I follow Mr. Di Meola of FaceBook, and he recently reminded us that this is the 45th anniversary of the release of the album "Casino". This is a record I have owned for well over 40 years, and it has provided me with many hours of listening pleasure. It has much to recommend it; Al's guitar playing is off the charts, the musicianship of all of the contributors is exemplary, the songs are real songs. and not just a "chops fest" for all concerned (in other words, musical). Mr. Di Meola also produced and arranged the recoding. The sound is excellent and well balanced. I especially like the way the keyboards are included. Not only are they used for solos, the variety of sounds and textures that they provide are used to enrich the sound of the songs and provide harmonic structure. There is a strong latin (or Spanish) feel to much of the album, and we get to hear some of Al's tasteful classical guitar playing on a few tracks. The term "fusion" can sometimes have negative connotations, and I'm not sure I would classify this record under that genre, but if that is where it belongs, then is an example of that type of jazz as its best.
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