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| Original Cinema |
| Spyro Gyra |
| első megjelenés éve: 2002 |
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CD |
Kérjen
árajánlatot! |
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| 1. | Bump It Up
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| 2. | Extrovertical
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| 3. | Dream Sequence
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| 4. | Party of Seven
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| 5. | Big Dance Number
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| 6. | Close-Up
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| 7. | Flim Noir
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| 8. | Cape Town Love
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| 9. | Handheld
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| 10. | Funky Tina
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| 11. | Getaway
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| 12. | Calle Ocho
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| 13. | Flashback
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Jazz
Andy Narell - Drums (Steel)
Dave Samuels - Vibraphone
David Charles - Percussion
Jay Beckenstein - Executive Producer, Producer, Saxophone
Joel Rosenblatt - Drums, Producer
Julio Fernandez - Guitar, Producer
Marc Quinones - Percussion
Mino Cinelu - Percussion
Scott Ambush - Bass, Producer
Tom Schuman - Keyboards, Producer
In some ways, we move through life as though it were a series of images. Some are beautiful, some are painful, all are a reflection and an extension of who and what we are. The best that we can hope for is that we'll make the best of it before the final credits roll.
But there's more to this movie than just the scenery. There's a soundtrack as well - the music that underscores the dance, the celebration, the love, the loss, the growing up and the coming of age. The music leaves impressions that are just as powerful as the pictures, sometimes more so.
Spyro Gyra has been experimenting with that soundtrack for a quarter century, pushing the boundaries and definitions of jazz and pop since the 1970s, and turning the music into a vital component of the day-to-day experience for listeners worldwide. For hardcore devotees and casual fans alike, this progressive musical collective has crafted the soundtrack to the often cinematic experience better known as life.
The latest chapter in this journey of musical storytelling is Original Cinema ( HUCD 3074). The album's 13 tracks represent a back-to-basics approach to the music after years of battling the preconceptions and misperceptions of the jazz cognoscenti - many of whom insisted that founder Jay Beckenstein and his quintet were somehow not privy to the jazz legacy. Original Cinema will also be released as an SACD in 5.1 Surround Sound ( HUSA 9074).
"On the last few records I think we were trying to appeal to an audience that had been attracted to us through the smooth jazz thing," says Beckenstein. "That's when I decided the next one had to be different. We owed it to ourselves and our fans."
The result is a highly energized, atmospheric bag of musical styles and nuances - a little jazz in one corner, a little funk in another, a little R&B in yet another. Like a good movie, the album is peopled with fascinating characters moving through a compelling story fueled by a dynamic energy.
From the first riffs of the midtempo opener, "Bump It Up," Beckenstein and company - keyboardist Tom Schuman, guitarist Julio Fernandez, bassist Scott Ambush and drummer Joel Rosenblatt - set up a funky groove wherein the saxophone takes the lead but gives plenty of floor space to guitar, keys and the rhythm section. "Extrovertical" jacks up the tempo and intensity with an opening sax-and-percussion duel that develops into a full-scale groove for all parties. Think of this as the action scene in this cinematic experience. "Dream Sequence" is just what the title suggests - quiet and sensual, but with a subtle energy all its own.
The cinematic references don't end there. "Film Noir" is murky and mysterious, with the suggestion of intrigue and danger just beyond the next riff. "Close Up" features an easygoing backbeat and provides a thorough glimpse of some tight interplay between Beckenstein and guitarist Julio Fernandez. Beckenstein accompanies himself on piano two tracks later in the wistful and nostalgic "Flash Back," a piano-heavy track that's guaranteed to bring back a personal memory that's both hazy and indelible at the same time. "Big Dance Number," with its sturdy backbeat and sneaky sax lines, is the groove-fest that any song with this title should be.
Beckenstein says he "didn't run away from dark-sounding melodies or moody chords" in the making of Original Cinema. "Some of the stuff I came up with was a little dissonant and disjointed, but that gives these tunes more depth than had I just done the safe and melodic thing."
Sometimes that occasional dissonance and tension - the result of powerful forces coming together - are what it's all about in the cinema that runs through the mind and through our lives. When you close your eyes and the images start to appear, pay attention to the music underneath. It tells a story all its own.
