Hi,
Are there any news 'bout the new christmas album?
It's expected to be released by autumn, by now that's all i know.

Cheers from Sevilla, Spain

Christmas is coming early this year. September 23rd to be exact -- one month to go! The band sounds great -- what an interesting change of pace. Now if only they were doing one of the special Christmas shows near me this December....

Check it out: http://www.headsup.com/ecards/3145/industry.html

Sample tracks sound great,i know what will be playing in my home for Christmas...


Peace

Spyro1

Yep!! Feliz Navidad is just arround the corner this year!!!

So will "Tony Award winning vocalist Christine Ebersole" be on board to sing at the earmarked Christmas show?

Jim

Wow, looking forward to that. Though I would prefer it as SACD. Does anybody know if it will come in this format?

I just previewed each track and I have to say that I am STOKED!

Thamk you Jay, Tom, Julio, Scottie, Bonny, Phil, John and Neil, and everyone else!!!!

I just can't wait to get this CD.....it CERTAINLY is different than GTGG!!!

I just hope I see some LA/Orange County dates pop up on the tour dates page!!!! Maybe the the Coach House??? Or a dual healining gig with the Ripps back zat Cerritos???? Or Rintenour? Or Mangione, Or Earl Klugh? Or anyone!!

Thanks guys.

Peace,
Paul

Like the Art-work on the cover -- looks Spyro Gyra-ish, but also has a Christmas feel to it. Liked what they did with Carol of the Bells -- I'm not sure if the rest of the CD sounded like Spyro Gyra to me though -- it sounds a bit non-descript. Perhaps when one gets to hear the entire song with solos etcetera (if any?) it'll sound true to the brand...

Ahhhh, Carol of the Bells, my favorite Christmas song (when done well).

I haven't had a chance to listen yet, but here's the guest lineup:
Christine Ebersole - vocal on It Won't Feel Like Christmas
Janis Siegel (can you say "It's about time"?) - Baby It's Cold Outside
Bonny B - vocals on Baby It's Cold Outside and The Christmas Song
Dave Samuels - vibraphone on Carol of the Bells (a must) and Winter Wonderland

Listening now. Mmmm, it is so refreshing to hear vocals that actually sound like jazz singers.
I'm only to track 2 "It Won't Feel Like Christmas," and so far they're sounding like an old-fashioned, nightclub jazz band.
And no, I'm not going to give a play by play. I do have a review to write, ya know. But so far, this is sounding great.
One more thing, and I'll hush.
Not that I expected any less, but it is so great to hear the traditional songs that don't sound like so many other interpretations of them. Oh, and you're gonna love Julio's solo on Winter Wonderland.

Okay, up to track 3. I don't want to spoil the review for you, but here's three notes that jump out right away.
1 - First and foremost, they sound like a good, old-fashioned, nightclub jazz band.
2 - Christine Ebersole: Never heard her before that I'm aware, but it is sooooooo refreshing to hear a guest vocalist actually singing jazz on one of these albums.
3 - Not that I expect anything less, but it's also refreshing that the Christmas standards that have been done by just about everyone who's ever recorded a Christmas album don't sound the least bit trite.
4 - You're gonna love Julio's solo on Winter Wonderland.

Ooh, foul!
Okay, sorry, but I had to come back and report one more.
Carol of the Bells is as beautiful as expected, but they threw a screwball - slipped in some lines from What Child Is This? and I believe I heard a quote from My Favorite Things.
Sweet.

Forgive me for saying this, but at least on my first listen, "A Night Before Christmas" wasn't that great. The only instrumental track I liked was "O Tannenbaum." I didn't listen to the vocal tracks, but the rest of the instrumental tracks were slow and melancholic. Right after I listened to "This Christmas," I had to play Russ Freeman's version on "Holiday" to get the Spyro version out of my system.
Again, I am very sorry for being so negative. Maybe I'll feel better about it after I listen a few more times. After all, it's three months to the date until Christmas.

