Al Di Meola-Electric Rendezvous (1982)

Al Di Meola's fifth album, with its fitting title and magnificent cover, palpably reflects what lies within its grooves. In this release, the American guitarist sought to return to his roots, creating a work that, to some extent, harks back to his peak period ("Land of the Midnight Sun" and "Elegant Gypsy"), presenting a series of jazz-rock endeavors with the invaluable contributions of Jan Hammer, Paco de Lucia, Mingo Lewis, Steve Gadd, and Anthony Jackson. This solid and compact formation would lead to the creation of a perfect musical canvas combining the warm Latin sounds of "Ritmo de la Noche", with the magical sounds of "Jewel Inside a Dream", fiery jazz rock with blues airs of "Black Cat Shuffle", vigorous jazz fusion "Electric Rendezvous", dense guitar exchanges with flamenco influences between Lucia and Meola in "Grace, Passion and Fire", intense jazz funk with predominance of percussion in the frenetic "God-Bird-Change", or signature jazz rock pieces with "Cruisin'".