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| The Very Best of Spyro Gyra |
| Spyro Gyra |
| első megjelenés éve: 2002 |
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| (2002)
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CD |
| 3.324 Ft
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| 1. | Limelight
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| 2. | Breakfast at Igor's
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| 3. | You Can Count on Me
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| 4. | Para Ti Latino
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| 5. | Ariana
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| 6. | Three Wishes
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| 7. | Birks Law
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| 8. | Pipo's Song
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| 9. | Heart of the Night
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| 10. | What Exit?
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| 11. | Yosemite
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| 12. | The Unknown Soldier
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| 13. | Tower of Babel
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| 14. | The Unwritten Letter
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| 15. | Westwood Moon
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| 16. | Morning Dance
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Jazz
Al Chez - Trumpet
Barry Danielian - Flugelhorn, Horn Arrangements, Trumpet
Bashiri Johnson - Percussion (5,9,15)
Bill Reichenbach Jr. - trombone (8), bass trumpet (8)
Bobby Allende - Conga (14)
Dave Samuels - vibraphone (1,4-8,10-13), marimba (1-5,8,10-12), mallet triggered synthesizers (12,13)
David Broza - vocal (13)
David Mann - Sax (Tenor)
Emilio Castillo - Sax (Tenor)
Gary Grant - Trumpet (8)
Howard Levy - Harmonica (2)
Jay Azzolina - guitar (4,12,13)
Jay Beckenstein - Producer, saxophones (1-16), wind synthesizer (1,11)
Jeremy Wall - Vocal Arrangement (9)
Jerry Hey - Horn Arrangements (8), Trumpet
Joel Rosenblatt - Drums (2,3,5-9,10,14,15), cajon (16)
Julio Fernandez - Guitar (1-3,5-11,14-16)
Larry Williams - saxophone (8)
Manolo Badrena - Percussion (14)
Marc Quiñones - Percussion (3,4,10,13)
Oscar Cartaya - Bass (1,3,4,10-13)
Porter Carroll - Vocals (9)
Randy Andos - Trombone
Richie Morales - Drums (1,4,11-13), percussion (1,11)
Sammy Figueroa - Percussion (8)
Scott Ambush - Bass (2,5-9,14-16)
Scott Kreitzer - Flute, Horn Arrangements, Sax (Tenor), Saxophone
The Tower of Power Horns (2)
The No Sweat Horns (4,10,15)
Tom Schuman - keyboards (1-5,8-16), piano (6,7)
Vaneese Thomas - Vocals (5,9)
* Austin Brentley - Producer, Research Assistant
* Bryan Koniarz - Supervisor
* Bud Harner - Selection, Sequencing
* Chieli Minucci - Arranger (5,9)
* David O'Connor - Photography
* Hollis King - Art Direction
* Jeff Sedlik - Photography
* Mark Lyon - Photography
* Motoko Hada - Design
* Philip Brennan - Liner Notes, Selection, Sequencing
* Sherniece Smith - Art Producer
* Steve Skinner - Drum Programming (5,9), Programming
* Suha Gur - Mastering
Although Spyro Gyra's late-'70s instrumental pop chart hit "Morning Dance" is always credited by some for opening doors for the genre that folks would later call smooth jazz, this 16-track compilation -- part of GRP's new classic artist collector's series -- shows that saxman Jay Beckenstein and company never really fit perfectly into any category. And that's by design. Manager Philip Brennan sequenced these tracks with GRP A&R guy Bud Harner, wisely choosing to make a live version of "Morning Dance" the last track, something of an afterthought, since most of the material here (from 1988 through 1997) is far more challenging and exciting. You won't catch the scorching Latin jams "Breakfast at Igor's" or "Para Ti Latino" on any smooth station, and even lighthearted tracks like keyboardist Tom Schuman's "You Can Count on Me" are a little too island-minded to hit the R&B-focused genre listener these days. "Three Wishes" is Beckenstein's very likeable attempt at a traditional jazz approach. The band did find some smooth jazz success by finding the right combination with guitarist Chieli Minucci on the seductive "Ariana," but it's easy to see from most of these tracks that its true creative heart lay elsewhere. They've survived by building their fan base and offering one of contemporary instrumental music's best live shows year after year. It would be hard for one CD to capture the many facets of a band who's more than a quarter century old, but this is a must-have for longtime fans and those wanting an intro to the Spyro Gyra experience.
---Jonathan Widran, 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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