Al Di Meola
Winter Nights (Telarc)
Former Return to Forever guitarist and longtime solo artist Al Di Meola tones down typically obvious and obnoxious Christmas music on the 15 instrumental tracks of Winter Nights, on which there are three types. First, holiday standards, such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Greensleeves,” and the spontaneously deconstructed “The First Noel.” The second type are Di Meola originals like “Midwinter Nights,” a tune that meanders a bit at the end, but on the whole showcases the veteran guitarist’s style, plus what he picked up from touring with flamenco mandarin Paco De Lucia and British multiguitarist John McLaughlin. There are also a few originals by Roman Hrynkiv, a Ukrainian who plays the harp/ lute-like bandura. The national instrument of Ukraine, the no-fret bandura, is plucked, yielding an airy, harpsichord-like sound which serves as an effective acoustic foil to Di Meola’s guitar. The third type of songs on Winter Nights are quiet, acoustic reinterpretations of Di Meola’s favorites, such as the Tchaikovsky-type arrangement of Paul Simon’s “Scarborough Fair” and Peter Gabriel’s ode to the American confessional poet Anne Sexton, “Mercy Street.” Of course, without Gabriel’s poetic words “Mercy Street” is just a moving melody, but that’s the kind of thing that makes Winter Nights appropriate holiday music. It’s nothing you’d listen to intently, or in August, but suitable context music for the winter months.
This article appears in December 24 • 1999.