NBC newsman David Gregory, on the October 28th 2009 Leno 10 at 10 sequence:

Jay--"What was the last concert you attended?"

Gregory--"Spyro Gyra"

Now, what should follow is for Jay(Leno) to book the band for a performance, and Gregory should interview them in the midst of the 30th Anniversary Morning Dance Tour.

Thought you'd like to know, and the 10 at 10 segment is on utube.



Paul

That is cool. Not familiar with the 10 at 10 segment. I'll look for the video.

I found the transcript. Not cool. Leno was putting David Gregory down for saying it.


Jay: What was the last concert you went to?

David: Let's see, Spyro Gyra.

Jay: Wow. About 1984, was that?

David: They were the jazz fusion band.

Jay: Alright.

David: A little saxophone.

Jay: Aright, yeah, I got you. You're a white guy.


Kind of insulting to all fans of the band, I think.

Not to mention the racial aspect.

I'm sure that NBC and Mr. Leno would like to hear from Spyro Gyra's fans. You go to the band's shows. Who are their fans?

http://www.thejaylenoshow.com/10at10/ten-ten-david-gregory-1028/#comments

I'm in:
I totally do not get the racial profiling. Leno's first bandleader on the Tonight Show was Branford Marsalis, so I cannot believe he thinks jazz is exclusive to white guys. As one who has listened to this group for 30 years, attended five concerts, covering one for a newspaper, and having interviewed some of the members, I can assure you that this group is loved by people of all ages, races and backgrounds. Women love them, too. Oh, and I'm a "black guy."

Unfortunate remarks on Leno´s part. I sure hope someone tells him that .

what a "jerk"

Yeah....

I am, gonna go to the link and voice my complaint.

And I am gonna try to get Leno to do like the President and invite the band to the show, apologize, and insist they play a 10 minute number....

paul

BTW...I am white and Polish, Danish, Irish.....

And ticklish

Paul

what do you expect from Leno....Chris Botti is the only jazz musician on a late night talk show in many years.

Nope. Bernie Williams was making his rounds not too long ago promoting his latest release.

Botti was the "house" musician for the Carolyn Rhea late night show for a while. As for guest spots, I've seen John Pizzarelli and Esperanza Spalding over the past year and a half.

Are you kidding me? Let's recall Kevin Eubanks, Vicki Randle, Smitty Smith, Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Will Lee, Stan Sargeant, "Tain" Watts, Grady Tate, Hiram Bullock, David Sanborn, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc..........................

I'm sure it's been a while since Kenny Kirkland made an appearance. Didn't he pass away some years ago?

Kenny passed away a while ago. If I got it right, a third of of musicians on late night tv are jazz oriented.

In my very very personal oppinion.....i really could care less about leno's oppinion......i never liked the guy!!!

Hey...it'd be nice if we could just get a word from Jay Leno on just what he meant. We should give him the benefit of the doubt.

His off the cuff mark could have been an innocent attempt to just be funny...with no idea that he was coming off as ignorant.

Still, the best way to clear things up and to smooth things over, is to have Leno get the band booked so they themselves can show him and the world(maybe by playing the 2009 arrangement of Shaker Song or a Down the Wire track)-that they are alive and thriving in 2009 and 2010.

While we are at it, let's email Austin City Limits and get SPYRO GYRA booked for a show celebrating the bands 35th and 36th year.

Paul