“After Kirk introduced me to Greeny, it felt only right to return the favor”: Kirk Hammett let Al Di Meola play his iconic Greeny – so the fusion virtuoso let him play his prized Elegant Gypsy Black Beauty

Metallica’s Kirk Hammett has been afforded the rare chance to play Al Di Meola’s legendary Black Beauty Gibson Les Paul – after he let the jazz icon get hands-on with his Greeny electric guitar.

The virtuosos have been striking up a friendship of late, with Di Meola on the guest list for Metallica’s launch party for their new channel on SiriusXM last week.

The event, at the Hamptons, Long Island, was quite the gathering, with Paul McCartney among those in attendance to watch Metallica perform. Di Meola and McCartney were metres away from one another as the thrash heavyweights played.

A clip from the event finds the pair discussing Greeny’s history, with Di Meola’s eyes lighting up as he asks, “Was Oh Well [by Fleetwood Mac] done on this guitar? Oh, shit!”

He then proceeds to play the song’s iconic pentatonic blues riff while Hammett reveals that another classic, Black Magic Woman, was penned on the LP.

The Greeny Les Paul got its name from its first high-profile owner, Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green. Upon his departure from the group, he insisted that Gary Moore took ownership of it. Kirk Hammett later acquired the axe, even though he wasn’t sold on the idea of it at first.

Di Meola, taken aback by the privilege of playing the time-worn guitar – its flaking paint full of stories – was eager to return the favor, and he didn’t have to wait long to do so.

“After Kirk introduced me to Greeny last week, it felt only right to return the favor by introducing him to my 1971 Black Beauty,” he writes on Instagram. “That’s the guitar you hear all over [his 1977 album] Elegant Gypsy.”

Before Di Meola launched his solo career, the Gibson had been his go-to instrument during his Return to Forever days, and had starred on Elegant Gyspsy’s predecessor, Land of the Midnight Sun (1976), too.

He also shared a picture of the pair at Blue Note, Hawaii, where their second hangout in quick succession took place.

Hammett has been in the sharing mood of late, having let Jack White give Greeny the run around, and Jake E. Lee also took it for a spin at Back to the Beginning. He said it played so well that he’s not been able to stop thinking about it since.

Few guitars have a history quite as rich as Greeny, and the fact that one of jazz fusion’s greatest ever players has now also played it will only add to its incredible lore.

Elsewhere, Meola believes guitarists shouldn't ignore their feet if they want to improve their sense of rhythm. He's also told Jason Richardson to forget music theory as the guitarist, who has announced his departure from All That Remains, weighs in on the age-old ‘theory versus ear training debate.’