Elysium

He came from the ''Land Of The Midnight Sun'', sparkled on the jazz-rock stage as an ''Elegant Gypsy'', came up trumps in the ''Casino'' with all the right chords and melodies, and his ''Splendido Hotel'' was the number one address for fusion fans around the globe. He finally achieved immortality together with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia on ''Friday Night In San Francisco''.

From his early days as a rising star i right up to the present day, he has continually managed to refine his qualities: breathtakingly fast picking, skilful percussion effects the like of which had never been heard before, the effortlessness with which he can instantly switch from muscular axe-man rock to spinning gentle, romantic webs of melody. In the nineties, inspired by his love of the acoustic sounds of Latin America and the works of nuevo tango pioneer Astor Piazzolla, he made some delightful chamber music recordings. On more recent albums all these penchants, influences and musical movements have fused into an unmistakeable sound.

Elysium is the climax of this process so far. The artist has arrived where he always wanted to be. He himself thinks of Elysium as a place of perfect happiness . A paradise where acoustic and electric components, triumphant rock and finely entwined jazz, delicate and pumping rhythms, guitars and keyboards, wide panoramas of rock and diaphanous carpets of sound come together in harmony.

The gates to paradise for guitar aficionados are open to everyone with ''Elysium''.

Musicians:
Al Di Meola: Guitars
Barry Miles: Keyboards
Mario Parmisano: Keyboards, Piano
Philippe Saisse: Keyboards, Piano, Marimba
Rhani Krija: Percussion
Peter Kaszas: Drums