Personnel: Al DiMeola (acoustic guitar, harp, keyboards, cajon, dumbek, tambor, percussion); Hernan Romero (acoustic guitar, shaker, percussion); Roman Hrynkiv (bandura).
Personnel: Al Di Meola (acoustic guitar, harp, keyboards, dumbek, percussion); Hernan Romero (acoustic guitar, shaker, percussion); Roman Hrynkiv (bandurria).
Audio Mixers: Hernan Romero; Spyros Poulos; Rich Tozzoli; Al Di Meola.
Arranger: Al Di Meola.
Al di Meola's first so-called Christmas album is a relaxed, flowing, intensely musical affair that jazzers, world music buffs, and new agers will feel equally comfortable with. Mostly, he steers away from the often-cracked chestnuts, composing several nice tunes of his own ("Zima," the leadoff cut, is especially inviting), playing acoustic guitar and a battery of percussion instruments and keyboards in a graceful one-man band, thanks to multi-track tape. Other tracks feature duets between di Meola (with overdubbed additional instruments) and Roman Hrynkiv, who plays a Ukrainian zither-like instrument called the bandura. For the die-hard consumer who must have those carols, there are intricate renditions of "The First Noel," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and "Carol of the Bells." ~ Richard S. Ginell
