Morning Dance

This article is about the album. For the title track, see Morning Dance (song).

1979 studio album by Spyro Gyra

Morning Dance

Studio album by

Spyro Gyra

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
| 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 ratingsReview 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]

1. "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
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
* 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
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

* 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]

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.

* v
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Spyro Gyra

Studio albums|

* Spyro Gyra
* Morning Dance
* Catching the Sun
* Carnaval
* Freetime
* Incognito
* City Kids
* Alternating Currents
* Breakout
* Stories Without Words
* Rites of Summer
* Point of View
* Fast Forward
* Three Wishes
* Dreams Beyond Control
* Love & Other Obsessions
* Heart of the Night
* 20/20
* Got the Magic
* In Modern Times
* Original Cinema
* The Deep End
* Wrapped in a Dream
* Good to Go-Go
* A Night Before Christmas
* Down the Wire
* A Foreign Affair
* The Rhinebeck Sessions

Live albums|

* Access All Areas
* Road Scholars

Compilations|

* Collection
* 1977-1987
* The Best of the First Ten Years
* The Very Best of Spyro Gyra

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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