Setlist:
1. Walk The Walk
2. Groovin’ For Grover
3. Shaker Song/Catching The Sun/Morning Dance
4. Cockatoo
5. De La Luz
6. Dancing On Table Mountain
7. Tempted
8. Old San Juan/Heliopolis
Playing:
Jay Beckenstein (saxophone)
Tom Schuman (keys)
Julio Fernandez (guitar)
Scott Ambush (bass)
Lionel Cordew (drums)
—————————————————-
It is not known whether Jay Beckenstein was at the top of his class in biology class a long time ago. What is clear, however, is that the musician from New York came up with the idea of naming his band after a genus of green algae in the early 1970s. Around 4,000 species of this species have been described, and just as consistently as green algae populate water bodies, Spyro Gyra – the name of the band and the green algae – have been in the world of jazz for almost 50 years.
The American Jazz Fusion Band has played over 10,000 gigs in five decades on six continents, has received multiple Grammy awards and has released more than 30 albums, won numerous gold and platinum awards and sold over ten million records. Fusion is a fixed anchor point in everything Spyro Gyra have done in their long career. The musicians around the founding member, saxophonist Jay Beckenstein, combine smooth jazz, rhythm and blues, funk, Latin, pop and rock and create a sound that is above all always one thing: stylistically open and broad. “Art manifests itself in a variety of styles and contexts. That’s why we started making music in the first place” – that’s Spyro Gyra’s philosophy.
With creative energy, complex joy of playing and great musicality, Spyro Gyra are still active on stages around the world in the world of contemporary jazz. And they always have something on their radar that also plays a role in their namesake algae species: biodiversity.
———————
Spyro Gyra is an American jazz fusion band that was formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1974. The band’s music combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music. The band’s name comes from Spirogyra, a genus of green algae which founder Jay Beckenstein had learned about in college.
Saxophonist Jay Beckenstein and keyboardist Jeremy Wall formed a band with jazz and rock musicians who were playing in the Buffalo bar and club circuit. In 1974, when a bar owner asked for the band’s name, Beckenstein said, “spirogyra”, a type of algae he had learned about in school. The bar owner wrote the name incorrectly, “Spyro Gyra”, but it stuck. The founding members of the band were Beckenstein, Wall, bassist Jim Kurzdorfer, drummer Tom Walsh, and keyboardist Tom Schuman. In 1977, they released Spyro Gyra independently before making a deal with Amherst Records, which re-released the album with a different cover. It included “Shaker Song,” which reached No. 90 on Billboard’s Hot 100, No. 99 on the pop chart in Canada, and No. 26 on the Canadian AC chart. Jay Beckenstein and Richard Calandra co-produced the record, while Beckenstein and Wall each wrote an equal number of compositions. After the success of “Shaker Song,” the band went on tour in 1978 with a lineup including Beckenstein on sax, Wall and Schuman on keyboards, Kurzdorfer on bass, Freddy Rapillo on guitar, Eli Konikoff on drums and Gerardo Velez on percussion.
The band’s second album Morning Dance reached No. 11 in the UK Albums Chart, No. 27 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart, and No. 47 in Canada. The song “Morning Dance” reached No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart, No. 1 on the US Adult Contemporary singles chart, No. 45 on the Canadian pop charts, and No. 6 on the Canadian AC charts. The album was certified gold in 1979, then platinum in 1987 by the RIAA. In addition to the band, the album featured guest musicians including trumpet player Randy Brecker, saxophonist Michael Brecker, guitarists John Tropea and Hiram Bullock, bassist Will Lee, drummer Steve Jordan and percussionist Rubens Bassini. Drummer Ted Reinhardt and guitarist Rick Strauss were in the band lineup during recording, but by the album’s completion Chet Catallo joined on guitar. Jeremy Wall left the touring lineup but would continue to compose for the band. The sextet of Beckenstein, Schuman, Catallo, Kurzdorfer, Konikoff and Velez became the band’s touring lineup in 1979, continuing into 1980…
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Related posts:
Roger Hodgson – The Songs That Made The Name
Gary Moore – Live in Stockholm, Sweden 1987
Dio – Live in Sofia, Bulgaria 1998
Lady Gaga – Dive Bar Tour 2016
Pink Floyd – Delicate Sound of Thunder 1988
Blackberry Smoke – Live Rockpalast 2018
AC/DC – Stiff Upper Lip Live 2001
Shakira – Rock in Rio 2011
John Mayer – Pinkpop 2014
Ava Max – Megamix 2022