He put together a band that made one of the best albums of its era, Romantic Warrior, then he promptly fired half the band and never did anything good afterwards. At very least he’s the answer to the question of “Who in his right mind would fire Al Di Meola for not being good enough?”
I never listened to any of his music after Return To Forever broke up.
Firing Al DiMeola for not being good enough?
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
Unless you’re hiring Larry Carlton or Phil Keaggy to replace him...
I vaguely recall hearing a lot about Al Di Meola many years ago. Always with great praise and fascination. I haven’t kept up with that scene.
I do know some people will fire or distance themselves from a clear professional if they think that professional is better than they (the Star performer) are, or competing for the same audience. Sometimes others in the entourage will whisper negative things in the Star performer’s ears.
I’ve heard that’s what happened with Elton John and Neil Sadaka. Elton brought Neil out of retirement for a short while in the early 1980’s. Elton’s people thought Neil was getting more applause at certain performances than Elton was then. Suddenly, Neil was off the schedule and back on his own. They didn’t speak for many years, then cleared the matter up.