Artist description The title of Spyro Gyra's Heads Up debut In Modern Times reflects the legendary band's optimistic commitment to the present and future as it simultaneously celebrates 25 years of recording and its first release of the new millennium. "We're grateful to still be going strong, we're feeling great about ourselves and we're all healthy and in a good frame of mind, so there's a lot to celebrate," says saxophonist Jay Beckenstein. "People are still eager to hear what we're doing, and they've allowed us to make music that's both fun and fulfilling. Add that to a great budding relationship with a committed new label, and it's pretty exciting." Had filmmaker Ken Burns decided to approach the last thirty years of contemporary jazz in his recent PBS documentary Jazz, the influence of Spyro Gyra on the past generation would have been hard to ignore. The band's story is one of modern music's most often-told tales, beginning with Beckenstein leading a group of revolving musicians around the Buffalo jazz scene circa early '70s. Spyro broke onto the pop charts with 1978's "Morning Dance" (from the platinum-selling album of the same name), and has been one of instrumental music's most consistent sellers and dynamic live performers for more than two decades. Spyro Gyra commemorated its 20th year and 20th album with 1997's release 20/20 and chronicled their one of a kind stage energy on Road Scholars that same year. In Modern Times is their 23rd release overall, yet in many ways Beckenstein likes to believe the band is just getting started. "Our music definitely fits into the stream of contemporary jazz, fusion and R&B based performers who mix various elements into a unique sound," he says. "Because we mix ideas, we've always been a bit difficult to peg, but there's always the spirit of improvisation that draws upon the jazz tradition. People love to try to label the music we make, but I look at us simply as a group of five guys who play well together, who write good melodies and great songs. All five of us are proficient writers, which helps keep the variety interesting. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." That democratic compositional approach creates an exciting flow for the twelve tracks which comprise In Modern Times. Beckenstein himself wrote three tracks - the funky, tropical flavored title cut, a fiery, Latin jam tribute to the "Florida Straits" (the waterway between Florida and Cuba), and the moody, thoughtful "East River Blue."

Music Style Smooth Jazz

Artist History Spyro Gyra's goal with each album has always been to try to approximate in the studio the explosive excitement the band creates in live settings throughout the world. Yet Beckenstein admits that making use of the evolving technology does have its advantages. "We took the funk section from the middle of the song 'Feelin' Fine' and put it in the computer, cut it up, played around and remixed it, and suddenly Chuck and I had a whole new song (Pt. 2)," he says. "The recording process has changed, and we've become products of the digital recording age. Using Protools and other modern machines in the studio has allowed us to experiment some and saved time. But in terms of the basic idea of what the band does, why change? Our music has never been static, and our approach has always had a certain similar ethos about it. "The bottom line," he adds, "is, even after 25 years, it's just not going away. With each recording, I feel like I'm playing with a whole new band. Even though we are making music In Modern Times."

Group Members Beckenstein collaborated with guitarist Chuck Loeb (who also co-wrote tracks for the saxman's 2000 solo album Eye Contact) on the sultry opening tune "After Hours" (which features orchestral enhancement and a subtle horn section) and "Feelin' Fine Pt. 2," a piece that grew out of an improvisational section of the title track. Guitarist Julio Fernandez contributed the energetic rock/blues gem "Julio's Party" and dreamy, almost mystical "Open Door." Keyboardist Tom Schuman - who harkens back to an earlier era of contemporary R&B/jazz by playing more Hammond B-3 than usual - composed the cool, seductive retro-soul flavored tribute "Groovin' For Grover," a showcase for Beckenstein's always marvelous soprano magic. "Grover was born in Philadelphia, but his family's roots were in Buffalo, so there was always a hometown connection with him for us," says Beckenstein. "His longtime drummer Richie Morales was once in our group. Tom was working on this tune as a tribute to his dad who'd just died when Grover passed away. So the tune kind of reflects the dual sense of loss for him." Schuman and Beckenstein together wrote another beautiful soprano romance "Your Touch." Scott Ambush - who plays more acoustic bass than on previous Spyro recordings - wrote the silky, darkly ambient "The River Between," while drummer Joel Rosenblatt co-wrote (with Phil Magallanes) the vibrant, jazzy and brass-inflected "Planet J," which closes the set. Founding group member and longtime Spyro cohort Jeremy Wall contributed "Lucky Bounce," a zesty Latin number which finds Schuman switching off playfully between B-3 and jazzy acoustic piano.

Location Cleveland, OH - USA

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