Passion, Grace & Fire

In PASSION, GRACE & FIRE these three guitar virtuosos employ a distinctly flamenco style of playing, demonstrating superb compositional skill throughout. The Spanish guitar tradition, with its blisteringly fast melodic lines, lends itself well to these jazz guitarists' styles.
Al DiMeola's playing stands out slightly from that of his two cohorts because of the timbre of the instrument, a steel string acoustic; the other two musicians play softer-toned gut string guitars. DiMeola's "Orient Blue Suite" is lush and filled with wonderful unison and contrapuntal melodic passages, as well as smart solos from all three musicians, while John McLaughlin's "David" is a lovely Spanish ballad highlighting this guitarist's passionate, soaring playing. PASSION, GRACE & FIRE is an appropriate title for this wonderfully diverse and vigorous album.