| Elegant Gypsy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1977 | |||
| Recorded | December 1976–January 1977 | |||
| Genre | Jazz rock | |||
| Length | 37:00 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Al Di Meola | |||
| Al Di Meola chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide |  [2] |
Elegant Gypsy is the second album by Americanjazz fusion guitaristAl Di Meola. It was released in 1977 by Columbia Records.
Elegant Gypsy was a follow-up album to Di Meola's debut release,Land of the Midnight Sun. The distinctive music on the album is a speedy fusion ofjazz androck, with lightning-fast guitar riffs intermixed with lyrical acoustical passages. The songs include explorations of Latin music themes, including acoustic genres like flamenco.[3]
The inspiration behind one of di Meola's signature songs, “Race with Devil on Spanish Highway”, came fromThe Kinks’garage rock classic "You Really Got Me". It the first song he attempted to play on the guitar, when he was between eight and nine years old.[4]
Elegant Gypsy won an annual award forBest Guitar Album inGuitar Player.[citation needed]
Janice Dickinson is the model on the album cover.
All songs by Al Di Meola unless otherwise noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Flight Over Rio" | Mingo Lewis | 7:16 |
| 2. | "Midnight Tango" | 7:28 | |
| 3. | "Mediterranean Sundance" | 5:14 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 4. | "Race with Devil on Spanish Highway" | 6:18 |
| 5. | "Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil" | 1:46 |
| 6. | "Elegant Gypsy Suite" | 9:16 |
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Billboard 200 | 58[5] |
| 1977 | Billboard Top Jazz Albums | 5[5] |
