They have sold more than ten million records, received four GRAMMY® nominations, and are recognized as an esteemed musical institution. It’s been six years since contemporary jazz icons Spyro Gyra (https://spyrogyra.com) released a record and for their 31st album, they decided to do something they’ve never done before: record a collection of covers. Each member of the quintet selected rock and pop classics that they had listened to on vinyl while growing up. Imaginatively they rearranged and expanded the nine songs into entirely new songs in a process they called “warping.” Jazziz magazine named the newly released “Vinyl Tap” one of the “10 Albums You Need To Know” for October.
Used to composing all their own music, Spyro Gyra felt free of the pressure to write great material, which fueled their creativity when it came to the audacious arrangements they came up with for “Vinyl Tap.” They completely dismantled and rebuilt hits from Cream (“Sunshine Of Your Love”), The Doobie Brothers (“What A Fool Believes”), War (“The Cisco Kid”), The Beatles (“You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”), Squeeze (“Tempted”) and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (“Carry On”) as well as Oliver Nelson’s jazz standard “Stolen Moments” and a wild mashup of “Secret Agent Man” and “Alfie’s Theme” that opens the set. The first single that has begun its chart ascent is an Americana exploration of Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home.” The style of the record is as eclectic as the song choice: straight-ahead, contemporary and fusion jazz along with R&B, pop, rock, Latin and country music. “Vinyl Tap” is available as a limited-edition clear vinyl disc as well as digitally and on CD.
As popular of a live draw as ever, Spyro Gyra - saxophonist Jay Beckenstein, keyboardist Tom Schuman, guitarist Julio Fernandez, bassist Scott Ambush and drummer Lionel Cordew –
is in the midst of a monthlong global concert tour to launch “Vinyl Tap” with shows in Ireland, England, Netherlands, Bahrain, Italy, Germany and Israel before playing a run of U.S. dates starting on November 15 in Newark, NJ.
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