JAZZ

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 6:30PM

THE SMOOTH CRUISE SERIES KICKS OFF WITH SPYRO GYRA!

New York’s favorite summer jazz series is coming back – now in its 11th year on board The Spirit of New York cruise ship at Pier 61, Chelsea Piers (23rd St.)!

These great LIVE JAZZ concerts take place on The Spirit of New York, as you cruise the beautiful, scenic Hudson River. Enjoy some of your favorite artists as you sail past the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. This summer will feature 10 great evenings with the world’s best jazz artists. Every Wednesday evening, starting July 1 and ending September 2.

The Smooth Cruises sell out fast. So get your tickets now!

SPYRO GYRA
For more than three decades, Spyro Gyra has maintained a position at the forefront of modern jazz by successfully managing not just one, but several feats of creative dexterity.
Founded in 1974 by saxophonist Jay Beckenstein, Spyro Gyra has consistently been one of the most commercially successful pop-jazz groups of the past 30 years. The band became a full-time venture in 1976 and has been touring ever since. The band’s music is a combination of R&B, pop, and Caribbean music infused with jazz, which makes for quite stimulating live performances.

In their earliest days, Spyro Gyra took their cues from Weather Report and Return to Forever – bands whose creative flights were fueled by a willingness to do things that had never been done before. Their 1979 album, Morning Dance firmly placed Spyro Gyra as one of the most popular artists in contemporary jazz, and throughout the ’80s, their popularity continued growing with consistent best-seller albums and numerous sold-out concerts.

Fast forward to 2001 when Spyro Gyra signed with Heads Up International and recorded In Modern Times, an album that spent 64 weeks on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart, peaking at #2. Two years later, the band released Original Cinema, followed by The Deep End in 2004. Both albums logged considerable time on the Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz charts. The GRAMMY® nomination for Wrapped in a Dream in 2006 reaffirmed the undeniable fact that these veterans are still formidable contenders in the contemporary jazz arena.

The band continued its ongoing process of musical exploration with the 2007 release of Good To Go-Go in the summer of 2007, scoring two GRAMMY® nominations in December 2007: Best Pop Instrumental Album and Best Pop Instrumental Performance (the latter nomination for the track entitled “Simple Pleasures”).

Spyro Gyra’s A Night Before Christmas (2008) is a collection of eleven tracks that capture the yuletide spirit with a decidedly traditional jazz vibe. The album was recently nominated for a GRAMMY® in the category of Best Pop Instrumental album.

Be sure to catch Spyro Gyra’s most recent album Down the Wire, just released on April 28, 2009!