Enough on who's the number 1 fan. Allow me to introduce myself, NUMBER ONE SPYRO GYRA FAN ANYWHERE! ALL RIGHT? DON'T BELIEVE ME? ASK THE BAND! There...

BillB, your kid has very good taste. Each of Scott's compositions have been great. I was disappointed that none of them made it on to Road Scholars. Yes, he contributed to Igor's, but...

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Gary

Gary,

Well, I will appoint ya as my number two!

I just experienced my 32nd, 33rd,and 34th Spyro Gyra concerts, and a person close to the band told me a few night's back that I probably remember and know more about the band than the band themselves!
Seriously though, it's good to see other people posting here who seem to be as passionate about Spyro Gyra as Phil and myself! Great to have you aboard. Keep active and start some subject threads that we can respond to.

Peace!
Paul

Okay, Paul by now I'm sure you know every note on "Got The Magic." How about on "If You Will" at the 3:06 mark in the song Jay does a little riff down the scale that is vintage Jay...subtle yet spectacular. Cool stuff! I love finding little surprises on a cd after 20+ times through.

Okay, Paul by now I'm sure you know every note on "Got The Magic." How about on "If You Will" at the 3:06 mark in the song Jay does a little riff down the scale that is vintage Jay...subtle yet spectacular. Cool stuff! I love finding little surprises on a cd after 20+ times through.

Steve,

I just listened to that track, and thanks for pointing that out. You are correct...it is vintage Jay. And I find more Julio on the record than I originally did...albeit lower in the mix, so you have to concentrate to pick it up. His electric solo at the coda of "Teardrops" is excellent...and I think it it'd make a dynamite live number(as Tom Schuman's ballad, "I Believe In You" did last year--that ended with a slow, jazz/bluesy Julio solo).

"If You Will" has grown on me since the initial spin of "Got The Magic".

Peace!
Paul

Was skimming the new "R n R" magazine last night and was pleasently surprised to see that "Got The Magic" is still at #16 on the contemporary jazz album charts.

Since it was released in June 1999, that means the record has some incredible legs....it's been in the top 20 for more than 7 months!

"Breezeway" has been getting some airplay....maybe not as much as "Silk and Satin" has, but enough to keep the record on the charts.

Do you think the band will release another single from "Got the Magic", or concentrate on the next record?

The success of "Magic" probably means a late summer release for the next Spyro opus.

BTW...does anyone else think that Jay Beckensteins side project will be held back until "Got The Magic" drops out of the top 30 in the contemporary jazz charts?\

I do.....but I can't wait to hear Jay's side project...."Goodbye Porkpie Hat" was stupendous at the three concerts I caught last year.


Peace!
Paul

hadn't seen this thread (only postings over past 10 days show) until today.
man, you guys are harsh.
Not that Got the Magic is that great, but it is very good. Some of you guys seem to have the impressiong that SG ought to stick to one format -- meaning no vocals. I admit, when I first heard the vocal tracks on Dreams Beyond Control, I was uneasy. But they worked. One thing that has always attracted me to a band, any band, is diversity. You spend 20 years doing the same thing, you get boring. I agree that they shouldn't get carried away with the singing ... and if they're gonna do it, get some JAZZ singers. Still, a mix is good business and, contrary to some rigid points of view, good listening.

Paul, it's funny you should mention that. While I was listening to "Best Of-First 10 Years" cd this morning I had a thought. Some of the rookie listeners seem to think that Got The Magic is a newer sound for the band but after listening to Freetime, Morning Dance and Catching The Sun....these songs would fit right in on Got The Magic. So it makes me want to wonder is merely the airplay that is making Got The Magic do so well in the charts? It shouldn't work that way. I would bet that no matter how successful Got The Magic continues to be, the band has far too much integrity to make the same kind of record again for commercial success alone. I think SG has always been quality over quantity.

Are you guys surprised there aren't any real scorchers on Got The Magic. As beautiful as the music and arrangements are on the cd, to my untrained ear, Got The Magic doesn't seem to have the intricate, complex playing that previous releases have had. Watch them prove me wrong when they come to Chicago Feb.19 and put some outrageous spins on a couple of the tunes. For the next release, I hope for a few more musically intense pieces. Hell, if I heard Birks Law or Whitewater on the radio, I'd probably drive off the road.

Right you are, Steve.
When I saw them in 92, they did 5 tracks off "Three Wishes," but "Whitewater" wasn't one of them. But that song is soooooooo cool.
The best comparison I can make of pieces like that performed live was when I saw them at Stateline, Nev. in '87 and they did "Sweet and Savvy." I imagine "Birk's Law" would be just as awesome.

Why is it that everyone gets so upset over a few vocal tracks on a Spyro Gyra Cd. Would you be equally upset if they backed up a smooth jazz singer as the Yellowjackets have done a number of times? The question should not be, why are there vocals on any bands cd. The question should be are the vocals in tune with the band and are they jazz at all. I thought the two on Dreams Beyond Control met both. They sounded more like Jay said let us try something new and created a vocal sound that took on the qualities of the band. Far to many smooth jazz players seem to stick in vocals just to have the required two vocals on every cd. That does seem to me to be on the decline and that is a good thing. But I would not want us to take out the greatest instrument of all, the human voice, out of jazz. Maybe instrumental players with the stature of Jay Beckenstein and Russ Freemen can make the vocal a strong part of smooth jazz without it taking away from their own music.