditional elements with modern jazz sensibilities, resulting in a truly unique and captivating listening experience.”

Di Meola began work on Twentyfour during the pandemic, originally intending it to be a reflective acoustic project musing on the challenges of the time, but, say the label, has now “blossomed into a masterpiece, brimming with intricately woven melodies, diverse instrumentation, and captivating highlights. It’s a journey through Al’s musical evolution, showcasing his virtuosity and vision.”

Twentyfour began life as a simple reflective acoustic record but soon turned into something far more expansive, as evidenced by its seven-minute lead single, Fandango.

Al Di Meola has announced Twentyfour – the jazz fusion virtuoso’s first studio album in four years, which has been previewed by its lead single, Fandango.

Following 2020’s Across the Universe, Di Meola’s latest studio LP has been in the works for the past four years, with its origins rooted in the tumultuous times of the pandemic.

Owing to its lengthy development period, Twentyfour started out as a humble reflective acoustic album, but soon turned into something completely different, as Di Meola himself supposedly struggled to “resist the allure of boundless musical exploration”.

As such, the record eventually blossomed into “a masterpiece”, according to its PR – one that serves as “a journey through Al’s musical evolution, showcasing his virtuosity and vision”.

With all that said, Twentyfour is positioned to be a sizable release for both Di Meola and the wider guitar world, and all signs point towards the jazz virtuoso delivering on the colorful hyperbole with the release of Fandango.

As expected, Fandango is a tour of Di Meola’s technical prowess, as well as a display of his remarkable melodicism and compositional sensibilities. The seven-minute acoustic cut is charged with an up-beat urgency, layering a punchy bed of galloping double-tracked guitars with some nylon-string musings.

Flamenco-y alternate picking lines and rolling finger-strummed progressions share the track with some of Di Meola’s more mainstream fusion lines, delicately woven into the mix.

Al Di Meola’s “Twentyfour,” is a testament to creativity. Conceived during the tumultuous times of the pandemic, what started as a simple acoustic project evolved into something much grander. Al’s initial intention to craft a reflective acoustic album on the challenges of the time expanded exponentially as he found himself unable to resist the allure of boundless musical exploration.

Over the span of four years, “Twentyfour” blossomed into a masterpiece, brimming with intricately woven melodies, diverse instrumentation, and captivating highlights. It’s a journey through Al’s musical evolution, showcasing his virtuosity and vision in those special times. Each track is a moment within these four years and a contemporary witness to the events.

CD1

Fandango
Tears of Hope
Esmeralda
Capriccio Suite
Ava’s Dance in the Moonlight
Immeasurable Part1

CD2

Immeasurable Part2
Eden
Close Your Eyes
Immeasurable Part3
Paradox of Puppets
For Only You
Genetik
Testament 24
Precocious