Hey Paul Lasecki, as a noted SG expert, I'm sure you have input on this. First off, I have not seen the band yet. They are rarely in Chicago and last years tour was cancelled 1 week before showtime. I'll catch them this time around for sure. Anyway, I realize there is an awful lot of material from the band but not one song from my favorite Three Wishes cd appears on Road Scholars. There are 5 additional musicians on that cd not counting Dave Samuels. Lots of the early SG seems this way. I assume in recent years for live shows it's the same 5 man lineup of Beckenstein, Schuman, Rosenblatt, Fernandez and Ambush. My question is how do they improvise additional horns and percussion when they play live? I hear they are undeniably superb to see live so do they leave it out or put a spin on the songs without missing a beat, no pun intended. Maybe they just don't perform those songs live that use the additional musicians. Maybe I just answered my own question. Hey, I was bored and felt like posting something. Just wondering.

And for that earlier post today on the Ripps sight, no sense in comparing the two. It's apples and oranges.

Steve,
I'm not Paul, but I'll venture an answer...
The band is the same it's been for the last 7 years : Jay, Julio, Scott, Joel, and Tom. As for the horns, Tom does an incredible job with one of the keyboards on the uppper rack. I still don't get how he can be ripping through a solo and switch to horn parts so quickly and accurately. I had a chance to catch them while I was home for the summer, in Sacramento. The HOB internet broadcast and the summer show I went to had the same set list. You can view it in it's entirety on this message board, but I can tell you that they play Pipo's Song and Breathless, which were both off of Three Wishes. Breathless is a different, more upbeat version than you're used to on the CD, but it rocks! Great show altogether, you won't be disappointed at all.
Hope this helps,
Matt

To Matt:
Hi !! I'm a die hard SG Fan and also a musician. I have an Associates degree from Berklee Music College in boston (Jazz of course).

Tom Schuman uses an Emulator II. That functions as a sampler and as a secuencer.
When Tom is making his amazing solos, The sequencer plays the horns. (Except for south american soujurn, here tom plays both piano sound and horns mixed via midi)
Tom also has the amazing ability to play solos with one hand and melody with the other.

Well I hope that answers your question.
You can e-mail me if you need more schuman info.

Thanks for the info! Paul and Phil will be glad to converse with a couple for SG experts. Between the two of them I think they've seen the over 60 times easily. Welcome aboard!!

Thanks for the info! Paul and Phil will be glad to converse with a couple more SG experts on this site. Between the two of them I think they've seen them 60 plus times. Welcome aboard!

It's great to have Steve and Eril aboard.
I loved being filled in on what equipment Schuuu uses onstage...even though I'm clueless as far as the technical aspects. So it's awesome to have someone with a musical degree onboard, one who knows specifics about instruments and equipment--and one that is also passionate about the band.
I'll just add that Schuuu is awesome to watch on "Breakfast At Igors"(the band HAS been including this one in every set for this tour. You get a fantastic example of his ability to reproduce the horn section parts while laying down those incredibly fast and well thought out piano runs.

Look for it, and get back to us with your impressions, Steve.

Peace!
Paul

P.S. The only time I remember seeing Spyro bring a horn section along was at least 7 to 10 years ago....and they only brought that section out for 3 or 4 numbers. It probably is not smart, in a cost effectiveness kind of way, to do that these days.

Peace!
Paul

You are right! Towards the end of the song you can hear it. Thanks for pointing that out for me. Another all-time favorite from Road Scholars is South American Sojourn. I am no musician but I would swear much of that song is being played in two different time signatures. I'll bet the sheet music for that piece looks like a Tokyo roadmap..and towards the end of Tom's solo, those are some of the fastest riffs I've ever heard going up and down the keyboard. Great stuff!

I forgot to add another note. Has anyone seen the band perform "Teardrops" live yet? I'll bet Julio really tears it up with his solo at the end of the song. The studio version is such a tease at that part of the song. How about a 7 minute live version?

SteveH,

Hey man, I guess great minds do think alike!!!

I can't quite remember where I posted it, but I know I posted on Magic Island that "Teardrops" would make a dynamite live number...I said something to the effect that it would probably turn out to be a showstopper in the manner that "I Believe In You" was during the 1998 tour. Schuman had a fantastic, undestated solo in that live version, and Julio had an extended, slow, almost Jimmy Page-y or David Gilmour-y solo at the end of "I Believe In You".

