spyro gyra
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Happy Birthday, Jay Beckenstein!
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Spyro Gyra co-founder and leader Jay Beckenstein was born on May 14, 1951. The songwriter/saxophonist/producer has been the main man behind the legendary contemporary jazz band’s 30+ albums. He only recorded one solo record, Eye Contact, released in 2000. Maybe something that maybe doesn’t get recognized enough about Jay is that he’s been a great…
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Flashback: Tom Schuman in 2003
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Tom Schuman has been the keyboardist for Spyro Gyra since the beginning. He’s been on every recording by the perennial contemporary jazz band and has penned at least 40 of the songs on those recordings. During the 40+ year career of the group, he’s had a handful of solo albums. Fifteen years ago this month,…
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Top Contemporary Jazz – July 1990
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The following were the top-selling contemporary jazz recordings in early July of 1990: Stanley Jordan – Cornucopia Najee – Tokyo Blue Basia – London Warsaw New York Patti Austin – Love Is Gonna Getcha Alex Bugnon – Head Over Heels Spyro Gyra featuring Jay Beckenstein – Fast Forward Dianne Reeves – Never Too Far Jonathan…
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Spyro Gyra – A Night Before Christmas
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“We’ve always had a yearning to do a record that was kind of a straightahead record – or at least something closer to a straightahead record than what we normally do,” says Spyro Gyra’s Jay Beckenstein. “But it’s always been very difficult to make that work in the context of what we do on most…
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Capital Jazz Fest 2008
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Read on for Clifford Beck’s recap of performances by Brian Culbertson and the Funk Experience, Spyro Gyra, Rick Braun and Richard Elliot, Alton Merrell, B.K. Jackson, Wayman Tisdale, Four80East, Down to the Bone, Joe Sample and Randy Crawford, and Ken Ford.