No worries. I wasn't crazy about This Christmas. I'm used to that song being lively and upbeat, but this arrangement is rather subdued. However, I enjoyed everything else.

My review

Great job with the review, Woody!!

I'm still anxiously awaiting my copy of the CD. I ordered it a couple of days before the release date. Maybe it will come today...

Thanks, Rick.

Well, I may not buy it after all. I have very much Christmas jazz that is straight-ahead jazz. This year I desire more of a C-jazz style for the Christmas music I will buy. I was hoping it would be more in Spyro Gyra's main style. Peace and goodwill.

Mark,

I don't have the CD yet, but I did listen to the samples on the web site provided earlier in this thread. My impression is that, although the overall style is closer to traditional jazz, it still has Spyro Gyra's "signature sound". To my ear, the samples sounded like pretty fresh renditions of some classic Christmas tunes. I would think that, if you like Spyro Gyra, you would still like this CD. Just my "2 cents"...

Thanks! I have not totally made up my mind. I usually buy four or five Christmas jazz CDs every year, and I now have so much that I cannot listen to it all during the Christmas season. I am planning to go with mostly C-jazz this year, both for choosing from what I already have and for what I will buy. So I will check out the samples and decide. Peace and goodwill.

I always fall back on those Narada, David Benoit, and Mannheim Steamroller Christmas albums. And lately, I've added GRP, Russ Freeman, Ken Navarro, and Yellowjackets to my list.

After listening to samples on Amazon.com I have decided to buy downlaods of some of the tunes from that CD and several others.

I have the Christmas CDs by David Benoit and the Yellowjackets; those are two of my favorites. I have a list on Amazon, and I tried to post a link to no avail. If you go to the Yellowjackets Christmas CD on Amazon and scroll down to the "Listmania" at the botton, there is a link to my list.

Peace and goodwill.

Just wondering when the band will debut their unique "takes" on Christmas songs in the live setting.....or are they already doing so????

Every review I have read hasa been posotive or a rave....it is nice for us fans that the "critics: have seemed to have cuaght up!!!
The same thing happened with Led Zeppelin....critics used to hate the records and the live shows....now they love them!!

Must make the bamd feel just great that they kept their vision and did not let the "experts" influence them!

Peace!
Paul

Well, I ended up buying it during my first round of Christmas shopping. I am almost finished listening to it the first time, and I really like it. It will join the "ranks" of my favorite Christmas jazz. Peace and goodwill.

I'm really liking it as well. I think they did a real nice job with getting a straightahead-ish, but still Spyro, sound. And that arrangement of Carol of the Bells is fantastic! My favorite track at the moment.

My only complaint is with Unviersal Music Canada(the distributor of their records here) -- the cd is VERY hard to find in stores up here. I ended up buying it in the States when I was down there a couple weeks ago for work. Any one else having troubles finding the record?

Paul, that is good news that they're finally taking notice, but I have to suspect that it's largely because of the end-to-end straightahead approach.
Michael, Carol of the Bells has been my favorite Christmas song since junior high (we won't say how long ago that was) when our school choir sang it. Apart from the choral version we performed, David Benoit's arrangement (A GRP Christmas) was my favorite instrumental take:
Until now.
Very creative, mixing in those other songs.

"And that arrangement of Carol of the Bells is fantastic! My favorite track at the moment."



Mine too...although i`ve always loved this song


Peace

Spyro1

Some added flavor on this release is the presence of Janis Siegel dueting with Bonny B on "Baby It's Cold Outside." I'm guessing that Bonny B also handles the vocal on the last treck.

I heard it broadcast today. What a composition. I'm diggin it.

I've gotta say... I have given this CD quite a few spins so far. I think they've done a masterful job of capturing the Christmas spirit and doing it with the same fantastic musicianship, creativity, and enthusiasm we've all come to expect from Spyro Gyra.

I hope "It Won't Feel Like Christmas" is getting some radio play time, because I think it could be destined to become a new "Christmas Classic" played year after year well into the future.