The guitarist Al Di Meola first came to prominence as the guitarist in Chick Corea’s pioneering fusion band of the early 1970s, Return to Forever, astounding listeners with his extraordinarily adept and passionate playing. While he devoted himself primarily to the electric guitar in RTF, Di Meola was soon paying as much attention to the acoustic instrument on his solo albums. After leaving Corea’s band in 1976, Di Meola spent the subsequent decades moving with ease between electric and unplugged

Happy 67th birthday to guitarist extraordinare Al Di Meola. A bona fide guitar hero and perennial poll-winner, he has been recognized internationally over the past four decades as virtuoso of the highest order. A prolific composer and prodigious six-string talent, Di Meola has amassed over 20 albums as a leader while collaborating on a dozen or so others with the likes of the fusion supergroup Return To Forever (with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Thee Lenny White), the celebrated acoustic guit