I think that Teardrops would work in the same way.
As far as I know, it hasn't made it's way into the live set yet...it wasn't in any of the three concerts I caught here in Southern California in August.

Peace!
Paul

Hey what is with the the loss of Spyro visits to the Chicago area. I have seen the band several times over the years, the last time at Navy Pier. But there seems to a trend to book other people in the windy city. Steve did you say you were from Chicago? Do you hear any reasoning for the lack of Spyro Concerts? WNUA seems to run to same bunch of people even though every Spyro Gyra concert I have been to was a sell out. I too found the technical stuff to be interesting even if I don't have a clue as to what it ment. I would point out that I was curious as to what the band would do when Dave Samuels left. But Tom takes on that load as well. If he keeps it up he might become a one man band. Not a bad title for his upcoming solo effort. I have been waiting for years for a second one. I know any new solo project will have to wait until Jay's comes out, but I know any new effort by Tom is gonna be great!!!

When I saw them live in 1987, 1988 and 1992, it was a different situation. Most of their mid and late 80s studio recordings did not call for the use of horns beyond what Jay plays. So, with the exception of songs like Freetime and Old San Juan, there was very little, if anything, that was missed by not having horn sounds. It figures that they would reintroduce the horns into their studio mix AFTER my last bonafide chance to see them live. Just kidding. Either way, they put on a great show.

Dave. Lack of SG shows in Chicago is a mystery to me too. If you look at the booking info. address on all the cd booklets it has a Chicago address so you would think that may be one of the more frequent stops. The February show is scheduled for Schaumburg, Il. which is about an hour west of the city. That too is kind of odd with all the great venues downtown. Great for me though being a far northwest suburbanite. Another strange note. In the summer of 1997 they did a free show at Woodfield Shopping Center, also in Schaumburg. Not in a theater in the mall but literally in the center of the mall. What is with that? I did not attend but that would be strange seeing a show in a mall. I know Marc Antoine and Peter White have played there as well. Then in the summer of 1998 they cancelled one week before showtime at The Chicago Theater, a great place to see a show. I already had tickets. Why? Lack of ticket sales? That would seem odd since they rarely are around as it is. Out of sight, out of mind? Who knows. I'll have a fit if the Feb. show in cancelled.

Steve, I too must wonder what is going on but I think some of it must be WNUA who are not all that big on Spyro Gyra and they are a force behind many of shows in Chicago. They only play 'Morning Dance" and for those not familar with the band that is not much to build a new group of concert goers on. By the way are the tickets on sale for the show in Feb. I would sure like to catch the guys if all possible. I driving down to Indy to catch Steve Reid also in Feb. Maybe I just make it my smmoth jazz month of travel.

Dave-I don't think tickets are on sale yet for the Feb. show. I will inquire in another month. Won't be a bad seat in the house though, the place is small. I too am a big Steve Reid fan. Did you see him at the Cubby Bear Lounge a couple months back? I was out of town. I have heard he's only playing about an hour though. To drive 5-6 hours roundtrip to Indy for a 1 hour show...that's a tough call.

Dave-Well I nearly screwed up. The tickets for the Feb.19 show have been on sale since August. I called to inquire about ticket purchases and was shocked to learn they went on sale 6 months before the show. Even more shocked to learn the venue only holds 442 seats and tickets are still available? Get your tickets while you can.
Okay everyone, help me out here. Tickets have been sale for 3 months for the only Chicago SG appearence in 2 years and they have yet to sell even 400 tickets??? How much money could it cost to advertise or promote a little bit. That's pathetic!!! Chicago radio plays virtually no Ripps music and very little SG but somehow I would have to say Ripps are slightly more popular (They will sell more tickets faster, still with no promoting). My best guess as the reason for this is I would say there are many more female fans for the Ripps. Do you guys (and gals) agree?

SteveH: BF's last show in Indianapolis in May was at least 2 hours. I believe their playing time is reduced when they are appearing in conjunction with another band. We have them all to ourselves at the Roof.

Rachel.

And what a weekend that will be! We're driving down from North Dakota to see the Yellowjackets in Macomb, then Spyro the next day in Schaumburg.

Matt . . .

You'll have to let us know how the Yellowjackets' concert goes. Now that Peter Erskine has replaced the great Will kennedy, I'm interested in the sound of what they themselves are calling themselves, the "new" Yellowjackets.

