Saw them at blossom music center in akron ohio in the early eighties.We were blown away by Gerardo Velez and the sweet guitar sounds of Chet Catallo and marimba work of Dave Samuels and of course Jay on the sax and Tom Schuman on the keys.I would love to see them do a reunion concert cd or dvd.Cool video post!
This was a great beginning to alot of great music. I "discovered" Spyro Gyra for myself back in 1978. Rochester, NY waiting for a flight back to Laguardia- a small record shop just outside the airport- they had a stack of these albums and the owners said "here take one- they're a great little jazz group from around here". I still have that album!
Damn, Tom Schuman is burning up the keys there. I don't care what anybody says, the Moog and B3 Hammond produces some of the best sounds ever. Reminds me of Bob James Angela and Worchester lady.
Wonderful! Amazing! Keyboardist Tom Schuman a mere 22 years old here. Beautiful sax and keyboards. My friends tell me that the Spyro Gyra concert they had attended in Scotland that year is by far the best concert they have ever attended.
It's funny listening to him describe the genesis of this song as an almagolmation of the various genres of the time; dare I say the greatest generation of all time. Boy, I wish the 80's so much. Thank you Jay and your work. I may never have the 80's again, but I will always have the music from there and no one can ever take that away from me.
f*ckin awesome! I was introduced to Spyro Gyra's music in my teens by a childhood buddy's older brother in the 80's... one of the best instrumental pop jazz band ever
OMG I grow up with this song, I am a metalhead though ....this was influenced by my uncle's I can't live without them until now.. I think metal can't live with out them (Jazz music) too.. \m/..
I hear you!!! City Kids was my very first Spyro Gyra album. A real masterpiece, and still my favourite. The tune "City Kids" is for sure one of the real, but underrated hits by Spyro. ATB Daniel
The live version of Shaker Song on Access all Areas is awesome, Dave Samuels' marimba solo is one of the best instrumentals ever, in my opinion. The way he builds the solo is masterful, it's one of those pieces I have to play over and over, and over and over...etc...
Early Spyro Gyra is just great. The tune "city kids" is still my favorite. Beautiful chord changes and GREAT synthesizer work by Tom Schuman. That was a long time ago though.
Tom's keyboards on this song (that I could see): Minimoog, Multimoog, Rhodes piano, and Oberheim 4-Voice. Even after all these years, he's still one of my favorite jazz keyboardists, and an incredible soloist.
I bought a ticket to watch Spyro Gyra at the Liverpool empire on the tails of Morning Dance, unfortunately they never showed up. Don't know what the reason was. However I was fortunate to see Man Tran in the same year at the same venue what a performance!
All of the analog gear is so nice, I too started out on the minimoog, Never own an micro or a multi but love to one day, Jus have a Mini, Memorymoog, prophet 5 rhodes, clave and wurli. There such wonderful devices and tom is playing the heck out of them.Lovin this vid
heh...funny you say that. i have a friend, who ironically plays "flat", but has his own little postulations about piano technique, saying "when you practice something do it right, otherwise bad habits form until eventually you cultivate those bad habits into technique". Jordan Rudess' keyboard wizardry might be that case. it is so true though. i have a friend of 35, who is immersed in the gospel keys tradition. he plays his C blues scale prestissimo using only the 1st and 2nd fingers...
Vintage Spyro Gyra! Where did you find this? Oh man! And wow, Tom Schuman sure looked a lot different then! (I have a similar pic of him in an album jacket) - also nice to see Jim Kurzdorfer and Gerardo Velez.
Two synths balanced and over-hanging on a Rhodes, thats a bit precarious !! Whats the synth on Tom's left (the one he doubles a harmony on at the start of his solo) ??
Always been a fan, but back in the early Eighties, when tickets hovered around $10-12 bucks, these guys were asking for $35! I never liked them after that; it made me think they were arrogant.
well...it's hard to say. i have a friend who plays "flat", yet is in the classical discipline. but, "curved" fingers are the way to go. normally, jazz musicians, unless they are classically trained, tend to play "flat". or, maybe that's just what i have experienced first-hand. for me, classical pianists SHOULD have better fingers, though it isn't always the case.
The best live rendition of the song
Their early years are far and away their best years. They'll always be one of my favorite jazz groups.
Eargasm is the only word to describe this kind of music. I can't wait for summer jazz festivals to kick off in 2013!
Kurzdorfer,Konikoff, and Catallo-- pure Spyro Gyra magic, my favorite lineup of this majestic group these guys played so well off of each other
Saw them at blossom music center in akron ohio in the early eighties.We were blown away by Gerardo Velez and the sweet guitar sounds of Chet Catallo and marimba work of Dave Samuels and of course Jay on the sax and Tom Schuman on the keys.I would love to see them do a reunion concert cd or dvd.Cool video post!
This was a great beginning to alot of great music. I "discovered" Spyro Gyra for myself back in 1978. Rochester, NY waiting for a flight back to Laguardia- a small record shop just outside the airport- they had a stack of these albums and the owners said "here take one- they're a great little jazz group from around here". I still have that album!
Damn, Tom Schuman is burning up the keys there. I don't care what anybody says, the Moog and B3 Hammond produces some of the best sounds ever. Reminds me of Bob James Angela and Worchester lady.
i was 5yrs old in 1985, and i still listen today, thanks to my dad introducing this....timeless...
Wonderful! Amazing! Keyboardist Tom Schuman a mere 22 years old here. Beautiful sax and keyboards. My friends tell me that the Spyro Gyra concert they had attended in Scotland that year is by far the best concert they have ever attended.
It's funny listening to him describe the genesis of this song as an almagolmation of the various genres of the time; dare I say the greatest generation of all time. Boy, I wish the 80's so much.
