Since discovering Return To Forever in 2008, I have been enamored with the virtuosic guitar work of Al di Meola, whether it was during his stints with RTF or, in solo recordings. The album "Elegant Gypsy" recorded in 1977 shows di Meola's dexterous virtuosity and ability to go places on a guitar that so many of us dream about. Sure, there are contemporaries in the jazz fusion world now who have certainly drawn on di Meola's style. But, his is still very much, unique. A listener hears that on "Elegant Gypsy", being transferred to an instrumental landscape for a good 37 minutes.
He played with some accomplished artists on this album and that's another reason why it seems to have the sound it does. RTF band mate Lenny White is on drums, along with the well known and great drummer Steve Gadd who has played on several artist's recordings (including with Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Steely Dan, Jim Croce, Paul Simon, Richard Tee, Stuff, James Taylor, Al Jarreau and others. Jan Hammer plays keyboards and he's worked not only with di Meola, but also with Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Mahvishnu Orchestra, Stanley Clarke, Elvin Jones and Mick Jagger.
Bassist Anthony Jackson plays on this recording and he too, is a well traveled session musician. Notable musicians he's worked with include di Meola, Steely Dan, Chick Corea, Roberta Flack, Billy Cobham, Chaka Khan, Dave Grusin, Wayne Krantz, Dave Grusin, Pat Metheny, The O'Jays, Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie and Hiromi (to name a few). The other most notable musician on "Elegant Gypsy" is flamenco guitar vituoso Paco de Lucia. He has worked with di Meola and was in a trio with both he and John McLaughlin for a period of time.
de Lucia and di Meola play tandem classic guitar on the beautiful "Mediterranean Sundance" as well as on the suite "Lady of Rome"/"Sister of Brazil". di Meola produced, directed and arranged the entire record. It is a treat for the ears whether you are a fan of the flamenco influenced numbers or the full on, in-your-face virtuosic electric tracks played by di Meola on his black Gibson Les Paul Custom for most of the album. di Meola has been known to play Les Paul's and Paul Reed Smith guitars for his electric work. Every cut on this disc is a sonic adventure and some of it intermixes classical and electrified fusion styles.
An intriguing story came up about this very album. My mother worked at an old department store called Donaldson's in the Twin Cities back in the '70s. She had a friend who was in their audio department selling record consoles and the like. Well, one of the records that happened to be demoed on those machines was a copy of "Elegant Gypsy" probably right when it was released in 1977. That's pretty interesting. The record still sounds fantastic 34 years later in CD form. If you are an Al di Meola fan or a fan of Return To Forever (or even if you're not), check this one out.
It's a musical odyssey. The track listing:
1. Flight Over Rio
2. Midnight Tango
3. Mediterranean Sundance
4. Race with the devil on the Spanish Highway
5. Lady of Rome/Sister of Brazil
6. Elegant Gypsy Suite
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