Spyro Gyra's

Spyro Gyra mostly sticks to their formula of danceable melodic music on this GRP release but there are a few temporary departures. The harmonica of the talented Howard Levy is used prominently on "Breakfast at Igor's," two different horn sections pop up on a few songs and there are a pair of throwaway pop vocals from Alex Ligertwood. However, longtime Spyro Gyra fans have little to fear for the solos of saxophonist Jay Beckenstein and vibraphonist Dave Samuels are predictably pleasant, the light funk rhythms push the ensembles and the band's sound remains distinctive, familiar and comfortable.

From the period in the eighties when Spyro Gyra was at their height. After their big success, Morning Dance, Spyro Gyra prooved they could make more great music in the relm of great fusion jazz music. 1985, the group had been around, making records, for about seven years. Since their first album, Spyro Gyra, they have grown, and the music got better and better, but they were pretty well machured when they did come out, just at this time, they were even better. This album, starts off with the classic, Shakedown. A unique, shuffle, based swing. Great saxophone Jay Beckenstein! Alternating Currents, is a great piece.

Spyro Gyra's first album for MCA after their longtime label, GRP-Crescendo, was absorbed into its corporate parent, 1990's Fast Forward carries the curious band subtitle "featuring Jay Beckenstein." Saxophonist Beckenstein has certainly always been the band's leader, writing a good chunk of the material and producing the albums, but given that the lineup is basically unchanged from the previous few Spyro Gyra albums, the new nomenclature is puzzling. It also goes against Spyro Gyra's entire musical aesthetic, as the group's unabashedly commercial and melodic style works against the traditional jazz concept of soloists and sidemen. Everyone on Fast Forward plays the melody, the whole melody, and nothing but the melody, with no improvisations or sidebars.

In April 2013, Spyro Gyra entered a recording studio in Rhinebeck, NY, a small town in the Hudson Valley. Jay Beckenstein and his band set out to do something that they had never done before in their nearly forty year history – improvise with each other over three days and in the process write and record an entire new album. Beckenstein concedes, “It was a bit of a gamble but we’re lucky to have a loyal fan base who are probably going to be interested in what we’re doing. I was also fairly confident that whatever came out of it would be pretty close to the way we have approached our live shows for years.”

Spyro Gyra's constantly evolving musical vision has made them the most consistent, popular, and enduring of all contemporary jazz ensembles. While their previous effort, the stirring Dreams Beyond Control, aimed for an expansive array of sounds and colors in larger settings, Love & Other Obsessions featured a more focused direction and a definite leaning towards modern R&B and African influences. In an effort to keep things fresh, Beckenstein also chose this time to work with more outside arrangers like Russell Ferrante, Chieli Minucci (of Special EFX), Alex Acuna, and Scott Kreitzer, who contributed the collection's two vocal pieces.

Still, Spyro Gyra's music has more depth and kick than most of their brothers and sisters in the smooth or contemporary genre. Jay Beckenstein once again delivers some fine saxophone playing, Tom Schuman lays down nice keyboard textures, and guitarist Julio Fernandez enlivens several pieces with his tasty fretwork (and Benson-like scatting on "Sierra"). Got the Magic is full of accessible melodies and polished playing, adding up to a very enjoyable pop-jazz outing.