ditto to what Dave said ... minus the word "smooth"

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Woody

Dave . . .

I have no problem with vocals with the band and wonder if we will see increased use of Julio Fernandez in this area. I really like Basia as a singer and her contribution to "Got the Magic." I would love to see someone like Manhattan Transfer's Janis Siegel participate in a future Spyro Gyra CD.

The Yellowjackets have used vocals on some of their releases very effectively. We've heard Bobby McFerron, Michael Franks, Kurt Elling, the group Take 6, and others on their releases. The Pat Metheny Group's use of "wordless" vocals (Pedro Aznar, David Blamires & Mark Ledford) has always hit a responsive chord with me as well.

I think that a lot of jazz fans simply prefer instrumental music for the most part and often fear the use of vocals is for commercial reasons only and not art. This is where one has to differentiate.

In a recent Jazziz magazine interview with smooth music icon, Paul Brown, he was asked about brainstorming for an artist's new record. His answer was that the first order of business had to be about who would be doing the vocals and how many to include. Perhaps this approach would suggest a "commercial" approach that I think is what concerns many music fans and artists alike. This is just my opinion though.

It not the vocals....it's the style of the vocals I objected to initially.

Peace!
Paul

It not the vocals....it's the style of the vocals I objected to initially.

Peace!
Paul

I have to admit that, over the months, my position has changed a bit reguarding some of the vocal performances on "Got The Magic"...and I didn't intend to be harsh, at any rate, if that's the way my early impressions came off.
Matter of fact, said I liked the record as a whole even from the beginning....said that there were many more songs I loved than tracks that didn't grab me. And in fact, the tune with Basia, "Springtime Laughter" has grown on me so much, that I keep hoping to hear the track get some crossover airplay, cuz it deserves it. "Teardrops" really benefited from repeated listenings, to the point where I think it would make a great live tune...just imagining Julio extending that closing fade out guitar solo...well I think it'd be a natural in the live setting.
I didn't like the title track all that much when I heard the record, but Julio and the band turned it into such a rave-up in concert that(especially live)that track has moved up, too.
For me, it's not vocal performances, per se, that I am critical of...heck, "De La Luz" is in my personal top 5 of all time when it comes to ranking Spyro tracks. I love the scat vocal performance on "Sierra"(the one that Julio integrates into "Breathless(Julio's Dream Version)".
It's a question of personal taste ultimately. The last five or six Pat Metheny Group records have featured vocals on the vast majority of the tracks...and I love the vocal performances by guys like Mark Ledford and Pedro Aznar.
For me it aint the vocals...it's the muscial style of the songs with vocals...pop oriented vocals on a jazz album just don't work as well for me....even tothe point of interupting the natural flow of a record. "De La Luz" and "Sierra" are perfect examples of one's that work incredibly well.
That said, I agree that it's ok, even neccessary, for Spyro Gyra to take some chances, some detours, some roads less traveled...those are frequently the tracks that turn out to be my favorites anyway. I don't ever, ever, ever want the band to lose that quality(I don't think they ever will, it's seems such a natural quality of all the band members).

"He not busy being born is busy dying"....and I love that Spyro Gyra continues( with every new release and live concert) to be busy being born.

Peace!
Paul

Dave . . .

I have no problem with vocals on the band's releases. I like Basia as a singer and liked her contribution to "Got the Magic." I'm wondering as well if Julio Fernandez will be doing more in this department in the future. I would love to see the Manhattan Transfer's Janis Siegel do something with the band.

As to the Yellowjackets' use of vocals, they have had appearances by Bobby McFerron, Kurt Elling, Michael Franks, the group Take6 and others on their releases. Most of the time they work rather well.

Well I'm really curious about listening to the songs from "Got the Magic" live. You see, It's a different thing between listening SG live and on studio. For example, Whwn i play their songs with my band (even though we're never going to sound as great as them) I can feel the difference on how much you can improvise and add colors and flavors to the songs. It's like when we play "Old San Juan" we add a lot latin and "salsa" stuff. but when we play "Heliopolis" It's more "funky" like the live version. I don't know, I think that It's true that SG'S latest production takes you back to the old days, but let's hear the live versions and compare.

Eril.

Yes, style counts. Send Me One Line, for example, is a nice song, but probably would be better on the singer's personal album with SG as backup than the other way around.
Did someone say Janis Seigel? That would be awesome as she and the Transfer did do a cover of Shaker Song. I'd also love for them to bring in Carl Anderson. I love his past work with The Rippingtons and Maynard Ferguson. Phil Perry — I'm not sure what he does elsewhere — also did a few tracks with Brandon Fields that I enjoy.

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Woody

Well, we do seem to have created a bit of discusston here. All of the names mentioned bring about some intresting thought. I have the Rippingtons video on in the background and Carl Anderson just started his song. What great timing. I am inclined to agree with most of you, it is the style of song that becomes the focal point. I always became annoyed at the required 2 songs per cd thing. But at the same time there are not enough c-jazz (I will refrain from the use of "smooth) singers to be heard. A side bar for Shannon, I know much you dislike Paul Brown, but let us see what Al Jarreau brings to the table before we get to critical. A man with his experience should rise above the problem of sameness.

Jazzwriter--
I can attest to their live treatment of "Birk's Law"--they performed it at the Frederick Brown Amphitheater in Peachtree City, GA in October 1998. And it WAS awesome! The outdoor venue added a special ambience to the entire show!

Other ones I'd like to see & hear live are "Breakout" from "Breakout", "Escape Hatch" and "4MD" from "Fast Forward", "Rollercoaster" from "Three Wishes", and "Group Therapy" from "Love and Other Obsessions". (To be honest, I'd REALLY like to hear ALL OF THEM performed live, but that's probably unrealistic.)


Dreaming of week-long SG concerts, I am--

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The JazzKnight