Friday, Oct. 11, 2002 | 9:36 a.m.
Mark Wahlberg's character in "Rock Star" notwithstanding, it's not every day a musician gets the chance to join his favorite band.
Yet in 1974, 19-year-old Al Di Meola received a call from jazz piano great Chick Corea, asking the young guitarist to become a member of fusion supergroup Return to Forever.
"I had seen (Corea) live before, and I had mentioned to a friend of mine the desire I would have to play with that group," Di Meola said in a recent telephone interview while backstage setting up for a show in Durango, Colo.
"Chick had heard a tape of my playing, and he called me personally to join the band," he said. "It was my favorite group at the time. It was the beginning of the fusion era in music, and the attention on it was huge. The band was superhot and hip at the time. So it was a total dream; absolutely perfect."
Di Meola stayed will Return to Forever for 2 1/2 years, recording three straight Top-40 albums with Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White, and also performing around the world for sold-out crowds.
The four members, who are considered Return to Forever's "classic" lineup, reunited in 1983 for a brief tour. And now, according to Di Meola, there's talk of getting back together again.
"We had one pretty nice reunion in '83, and there's talk of another one," Di Meola said. "We're hoping; it just depends on Chick making up his mind on what he wants to do. Everybody thinks it would be a great idea."
Until such a reunion materializes, the 48-year-old Di Meola will continue doing what he has done since leaving Return to Forever: pushing his music into new territory with solo recordings and new group collaborations.
Saturday night at 8, Di Meola will bring his current project to Club Madrid at Sunset Station. The six-piece band, which also includes pianist Mario Parmisano, flutist Alejandro Santos, bassist Alejandro Herrera, percussionist Gumbi Ortiz and drummer Ernie Adams, is touring behind Di Meola's latest CD, "Flesh on Flesh."
The album, released in August, features Di Meola & Co. performing both acoustic and electric albums, marking the first time the guitar great has plugged into the studio since he recorded 1998's "The Infinite Desire."
"We really started out as an acoustic group, but now we're back playing electric as well," Di Meola said. "The show is quite a mix of both."
Di Meola, who lives in New Jersey, moved his band down to Miami to record the new album, hoping the city's Latino influence would creep into his music. It did, creating a unique blend of electric fusion and Latin jazz over the disc's eight tracks.
"It has a Havana-like Latin slant to it," Di Meola said. "It was deliberate to be surrounded in that kind of a space down there, get out of New York and soak it all up in Miami. We thought it would be good to get away, to a whole different environment, and it was a great move."
On "Flesh on Flesh," Di Meola also paid tribute to three men who have had a significant impact on his career. The album includes one track written by Corea ("Senor Mouse"), one by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla ("Fugata") and one by Brazilian guitarist/pianist Egberto Gismonti ("Meninas").
"Chick Corea and Astor Piazzaolla have been major influences in the development of my career as a writer and as a composer and player," Di Meola said. "And a third inspiration has been the work of Egberto Dismonti. I really like listening to him a lot.
"I think that the work of all three of these guys has been prevalent in my music in the past, and that should just continue."
The album's Latin flavor recalls the feel of one of Di Meola's most successful ventures, his guitar trio with John McLaughlin and Paco DeLucia. In the early 1980s, the three instrumental greats thrilled crowds with a fiery live set of acoustic music.
"Friday Night in San Francisco," released in 1981, remains a popular and critically acclaimed document of the trio's collaboration to this day.
But unlike Return to Forever, the guitar trio is not likely to resume touring or recording anytime soon, as much as Di Meola might like to see that happen.
"Let's just say that we had more compatibility musically, but we weren't the best of friends necessarily," Di Meola said. "Unfortunately, the touring wasn't as pleasurable as it could have been.
"But whatever differences there may be, I always think that a great musical situation should continue for the sake of music and the fans. So I would hope that the theory of 'never say never' prevails."
For now, though, Di Meola will keep thoughts of such possible get-togethers in the back of his mind, concentrating instead on his music of the moment. And to hear him talk, he couldn't be more pleased with the way his current group sounds.
"The live show is a lot of fun," Di Meola said. "We go back to some older pieces that are more electric oriented, as far back as when I joined Return to Forever. I'm really looking forward to playing it for the people of Las Vegas."
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