I'll be seeing both the YJ's and Spyro Gyra at the upcoming Berks JazzFest in March of 2000.

Hey everybody!
I had some time on my hands so I decided to check this board out. I'm so fatter, I mean flattered that you all take such an in depth interest in the band. I must correct Mr. Eril on one point though. I play all the horn parts live without the use of sequencers. I use a Roland D-50 midied to my Emu ESI-4000 sampler. The Korg Prophecy provides me with the baritone sax sound on Breakfast at Igor's for example. The only time I used a sequencer in the past few years was on Del Corazon. The 7/8 counterpoint lines that underpin the intros was played by my Korg M1 sequencer with vibes and harp sounds. If you have anymore questions as to the mechanics of how I perform live with Spyro, please don't hesitate to submit. I will be checking this bulletin board out more frequently now that I'm off the road. Thank you all for your support!

Tom....You're the man!!! Thanks a lot for checking in. It means a lot to us too. Hopefully we won't bombard you with too many questions. I have one more question and I'll leave you alone for awhile. What would you say is the most difficult or complex keyboard piece you play in the SG library?

Tom,

You are hilarious! I read somewhere that the band loves movies and videos...and uses them to defeat road fever while on tour...even jokingly making being a movie buff a pre-requisite to joining the band!!
Loved your reference to the Eddie Murphy movie. It was "The Distinguished Gentleman"..."Buddy Love" and all that.

Peace!
Paul

Steve, I would have to say the most difficult piece for me to pull off was Para Ti Latino by Oscar Cartaya. I had to play the horn stabs on my upper stack, the piano montuno on my lower stack and a very difficult program switch between a softer horn pad and a vocal patch on my mid stack. Most of these parts would have to be played within a fraction of a second from each other and of course the tempo naturally increased with every live performance. All I have to say is I'm glad we're not doing that tune anymore. Its much more pleasant to listen to than to play multi-keboards on!

Not to mention the sheet music must look like a Tokyo roadmap. thanks for the quick reply.

Tom :
Uh... sorry for that. I thought that you played the horns with the sequencer.

Now , I'm Puertorican. That means that i have a lot of piano players from my backyard to rely on influence.
Eddie Palmieri , Papo Lucca , Edsel Gómez and others. But , who has been your influence in latin music , specially on the montunos?

Tom, it's really great to have someone from the band dropping by occasionally to fill us in on related things. My wife and I had the good fortune of meeting you after the concert in Mt. Gretna, PA in August. Since they were playing selections from "Extremities" prior to the concert, we got to wondering when another Tom Schuman solo effort would be forthcoming? Just what has to occur for this to become a reality?

I though your comments on the difficulty of playing "Para Ti Latino" were interesting. I read not too long ago where Jay Beckenstein suggested that the writing and arrangements you do are often the most technically challenging for the band. This is obviously a compliment as to what you bring to this band.

You said in another message that you are now off the road now for awhile. I was wondering just how many days a year Spyro spends touring? Its nice to see the band will be back at the Berks Jazzfest in March of 2000. Will see you there for sure. Hopefully the Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA will be on your next tour as well.

I will try to answer Eril and Phil's questions in one pass. My wife and I are going to a Christmas party soon.
Eril, my main influence on Latin piano was the late, great Jorge Dalto. When we were tracking Old San Juan, I suggested to the producers to bring Jorge in specifically for that tune. I was not adapted to the montuno feel at the time and I knew Jorge from the George Benson band. So I thought it would be nice to throw him the gig and try to learn something at the same time. Jorge was wonderful! He played his ass off and sat me down with him after the session on his own time and taught me to feel the montuno. He wouldn't leave until he heard me do it on my own. I really miss him!

Phil, I am in the process of shopping for a record deal and/or starting a production company of my own with the help of my wife, Yvonne, who is an attorney. The record itself is 80% completed and I am very proud of it. If I sign with this record company that is interested in the project, it should be released sometime next year. But the best scenario for me would be to release it myself for my own company with the help of an independant distrubution company and a publicist. Either way I expect great things to happen for me in the next year. I will of course continue to work with Spyro Gyra as much as possible. Spyro has been touring on an average of 100-120 days a year now for the past five years. I expect it will pick up this coming year since "Got the Magic" has been doing better than our previous releases. I hope to see you all at future concerts. Don't be afraid to say hi...I'm really a regular guy.