Influences: Al Di Meola
An influence doesn't mean that you can actually play like them. c.f. Al di Meola
Ok, I guess that Al Di Meola is not an influence, mainly because I have never had enough skill to play anything like him. Yet that jazz-fusion blend with a Latin tinge, and the in-your-face musicality that Al brings is just top shelf all the way.
Al’s origins were with the Fusion supergroup, Return to Forever, where he played with Chick Correa, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White (there were several other band members that came and went through the years).

But that is not where I first heard his playing. That would be from an album recorded at a live show in San Francisco titled simply “Friday Night in San Francisco”1 that has become a staple of serious guitar players.
In essence, it is three kick-ass guitarists, Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia, and John McLaughlin, sitting around, trading licks and riffs. All three had different styles, and the interplay was amazing to hear. Listen for yourself:
I became obsessed, and bought a ton of his music, listening to it frequently. Al’s style was hyperfast runs, cleanly picked, and little to no distortion. Unlike the rock that I was learning and playing, where distortion, and fat tones can hide a shit-ton of sloppy playing, Al’s work was ultra clean. And the same whether he was playing his trademark Les Paul Custom (triple Humbuckers, black) or an acoustic soundbox, it was unmistakably the “Al di Meola” music that came through.
What makes him special? Great technique, an amazing touch, and while I am a huge fan of other players who are masters of alternate picking2 nobody does it better than Al.
I still listen to a ton of Al di Meola. I participate in crowd-sourcing his later works, and it keeps a jazzy hint to my thinking about music.
And there are some great covers and collaborations. Here is some candy for you, Steve Vai took Al’s “Race with the Devil on a Spanish Highway” and made it Turkish.
Now didn’t that totally kick ass?
I was introduced to this recording by a high school friend, Ken Rice, who also introduced me to the “Strangers in the Night” album by UFO that kicked off my life-long fandom of all things Michael Schenker
Case in point, the incomparable Paul Gilbert