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Morning Dance

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Morning Dance
Artwork by David Heffernan
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 9, 1979
Recorded1978
GenreJazz fusion, smooth jazz
Length39:36
LabelInfinity Records, MCA, Amherst
ProducerJay Beckenstein, Richard Calandra
Spyro Gyra chronology
Spyro Gyra
(1978)
Morning Dance
(1979)
Catching the Sun
(1980)
Singles from Morning Dance
  1. "Morning Dance"
    Released: May 1979

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]

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]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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]
  1. "Morning Dance" (Jay Beckenstein) – 3:58
  2. "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
  3. "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
  4. "Song for Lorraine" (Jay Beckenstein) – 3:59
  5. "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
  6. "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
  7. "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
  8. "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
  9. "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

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]
  1. ^ "Spyro Gyra Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  2. ^ Brackley, Judith (1 May 1980). "Records/Reviews". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Spyro Gyra - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  5. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums - July 14, 1979" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Morning Dance Spyro Gyra". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  7. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 665.
  8. ^ Miller, Mark (23 June 1979). "Morning Dance Spyro Gyra". The Globe and Mail. p. F4.
  9. ^ 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.