Original Cinema
Encyclopedia
Original Cinema is the twenty-sixth album by Spyro Gyra
, recorded and released on February 25, 2003 (see 2003 in music
).
Spyro Gyra
Spyro Gyra is an American jazz fusion band that was originally formed in the mid-1970s in Buffalo, New York, USA. With over 25 albums released and 10 million copies sold, they are among the most prolific as well as commercially successful groups of the genre...
, recorded and released on February 25, 2003 (see 2003 in music
2003 in music
-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...
).
Review
A slightly sharper edge surfaces in Spyro Gyra's second effort for the Telarc-affiliated Heads Up label. While their performance still tilts more toward easy listening than searing fusion, there's a bit more punch than usual in the upbeat tracks. Frontman Jay Beckenstein cultivates a slightly grittier sound by concentrating largely on tenor sax, while a trio of guest percussionists adds dimension to the beat on several numbers, especially the festive "Cape Town Love." The tour de force performance is probably "Flashback," largely because Beckenstein goes it alone, blowing some eloquent, Wayne Shorter-style lines against his own more than serviceable pre-recorded piano accompaniment. The filmic theme, reflected in the titles of several tracks, is more affectation than substance; in truth, Original Cinema extends rather than detours from the path laid down for a quarter century by this smooth jazz juggernaut.Track listing
- "Bump It Up" (Julio Fernandez)
- "Extrovertical" (Jay Beckenstein)
- "Dream Sequence" (Jay Beckenstein)
- "Party Of Seven" (Joel Rosenblatt, Bette Sussman)
- "Big Dance Number" (Jay Beckenstein)
- "Close-Up" (Julio Fernandez)
- "Film Noir" (Jay Beckenstein)
- "Cape Town Love" (Beckenstein)
- "Handheld" (Scott Ambush)
- "Funky Tina" (Julio Fernandez)
- "Getaway" (Jeremy Wall)
- "Calle Ocho" (Jay Beckenstein)
- "Flashback" (Jay Beckenstein)
Personnel
- Jay BeckensteinJay BeckensteinJay B. Beckenstein is a saxophone player, smooth jazz artist and together with Jeremy Wall founded Spyro Gyra...
- SaxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Tom Schuman - KeyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Julio FernandezJulio FernandezJulio Fernández may refer to:*Julio Ángel Fernández, Uruguayan astronomer who hypothesised the existence of what became known as the Kuiper belt*Julio M...
- GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Joel Rosenblatt - DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
- Scott AmbushScott AmbushScott Ambush is an American musician, best known as the bass player of jazz fusion band Spyro Gyra.-Biography:He was born April 28, 1960 in Frederick, Maryland to Webster and Jeanette Lofton Ambush. He attended Urbana Elementary School in Urbana, Maryland, West Frederick Middle, and Frederick High...
- BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Additional musicians
- Dave SamuelsDave SamuelsDave Samuels is an American vibraphone player who has worked with various jazz and fusion artists, such as Spyro Gyra. Currently, he plays in an ensemble called The Caribbean Jazz Project, a Grammy-winning jazz-Latin music group...
- VibesVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family.... - Andy NarellAndy NarellAndy Narell is a musician and composer specialized in the steelpan.-Biography:He was born in New York City and moved to California in his teens. He took up the steelpan at a very young age in Queens, New York...
- Steel Drums