One of the guitar heroes of fusion, Al Di Meola was just 22 years old at the time of his debut as a leader but already a veteran of Chick Corea's Return to Forever. The complex pieces (which include the three-part "Suite-Golden Dawn," an acoustic duet with Corea on "Short Tales of the Black Forest" and a brief Bach violin sonata) show DiMeola's range even at this early stage. With assistance from such top players as bassists Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke, keyboardist Barry Miles and drummers Lenny White and Steve Gadd, this was a very impressive beginning to DiMeola's solo career.

Recorded shortly before Al di Meola decided to de-emphasize his electric guitar in favor of his acoustic counterpart, this live set does a fine job of summing up his first six years of recordings. Four of the six numbers (all but "Nena" and "Advantage") were previously recorded by the pacesetting fusion guitarist. With strong and stimulating contributions made by keyboardist Jan Hammer, electric bassist Anthony Jackson, drummer Steve Gadd, percussionist Mingo Lewis, and second keyboardist Victor Godsey (some additional keyboards and percussion were overdubbed later in the studio), di Meola is typically stunning on such originals as "Elegant Gypsy Suite" and "Race with Devil on Spanish Highway."

One of the best all-star sessions ever produced by the legendary Creed Taylor. Actually, this album represented the ressurrection of the CTI label in 1990. Digitally recorded and filmed (in High Definition) "live" at Van Gelder's studio, features such stars as Dizzy Gillespie, Airto, Flora Purim, Anthony Jackson, Art Farmer, John Scofield, and Phil Woods, who play together in such outstanding tracks like Michel Camilo's "Caribe" and Salif Keita's "Wamba", all arranged by Benny Golson.