Night Before Christmas

Spyro Gyra | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 23, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Heads Up
• ASIN: B001DDBCXC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,358 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

A Jazz twist for that magical night, The Night Before Christmas. Get into the holiday groove with Spyro Gyra, a jazz fusion band that was originally formed in the mid-1970s in Buffalo, New York, USA. Their music, which has been influential in the development of smooth Jazz as they combine Jazz with elements of R&B, Funk and Pop music. Although generally considered to be more "Jazz" than "smooth", Spyro Gyra's music emphasizes melody over improvisation. Catch the spirit of the season with Spyro Gyra!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Christmas Music, Amazing Musicianship!, November 27, 2008

By 

Duane Minnick (Ashburn, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Night Before Christmas (Audio CD)

Finally, a great collection of Christmas music from the legendary Spyro Gyra! I do love Christmas music and personally own several hundred CD's of Christmas music. As a musician, I have a high standard of quality that I want in this type of music. This is now one of my favorites. If just for the "cool" performances of "Carol of the Bells" & "The First Noel". I really like that this disc has a nice mix of sacred and secular melodies. The gem in the collection is Jay Beckenstein's "It Won't Feel like Christmas", sung beautifully by Christine Ebersole, it should be a "new classic". No other jazz group has put out such consistantly fine music for such a long period of time (almost 30 yrs). They are the best!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best jazz Christmas CD ever!, November 2, 2009

By 

Rushmore (CHICAGO, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Night Before Christmas (Audio CD)

I have a large collection of Christmas CDs and have pretty eclectic tastes. This is the first jazz holiday CD that I really feel is worth owning. I'm not hugely into jazz and feel "smooth jazz" is probably the most accessible. I did see Spyro Gyra in concert many years ago. I thought they were fun to watch but I didn't get into the music that much. After that long intro to me, I have to say I love this CD! It's the first holiday jazz CD that doesn't sound like background music to your chichi holiday party. My favorite song is Baby It's Cold Outside which is just really energetic and, well, jazzy. I feel like it ups my personal cool quotient just listening to it. My impression of SG is that they're pretty experimental, and the comment by the reviewer that this was a more traditional album than expected would support that impression. Still - once the holidays are over, I'm ready to try more Spyro Gyra.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's About Time, December 22, 2008

By 

rsb "rsb96405" (Vienna, WV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Before Christmas (Audio CD)

Finally, after more than 20 years of making wonderful music together, the best jazz fusion band ever has produced a Christmas album. If you like SG, you'll not be disappointed with this release.

The arrangements are superb and the performances are immaculate. The vocals are just great, with the possible exception of drummer Bonny's opening to "The Christmas Song." To me it is a silly bit of unneccesary nonsense, but many will probably like it.

The best vocal is Christine Ebersole's lovely interpretation of Jay Beckenstein's original "It Won't Feel Like Christmas." This promises to be an annual favorite, especially so long as we have loved ones apart at the Holidays. Bonny redeems himself well in his duet with singer Janis Siegel on "Baby It's Cold Outside", which is an excellent arrangement and a clever vocal counterpoint.

The other charts are typical SG, with interesting and clever reworks of familiar tunes, sparked with high quality playing by all members. As an extra treat, Dave Samuels returns for cameos on "Carol of the Bells" and "Winter Wonderland" - great to hear his fine vibes' work again.

Rhythmic, harmonious and excellent describes SG's work over all these years, and "A Night Before Christmas" fills in the missing niche exactly the same way.