The Rite of Strings

The Rite of Strings
Studio album by Al Di Meola, Stanley Clarke and Jean-Luc Ponty
Released	July 17, 1995
Recorded	April 1995
Studio	Studio 56, Hollywood, California
Genre	Jazz jazz fusion
Length	55:34
Label	Gai Saber
Producer	Al Di Meola, Stanley Clarke, Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty chronology
No Absolute Time (1993) The Rite of Strings (1995) Le Voyage: The Jean-Luc Ponty Anthology (1996)
Stanley Clarke chronology
East River Drive (1993) The Rite of Strings (1995) At the Movies (1995)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Rite of Strings is a collaborative album by Al Di Meola, Stanley Clarke, and Jean-Luc Ponty. ^{[2] [3]} It was recorded after their world tour in 1995. The album was recorded at Studio 56, Hollywood. ^{[4] [5]}

The trio reunited for a performance at the French jazz festival called "Jazz in Marciac" in 2007.

Material from the album was performed on tour by Trio! in 2005, also featuring Clarke and Ponty, with Béla Fleck on banjo instead of Di Meola on guitar.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Indigo"	Al Di Meola	7:15
2.	"Renaissance"	Jean-Luc Ponty	4:33
3.	"Song to John (dedicated to the memory of John Coltrane)"	Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea	6:00
4.	"Chilean Pipe Song"	Di Meola	6:12
5.	"Topanga"	Clarke	5:50
6.	"Morocco"	Di Meola	5:45
7.	"Change of Life"	Ponty	5:30
8.	"La Cancion De Sofia"	Clarke	8:30
9.	"Memory Canyon"	Ponty	6:00
Total length:			55:35

Personnel

• Al Di Meola – guitar
• Stanley Clarke – double bass
• Jean-Luc Ponty – violin

Chart performance

Year	Chart	Position
1995	Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums	4 [6]

References

1. Taylor, Robert. "Rite of Strings - Stanley Clarke | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
2. "Rite of Strings". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 33. August 19, 1995. p. 76.
3. "Bassist invokes the 'Rite' to do something new By Jack Lloyd". The News and Observer. 1995-08-19. p. 51. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
4. "Clarke joins Di Meola and Ponty in New London". Hartford Courant. 2007-09-27. pp. CAL26. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
5. Kohlhaase, Bill (1995-09-03). "ALBUM SPOTLIGHT". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
6. "Rite of Strings - Stanley Clarke | Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 27 October 2013.