FORT LAUDERDALE – AEG Live and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts present Al Di Meola’s Elegant Gypsy 40th Anniversary Tour on Sunday, February 12 at 7:30 pm at the Parker Playhouse.
A bona fide guitar hero and perennial poll-winner, Di Meola has been recognized internationally over the past four decades as a virtuoso of the highest order. A prolific composer and prodigious six-string talent, he has amassed over 20 albums and was a leader collaborator on a dozen others with the fusion super group Return To Forever (with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White); the celebrated acoustic guitar trio featuring fellow virtuosos John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia; and the Rite of Strings trio with bassist Clarke and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty.
His dazzling technique on both acoustic and electric guitar has afforded him regal status among the hordes of fretboard aficionados who regularly flock to his concerts. The depth of Di Meola's writing along with the soulfulness and the inherent lyricism of his guitaristic expression have won him legions of fans worldwide beyond the guitar aficionado set.
A pioneer of blending world music and jazz, going back to early Latin-tinged fusion outings like 1976's Land of the Midnight Sun, 1977's Elegant Gypsy and 1978's Casino, the guitar great continues to explore the rich influence of flamenco, tango, Middle Eastern, Brazilian and African music with his World Sinfonia, an ambitious pan-global group that he formed in 1991. Their exhilarating world music fusion has been documented on such releases as 2000’s The Grande Passion (featuring the Toronto Symphony Orchestra), 2007’s Live in London, 2011’s Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody and the stunning 2012 DVD, Morocco Fantasia (recorded at the Mawazine Festival in Rabat, Morocco and featuring special guests Said Chraibi on oud, Abdellah Meri on violin and Tari Ben Ali on percussion).
Tickets are $33-$43 and the VIP package is $125 which offers a meet and greet with Di Meola and other exclusives. Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of the Broward Center, Parker Playhouse and affiliated venues. Buy tickets online at www.BrowardCenter.org, www.ParkerPlayhouse.com, www.Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954-462-0222; in person at Ticketmaster outlets or the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office. Tickets are also available for purchase at the Parker Playhouse box office Tuesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Parker Playhouse, located in Holiday Park at 707 N.E. Eighth Street in Fort Lauderdale, is an affiliated venue of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, which provides programming and management of the facility. All dates, times, programs, artists and ticket prices are subject to change without notice.
