Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 12-JUN-2007

Track Listing

1. Simple Pleasures
2. Get Busy
3. Jam Up
4. Left Bank
5. Funkyard Dog
6. Along for the Ride
7. Island Time
8. Wassup!
9. Easy Street
10. Winter Tale
11. Good to Go-Go
12. Newroses

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12209 in Music
• Brand: SPYRO GYRA
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
Spyro Gyra leader Jay Beckenstein credits the addition of Trinidadian drummer Bonny B with juicing the long-running contemporary jazz band's sound, making it more "live-sounding." Wherever the stimulus came from, Good to Go-Go is one of the more forceful albums by Beckenstein and company. The drummer's Caribbean-style "Jam Up," featuring Andy Narell on steel drums and Bonny B on vocals, is infectious in a tightly wound way and melodically flavorful. With its modern harmonies, "The Left Band," with Christian Howe's guesting on violin, has an edge most such music lacks. Elsewhere, Spyro Gyra's funk-based sound is boosted by Julio Fernandez's wired guitar and lyrically colored by Tom Schuman's unplugged piano. This is the band's 26th album. Three decades on, it would seem, it is entering a promising new phase. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews

Energetic, interesting and exciting!
Spyro Gyra has consistently been one of the most successful pop-jazz groups of the past 30 years.
They released their first self-titled album in 1976 which they paid for and released on their own, on an independent label. Their sound caught on.
Within a year they had sold tens of thousands of records and signed a record deal.
The group has released an album of unique, innovative music almost every year for the past three decades. Not bad for some guys who just started out jammin'.
"Good to Go-Go" is the band's twenty-sixth of their overall career and their fifth release on Heads Up, following on the heels of the GRAMMY nominated 2006 release Wrapped in a Dream (Best Pop Instrumental Album).
They keep maiteining a fresh approach to their craft by borrowing from a range of sources and distilling them into an unmistakable signature sound.
A new face in the Spyro Gyra lineup belongs to drummer/percussionist Bonny B (short for Bonaparte). The Trinidad native had been touring with the band for several months before they went into the studio to record "Good To Go-Go", and the energy he brought to the party served as the catalyst for some fine tuning in the group's overall philosophy.
Bonny B joins saxophonist and Spyro Gyra founder Jay Beckenstein, keyboardist Tom Schuman, guitarist Julio Fernandez and bassist Scott Ambush in the five-man lineup.
Guest violinist Howes adds a continental flair to "The Left Bank", which is still 90% Spyro Gyra and the very talented Andy Narell adds his pan-playing to the second track.
The highlights of the the album are the bouncy mid-tempo "Simple Pleasures", a great song to listen to while driving with the windows down on a warm summer evening; the syncopated backbeat and subtle tonal shifts of uptempo "Get Busy" make for a challenging but fun melodic exercise.
"Along for the Ride" and "Island Time" take the listeners into a sort of Arthur Lyman/Les Baxter exotic islands music, but updated for the 21st century. Andy Narell adds his pan-playing to the second track and by now this album has won everybody's spirit.
Going into the homestretch with the title track, penned by Ambush, a highly percussive drums/bass groove that allows room for sax, keyboards and more.
Closing with "Newroses" increases the tempo/energy even further, with each band member trading licks for almost seven minutes.
In one word, a truly enjoyable, spirited delight.

Best CD in years
This is the best of Spyro Gyra's in years. After some average CD's like Original Cinema, The Deep End and Wrapped in a Dream they came with this one. The couldn't find a better tittle for this album because is really GOOD TO GO-GO. If you are a fan you will love this one but if you never heard them this is a good time to start doing it. Island time is the best track.

Energy, sparkle, chops, and great grooves
I've been listening to SG since 1981 - had all their early years stuff on vinyl and have seen/heard them several times in concert. They've always been jaw-droppingly amazing live and most of their studio sessions in the last few years have failed to capture the magic that is Spyro Gyra. Not this CD. Cut 1 with Tom Schuman growling on the Rhodes and Julio cruising out on guitar is well-worth the price of admiission alone. No group, and I mean no group, has the raw talent and musicianship that these guys do. This CD allows them all to stretch out and develop their solos and boy does this CD groove. Run, don't walk. . . . . Jay B and Co. have proven, once again, that they are the king of the contemporary jazz genre.