* Doug Oberkircher - Engineer, Mixing, Recording
* Eric Carlinsky - Assistant Engineer, Engineer, Recording
* J.P. Sheganoski - Assistant Engineer, Engineer
* Jeremy Wall - Producer
* Michael Bishop - Mastering
* Scott Hull - Mastering
A slightly sharper edge surfaces in Spyro Gyra's second effort for the Telarc-affiliated Heads Up label. While their performance still tilts more toward easy listening than searing fusion, there's a bit more punch than usual in the upbeat tracks. Frontman Jay Beckenstein cultivates a slightly grittier sound by concentrating largely on tenor sax, while a trio of guest percussionists adds dimension to the beat on several numbers, especially the festive "Cape Town Love." The tour de force performance is probably "Flashback," largely because Beckenstein goes it alone, blowing some eloquent, Wayne Shorter-style lines against his own more than serviceable pre-recorded piano accompaniment. The filmic theme, reflected in the titles of several tracks, is more affectation than substance; in truth, Original Cinema extends rather than detours from the path laid down for a quarter century by this smooth jazz juggernaut.
---Robert L. Doerschuk, All Music Guide
Spyro Gyra
Active Decades: '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: 1974 in Buffalo, NY
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Crossover Jazz, Fusion, Jazz-Pop, Smooth Jazz
Founded in 1974 by altoist Jay Beckenstein, Spyro Gyra have consistently been one of the commercially successfully pop-jazz groups of the past 20 years. Although originally a studio group, the band became a full-time venture in 1979 and has been touring ever since. Critics love to attack this band's lightweight and rarely changing music, which combines R&B and elements of pop and Caribbean music with jazz, but its live performances are often stimulating -- unlike many of its records, which emphasize the danceable melodies at the expense of improvising.
The roots of Spyro Gyra lay in Buffalo, NY, in the early '70s. Beckenstein and his longtime friend, keyboardist Jeremy Wall, had been leading a group with a revolving membership; every one of the many members in the band were loosely involved in the local jazz and rock scenes. Around 1974, the group was beginning to gel and cultivate a following. A club owner who wanted to advertise an upcoming appearance by the band asked Beckenstein for the group's name. The saxophonist told him "Spirogira," a word he learned in a college biology course. The owner misspelled the word as Spyro Gyra, and the band fell into place, featuring Beckenstein, Wall, electric guitarist Chet Catallo, bassist David Wolford, drummer Eli Konikoff, and percussionist Gerardo Velez. Not long afterward, the group added keyboardist Tom Schuman.
Spyro Gyra independently funded and recorded their debut album, releasing the record on the local independent label Amherst in 1976. The record slowly became a success and Amherst sold the rights to the band to Infinity Records, a division of MCA. Morning Dance, their first album for Infinity, was released in 1979. The record became a major hit, spawning a Top 40 single with "Morning Dance" and going platinum. In the wake of the record's success, Wall retired from live performance, leaving Schuman as the group's main keyboardist; Wall stayed with the band as an assistant producer and occasional composer.
Morning Dance firmly placed Spyro Gyra as one of the most popular artists in contemporary jazz, and throughout the '80s, their popularity continued growing. Their albums were consistent best-sellers, and their concerts often sold out. In 1983, vibraphonist and marimba player Dave Samuels -- who had played on several of the group's albums -- became a full-fledged member of the band. Over the course of the '80s, the membership of Spyro Gyra fluctuated, but Beckenstein and Schuman remained at its core, keeping the group's signature sound intact.
In 1990, MCA's jazz roster was absorbed by GRP, so Spyro Gyra switched labels, releasing Fast Forward, their first album for GRP, later that year. In 1993, Samuels left the touring band, but he continued to play in the studio. By the late '90s, the band featured Beckenstein, Schuman, Julio Fernandez, Joel Rosenblatt, and Scott Ambush, and released Got the Magic in 1999. Two years later the band moved to the Telarc-affiliated Heads Up label and released In Modern Times in 2001, followed by Original Cinema in 2003. Drummer Rosenblatt left the band and was replaced by Ludwig Afonso for 2004's Deep End. A fourth Heads Up album, Good to Go-Go, was issued in 2007. The holiday album A Night Before Christmas followed in 2008.
---Scott Yanow & Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide |
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