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I have a long history with Spyro Gyra, having loved this rarefied jazz ensemble since the 1970s. On A Night Before Christmas, the band does not disappoint; they are still cookin' up a lush jazz stew after all these years. The music is sophisticated, yet accessible, complex, yet fully melodic. Excellent!

A Night Before Christmas is a super holiday release, providing soul-satisfying jazz instrumentals and three well-placed vocals. The album opens brightly with O Tannenbaum; the sax/piano dialogue is cheery and compelling. Christine Ebersole's turn on It Won't Feel Like Christmas is sweet melancholy, and Bonny B's closing The Christmas Song utilizes super-cool vocal gymnastics reminiscent of Bobby McFerrin. My favorite track is probably the classic treatment of Christmas Time Is Here; Tom Schuman's keyboard magic provides the perfect introduction.

Jazz afficionados will undoubtedly love Spyro Gyra's A Night Before Christmas, a wonderfully well-crafted holiday release. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Thanks, Spyro Gyra!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2008)

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From the liner notes:

Jay Beckenstein: Saxophones
Tom Schuman: Piano
Julio Fernandez: Guitar
Scott Ambush: Bass
Bonny B: Drums

Christine Ebersole: Vocal on It Won't Feel Like Christmas
Janis Siegel: Vocal on Baby It's Cold Outside
Bonny B: Vocals on Baby It's Cold Outside and The Christmas Song
Dave Samuels: Vibraphone on Carol of the Bells and Winter Wonderland

Produced by: Jay Beckenstein

All songs arranged by Spyro Gyra



From the Website:

When the band started out in Buffalo NY, there was no name for the group. The beginnings of the band grew out of a weekly jam session at a club in Buffalo named Jack Daniel's. Since it was very informal, the weekly session was known only as "Tuesday Night - Jazz Jam". As the popularity grew, the club owner wanted to put a name of the group on a new sign that he had just bought for the front of the club. One late night, that owner was asking Jay to decide on a name for his sign. Jay jokingly said, "Call it spirogira." Spirogira is an algae that Jay had remembered from biology class that is commonly known as "pond scum." The next week, that name was on the sign incorrectly spelled as "Spyro Gyra." In short, it was a joke.

Spyro Gyra

A Night Before Christmas

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Track List