Morning Dance is the second album by the jazz fusion group Spyro Gyra.[1][2] The album was released in March 9, 1979 and was certified gold by the RIAA on September 19, 1979, and was certified platinum on June 1, 1987.[3]
| Morning Dance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 9, 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion, smooth jazz | |||
| Length | 39:36 | |||
| Label | Infinity Records, MCA, Amherst | |||
| Producer | Jay Beckenstein, Richard Calandra | |||
| Spyro Gyra chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Morning Dance | ||||
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At Billboard magazine, the album reached No. 27 on the Top 200 albums chart, while the song "Morning Dance" reached No. 24 on the Hot 100 songs chart and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary songs chart.[4] In Canada, the album reached No. 47 in its 10th week,[5] and returned to No. 49 in its 20th week of 25 in the top 100.
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [7] |
The Globe and Mail wrote that "Morning Dance is too heavily produced and too tightly arranged to be a very impressive jazz record."[8]
Track listing and personnel edit
- "Morning Dance" (Jay Beckenstein) – 3:58
- Jay Beckenstein – alto saxophone
- Jeremy Wall – electric piano
- John Tropea – electric and acoustic guitars
- Jim Kurzdorfer – bass
- Ted Reinhardt – drums
- Rubens Bassini – congas and percussion
- Dave Samuels – marimba and steel drums
- "Jubilee" (Jeremy Wall) – 4:31
- Jay Beckenstein – alto saxophone
- Jeremy Wall – electric piano and synthesizers
- John Tropea – electric guitar
- Will Lee – bass
- Steve Jordan – drums
- Rubens Bassini – congas and percussion
- Dave Samuels – marimba
- Randy Brecker – trumpet solo
- "Rasul" (Jeremy Wall) – 3:57
- Jay Beckenstein – soprano and tenor saxophones
- Jeremy Wall – acoustic and electric pianos
- Rick Strauss – guitar
- Jim Kurzdorfer – bass
- Ted Reinhardt – drums
- John Clark – French horn
- "Song for Lorraine" (Jay Beckenstein) – 3:59
- Jay Beckenstein – soprano saxophone
- Tom Schuman – electric and acoustic pianos
- Suzanne Ciani – synthesizers
- Chet Catallo – guitar
- Jim Kurzdorfer – bass
- Eli Konikoff – drums
- Gerardo Velez – bongos, congas, percussion
- Lani Groves, Diva Gray and Gordon Grody – vocalists
- "Starburst" (Jeremy Wall) – 4:50
- Jay Beckenstein – tenor saxophone (intro)
- Jeremy Wall – electric piano and synthesizers
- John Tropea – guitar
- Will Lee – bass
- Steve Jordan – drums
- Rubens Bassini – congas, timbales, percussion
- Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone solo
- "Heliopolis" (Jay Beckenstein) – 5:34
- Jay Beckenstein – alto saxophone, boobams, percussion
- Jeremy Wall – electric piano and synthesizers
- Tom Schuman – Rhodes piano solo
- John Tropea – guitar
- Will Lee – bass
- Steve Jordan – drums
- Rubens Bassini – congas, timbales, percussion
- Dave Samuels – marimba
- "It Doesn't Matter" (Chet Catallo) – 4:27
- Jay Beckenstein – soprano saxophone
- Tom Schuman – electric and acoustic pianos
- Suzanne Ciani – synthesizer
- Jeremy Wall – synthesizer
- Chet Catallo – guitar
- Jim Kurzdorfer – bass
- Eli Konikoff – drums
- Gerardo Velez – congas
- Lani Groves, Diva Gray and Gordon Gordy – vocalists
- "Little Linda" (Jeremy Wall) – 4:27
- Jay Beckenstein – alto saxophone
- Jeremy Wall – electric piano, acoustic piano, percussion
- Rick Strauss – guitar
- Jim Kurzdorfer – bass
- Ted Reinhardt – drums
- Rubens Bassini – bongos and percussion
- Dave Samuels – vibraphone
- "End of Romanticism" (Rick Strauss) – 5:00
- Jay Beckenstein – soprano saxophone
- Jeremy Wall – electric piano
- Tom Schuman – synthesizer solos
- Rick Strauss – 6 and 12-string electric guitars
- Jim Kurzdorfer – bass
- Ted Reinhardt – drums
- Dave Samuels – marimba
- John Clark – French horn
Additional Personnel Credits
- Larry Fast – synthesizer programming
- Jeremy Wall – string arrangements and conductor, horn arrangements and conductor (1-5, 7, 8, 9)
- Jay Beckenstein – horn arrangements and conductor (6)
Horn section
- Lew Del Gatto – flutes
- Jay Beckenstein – alto saxophone
- Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone
- Tom Malone – trombone
- Randy Brecker – trumpet
Strings
- Charles McCracken – cello
- Alfred Brown – viola
- Harry Cykman – violin
- Charles Libove – violin
- Harry Lookofsky – violin, concertmaster
- Matthew Raimondi – violin
Charts edit
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] | 86 |
| Canada | 27 |
| United States (Billboard 200) | 47 |
Production edit
- Jay Beckenstein – producer
- Richard Calandra – producer
- Jeremy Wall – assistant producer
- Michael Barry – recording, mixing
- Jack Malken – recording, mixing
- Charlie Conrad – recording
- Mick Guzauski – recording
- Larry Swist – recording
- Jason Corsaro – assistant engineer
- Darroll Gustamachio – assistant engineer
- Candice Munson – assistant engineer
- Rick Rowe – editing
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Peter Corriston – art direction, design
- Julie Heffernan – illustration
- Studios
- Recorded at Secret Sound (New York, NY); PCI Studios (Rochester, NY); Trackmaster Audio (Buffalo, NY); House of Music (West Orange, NJ).
- Mixed and Edited at Secret Sound
- Mastered at Masterdisk (New York, NY).
References edit
- ^ "Spyro Gyra Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ Brackley, Judith (1 May 1980). "Records/Reviews". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 1.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
- ^ "Spyro Gyra - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums - July 14, 1979" (PDF).
- ^ "Morning Dance Spyro Gyra". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 665.
- ^ Miller, Mark (23 June 1979). "Morning Dance Spyro Gyra". The Globe and Mail. p. F4.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 289. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.