<![CDATA[Morning Dance (Spyro Gyra/Jay Beckenstein)]]>Morning Dance is the title of the second studio album by  Spyro Gyra, released in 1979. The album cover shows an intricate and detailed colour illustration of a woodland scene with dancing fairies and other insects, being spied upon by a young woman.

Morning Dance is Spyro Gyra’s most commercially successful album. The title cut became a major radio hit (Billboard #24 pop, #1 adult contemporary.)

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 scene. Among their most successful hit singles are “Shaker Song” and “Morning Dance”, which received significant play on popular music radio stations, and are still frequently heard nearly 30 years later on jazz and easy listening stations.

Their music, which has been influential in the development of smooth jazz, combines jazz with elements of R&B, funk and pop music. Although generally considered to be more “jazz” than “smooth”, Spyro Gyra have been praised as skilled instrumentalists and for their live performances, which average nearly 100 per year.

With the exception of alto saxophonist, songwriter & founding bandleader Jay Beckenstein and keyboardist Tom Schuman the personnel has changed somewhat over time as well as between the studio and the live stage.

 

 

Morning Dance Spyro Gyra

Morning Dance Spyro Gyra

 

Track listing and personnel

1. “Morning Dance” (Jay Beckenstein) – 4:11

2. “Jubilee” (Jeremy Wall) – 4:31

3. “Rasul” (Jeremy Wall) – 3:57

4. “Song for Lorraine” (Jay Beckenstein) – 3:59

5. “Starburst” (Jeremy Wall) – 4:50

6. “Heliopolis” (Jay Beckenstein) – 5:34

7. “It Doesn’t Matter” (Chet Catallo) – 4:27

8. “Little Linda” (Jeremy Wall) – (4:27)

9. “End of Romanticism” (Rick Strauss) – 5:00

 

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