{"id":1242,"date":"2019-11-25T21:02:52","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T21:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/?post_type=product&p=1242"},"modified":"2023-03-06T03:28:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T03:28:14","slug":"vinyl-tap-cd-limited-edition-band-autographed-cd","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/product\/vinyl-tap-cd-limited-edition-band-autographed-cd\/","title":{"rendered":"VINYL TAP LIMITED EDITION BAND AUTOGRAPHED LP"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

Seminal contemporary jazz band mines a collection of vinyl classics for their first album in six years. <\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cVinyl Tap\u201d\u00a0<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

Free of the tension of having to write great songs, the five members of\u00a0Spyro Gyra<\/b>\u00a0were laughing and having fun in the recording studio. Creativity flowed as the venerable contemporary jazz band revisited the songs that inspired them from their youth when they were listening to music on vinyl. That artistic fount was spun into \u201cVinyl Tap<\/b>,\u201d Spyro Gyra\u2019s first album in six years, which drops October 11 on the\u00a0Amherst Records<\/b>\u00a0label.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/u><\/u>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tensionless as we \u2018warped\u2019 the tunes. We had a world of brilliant music to choose from and we didn\u2019t have to worry about writing brilliant music. It was a really fun project to make,\u201d said saxophonist\u00a0Jay Beckenstein<\/b>, who will lead Spyro Gyra on tour to support \u201cVinyl Tap\u201d with a string of US concert dates beginning November 15 in Newark, NJ after a three-week international trek that begins at the\u00a0Cancun Jazz Festival<\/b> on October 23.<\/p>\n

When Spyro Gyra manager\u00a0Phil Brennan<\/span><\/b>\u00a0proposed the album\u2019<\/span>s concept a few years ago to bandleader Beckenstein for their 31st album,<\/span>\u00a0he knew that it might take some convincing, so he came prepared with an intriguing concept. Brennan suggested that the band use their arrangement talents to transform the originals into something brand new. The challenge appealed to Beckenstein, who soon overcame any misgivings.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u>\u201cIt\u2019s clich\u00e9 (to record covers) in saxophone-based contemporary jazz. We did not want to sound like a fantastic wedding band. I was really afraid that if we didn\u2019t do our own thing, that our identity would be lost. It was imperative in the creative process \u2013 and everybody (in the band) knew this in a big way \u2013 that things had to be mixed up. Things had to be jolted out of the old way of approaching the songs. We really tried to come up with a new take on whatever (song) we were doing. We put solos into tunes that really are complete extensions that never had anything to do with the originals,\u201d said Beckenstein.<\/u><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u>What initially stands out on \u201cVinyl Tap,\u201d which was produced by Spyro Gyra, are the wildly imaginative arrangements. Beckenstein said, \u201cThe arrangements were put together with everyone in my basement with all the equipment set up. We were all together in the pre-studio arrangement process. It was all done democratically. Spyro Gyra is a musician\u2019s group collective. When you have five talented guys, you can do some cool arranging things.\u201d\u00a0<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u>Spyro Gyra are Beckenstein,\u00a0Tom Schuman<\/b>\u00a0(keyboards),\u00a0Julio Fernandez<\/b>\u00a0(guitars),\u00a0Scott Ambush<\/b>\u00a0(bass) and\u00a0Lionel Cordew<\/b>\u00a0(drums). The musicians have somewhat of a wide range of ages, which explains some of the diversity of the material recorded for \u201cVinyl Tap.\u201d Beckenstein selected the album opener, \u201cSecret Agent Mash,\u201d a supercharged and ultrahip mashup of \u201cSecret Agent Man\u201d and \u201cAlfie\u2019s Theme.\u201d \u201cSunshine Of Your Love\u201d is virtually unrecognizable in its new form as a Latin big band number. The first cut going for playlist adds on September 23 is the plaintive \u201cCan\u2019t Find My Way Home,\u201d which takes on a bit of a western feel and benefits from the soulful perspective of Beckenstein\u2019s saxophone protagonist. \u201cWhat A Fool Believes\u201d is slowed to become a contemplative power ballad that breaks into a mid-song swing cadence.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u>\u201cI spent a lot of time listening to radio \u2013 classic rock radio \u2013 looking for material that had fantastic melodies. If there was a beautiful, arching melody, like \u2018What A Fool Believes,\u2019 it would definitely translate to my saxophone \u2018voice,\u2019\u201d said Beckenstein.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u>Adding chromatic and bass harmonicas by\u00a0Gary Schreiner<\/b>, \u201cThe Cisco Kid\u201d vacillates in time and tempo, letting the band members stretch out into improvisational banter. Exemplative of Spyro Gyra\u2019s ethos, each band member shares the spotlight equitably, adding sweetness and redolent depth to \u201cYou\u2019ve Got To Hide Your Love Away.\u201d \u201cTempted\u201d always oozed soul, but the band\u2019s reading is deliberate, adding romance and underscoring the sweeping chorus. \u201cStolen Moments\u201d is another that essentially becomes an \u201coriginal\u201d composition in Spyro Gyra\u2019s inventive hands after the piece was reconstructed using entirely new, deft and complex rhythms. The set closes with an exhilarating romp cascading through a groovy expanse on \u201cCarry On.\u201d\u00a0<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/u>\u201cThis is the first record we\u2019ve done where we have allowed ourselves to do other people\u2019s material full throttle,\u201d said Beckenstein. \u201cThat is not to say in any way that we tried to copy what other people did, but it was really great to reach outside of our writing capabilities for inspiration for us to take off on. And that\u2019s what this album is about.\u201d<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cVinyl Tap\u201d contains the following songs:<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cSecret Agent Mash\u201d<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cSunshine Of Your Love\u201d<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t Find My Way Home\u201d<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat A Fool Believes\u201d<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cisco Kid\u201d<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve Got To Hide Your Love Away\u201d<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cTempted\u201d<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cStolen Moments\u201d<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cCarry On\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seminal contemporary jazz band mines a collection of vinyl classics for their first album in six years. \u201cVinyl Tap\u201d\u00a0 Free of the tension of having to write great songs, the five members of\u00a0Spyro Gyra\u00a0were laughing and having fun in the recording studio. Creativity flowed as the venerable contemporary jazz band revisited the songs that inspired … Continue reading “VINYL TAP LIMITED EDITION BAND AUTOGRAPHED LP”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[32,34],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1242","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-allitems","7":"product_cat-compactdisc","9":"first","10":"outofstock","11":"taxable","12":"shipping-taxable","13":"purchasable","14":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/1242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=1242"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=1242"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/spyrogyra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=1242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}