Having reached the half-century mark with two years to grow on, Al DiMeola is not trying to sound like the proverbial grumpy old man complaining about the music of "the younger generation."

      For one, the pioneering jazz artist is not old at 52. For another, his optimistic, energized art is far from sour-mood-inducing.

      It’s just that he has been asked to assess the quality of the music scene in general and he wants to respond from his own truth. "It’s ridiculously bad," the New Jersey native replies candidly. "The kids need to find musicians with talent that have something to say, rather than what has become popular and is rather lame musically." He doesn’t say, but many others would agree, the music of Al DiMeola would be an excellent starting place.

      His is a story of challenging his—and our—growth, not settling for what is convenient, what may be the most accessible commercially. What might a new artist or band learn from his career so far? "To reach high and be the best, hopefully," he suggests. Certainly the award-winning DiMeola has.

      He played drums first, then switched to guitar at 8. By his early teens, he was an accomplished instrumentalist who was comfortable in several genres, including rock, pop, jazz, bossa nova and some classical.

      He recalls, "I had all this technique that my friends couldn’t understand. It never fit the kind of music that they were playing." He felt drawn to the marriage of rock and jazz that was taking place as he explored his talents. He would ride the bus from Jersey to see guitarist Larry Coryell, whom he later dubbed "The Father of Fusion," play in Manhattan clubs.

      DiMeola began practicing his guitar eight to 10 hours a day between his junior and senior years in high school. He studied bluegrass, especially Doc Watson, jazz and other forms. "I wanted to do something new, something nobody was doing," he explains.

      He enrolled in Berklee School of Music in Boston in 1971. It’s said his marathon practice sessions are still being talked about. He was playing in a fusion quartet led by keyboardist Barry Miles by the second semester.

      In 1974 he received a call in his Boston apartment from Chick Corea, who invited him to New York City for a rehearsal. He recalls that in 10 minutes he packed some clothes, got a ride to New York and never saw his apartment again.

      The band he was rehearsing for turned out to be the seminal Grammy-winning fusion group Return to Forever. After a weekend of playing together, DiMeola made his debut with the group at Carnegie Hall. The next night he played to a crowd of 40,000 in Atlanta. Intimidating? "I was on tranquilizers," he quips.

      There was Corea on keyboards, Stanley Clarke on bass, Lenny White on drums and DiMeola on guitar. "It was the first group to incorporate jazz with rock and classical elements in a sophisticated fusion," DiMeola says.

      It disbanded in 1976 after three successful albums, and DiMeola began his solo career, which has included three Gold albums and sales of 6 million records so far. Over the years, he has recorded with an all-star list of players including Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Santana, John McLaughlin, Paco De Lucia, Luciano Pavarotti, Steve Winwood, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Jaco Pastorius, Les Paul, Jean Luc Ponty, Steve Vai, Frank Zappa, Jimmy Page, Tony Williams, Stanley Clarke, Stevie Wonder, Irakere and many others.

      He says he has learned from everyone with whom he has worked. And it’s another impressive assemblage he has brought together on his new Telarc album, Consequence of Chaos. His core players are keyboardist Mario Parmisano, drummer/percussionist Ernie Adams and percussionist Gumbi Ortiz. His guests include Chick Corea, drummer Steve Gadd, keyboardist Barry Miles, bassists John Patitucci and Victor Miranda and percussionist Kornel Horvath.

      The CD heralds his return to playing solid-body electric guitar in the context of modern concepts and composition. He says he loves the energy and the fact that he has reconnected to his first love. That instrument brings something special to the artistic table, he believes. "The sound is connected on a spiritual level. The feel and touch and sound are inherent in my soul since I was 8 years old," he explains.

      DiMeola tries to maintain enough discipline to search for new inspiration in his writing. Motivation isn’t difficult, he suggests. "My vision is still intact, so I see further horizons," he says.

      He hopes he is thought of as an artist who creates "interesting contemporary instrumental music. My music reflects all emotions and appeals I believe to many on a lot of levels," he adds. "People connect because it reaches their core."