Thank you Jay and your work. I may never have the 80's again, but I will always have the music from there and no one can ever take that away from me.
These guys define jazz in their own league. I can't get enough of it.
f*ckin awesome!
I was introduced to Spyro Gyra's music in my teens by a childhood buddy's older brother in the 80's...
one of the best instrumental pop jazz band ever
BOOOOOOOOM. FANTASTIC. THE MUSIC OF MY 20 YEARS
I love this song !!! Great tune from a fantastic, internationally acclaimed band that started in Buffalo, NY !
OMG I grow up with this song, I am a metalhead though ....this was influenced by my uncle's I can't live without them until now.. I think metal can't live with out them (Jazz music) too.. \m/..
I hear you!!!
City Kids was my very first Spyro Gyra album. A real masterpiece, and still my favourite.
The tune "City Kids" is for sure one of the real, but underrated hits by Spyro.
ATB
Daniel
love this song so much, i love spyr gyra, got alot of their songs on my ipod, like tellride, teardrops, freefall, love it
The live version of Shaker Song on Access all Areas is awesome, Dave Samuels' marimba solo is one of the best instrumentals ever, in my opinion. The way he builds the solo is masterful, it's one of those pieces I have to play over and over, and over and over...etc...
agreed
Early Spyro Gyra is just great. The tune "city kids" is still my favorite. Beautiful chord changes and GREAT synthesizer work by Tom Schuman. That was a long time ago though.
Wow! I was just a little girl then when I heard it. And now, it's still beautiful.
Tom's keyboards on this song (that I could see): Minimoog, Multimoog, Rhodes piano, and Oberheim 4-Voice. Even after all these years, he's still one of my favorite jazz keyboardists, and an incredible soloist.
This is still my favorite song by Spyro Gyra
I've got that one in my archives. Great remake of a classic! Good call.
the bassist is james kurzdorfer and he's my jazz ensemble teacher....he's sick on the double bass and keyboard
Saw them with Dave Gruisin about two months ago, just fantastic.
I bought a ticket to watch Spyro Gyra at the Liverpool empire on the tails of Morning Dance, unfortunately they never showed up. Don't know what the reason was. However I was fortunate to see Man Tran in the same year at the same venue what a performance!
Great song, great band!
All of the analog gear is so nice, I too started out on the minimoog, Never own an micro or a multi but love to one day, Jus have a Mini, Memorymoog, prophet 5 rhodes, clave and wurli. There such wonderful devices and tom is playing the heck out of them.Lovin this vid
You are right about Chet.He seemd to have more of a classic jazz sound.Lovin you is right up their with morning dance as on of my favorites too.
one of my all time favorite!
yeah i dont know how many times i've replayed this :s
Smooth Jazz on its finest.
exciting to see some old spyro gyra on youtube!
love this music so smooth...
This is my song!
Morning Dance is great but this was their best song
Tom Schuman was really good at mini-moog solos. I agree, the analog synths are more expressive and musical.
That’s that good shit
excellent!
Tom Schuman plays his ass off. His synth work has always been special. Check out his solo at the end of City Kids from the same album.
Jim Kurzdofer holdin it down on the bass!!
Good music players
Nothing short of an exceptional performance! Thanks for posting something truly great!
One of mine too. Have you heard Manhatten Transfer's version? Not a bad piece of work.
Only one Jay Beckenstein!!!...Great Post!
Yeah I was always taught wrists up! Check out Jordan Rudess - Keyboard Wizardry his wrists are below the keys! yet he's amazingly fast! =:-O
wow...tom shuman has fingers like a classical pianist.
heh...funny you say that. i have a friend, who ironically plays "flat", but has his own little postulations about piano technique, saying "when you practice something do it right, otherwise bad habits form until eventually you cultivate those bad habits into technique". Jordan Rudess' keyboard wizardry might be that case. it is so true though. i have a friend of 35, who is immersed in the gospel keys tradition. he plays his C blues scale prestissimo using only the 1st and 2nd fingers...
o yea. eargasm. ahhhh.
Synths are Minimoog and Moog Prodigy or Source (?) on top of the Rhodes, Oberheim 4-voice n the right of the Rhodes
Great Moog licks from TS here. 2 x Moogs on a Rhodes ! Weird fingering @ 3:51 ! lol
incredible how Jay B kicked so much ##$ being so young still
actually this song came out in the 70s, i think '77
Vintage Spyro Gyra! Where did you find this? Oh man! And wow, Tom Schuman sure looked a lot different then! (I have a similar pic of him in an album jacket) - also nice to see Jim Kurzdorfer and Gerardo Velez.
Two synths balanced and over-hanging on a Rhodes, thats a bit precarious !! Whats the synth on Tom's left (the one he doubles a harmony on at the start of his solo) ??
Look at all of the buttons on Tom's keyboard
Not a Prodigy nor a Source it's a Multimoog
Always been a fan, but back in the early Eighties, when tickets hovered around $10-12 bucks, these guys were asking for $35! I never liked them after that; it made me think they were arrogant.
well...it's hard to say. i have a friend who plays "flat", yet is in the classical discipline. but, "curved" fingers are the way to go. normally, jazz musicians, unless they are classically trained, tend to play "flat". or, maybe that's just what i have experienced first-hand. for me, classical pianists SHOULD have better fingers, though it isn't always the case.
I would not be ashamed of wearing my hair like that.
btw, who's the percussionist?
Gerardo Velez
@@alexthedrumdude The original percussionist was Emile Lattimor from Brooklyn,NY
Gteat solo by tom
do non-classical players have less better fingers?
Is this a mono sound, when he played on the piano?
there's no prophet
I love this song !!! Great tune from a fantastic, internationally acclaimed band that started in Buffalo, NY !