Al Di Meola (Jersey City, 1954) is an American guitarist of Italian-American descent who broke through in 1974 as a member of Chick Corea's fusion band Return to Forever. His solo career - anchored by albums such as 'Elegant Gypsy' (1977) and the landmark live recording 'Friday Night in San Francisco' (1981) - established him as one of the most influential guitarists in the world, celebrated for his blistering technique and his synthesis of jazz, flamenco and world music. He is a Grammy Award winner and recipient of a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award.
Al Di Meola starts in January 2026 with 'The Guitarchitect Tour', an acoustic tour that combines five decades of music with multimedia visuals and personal stories.
In June 2026, Di Meola performed at London's Barbican as part of the Summer Jazz Series, as the highlight of his European tour.
On 19 July 2024 - three days before his seventieth birthday - Di Meola released the double album 'Twentyfour' via earMUSIC, a project he started during the pandemic.
In September 2023, Di Meola suffered a heart attack during a performance in Bucharest, Romania; he recovered fully and resumed his tours in 2024.
In June 2022, 'Saturday Night in San Francisco' was released, a live album featuring previously lost recordings of Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía from 1980, which reached the top 5 of the German album chart.
