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Saxophonist
and songwriter from Brooklyn, New York, who started out on the piano before
gravitating to his signature instrument at seven years of age. He played in the school band and
when his father was stationed in Nurnberg, Jay entertained the troops and
played the German club circuit.
Upon returning
to the States, he attended Buffalo’s University of New York where he
studied avant garde and
classical music. He and Jeremy
Wall began jamming together and the seeds of Spyro
Gyra were sown. In 1979, they cracked the top forty
and topped the adult contemporary charts with the instrumental, “Morning
Dance”. They have
released albums at a pace of about one a year ever since, and are an
enormously popular live act.
In 2000, Jay
released his first-ever solo CD, Eye
Contact. It was a
short-lived departure from the group, and he continues to record and tour
with Spyro Gyra to this
day.
Spyro Gyra recordings
Morning Dance (Jay Beckenstein)
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Beckenstein
- http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/jay-beckenstein/402407
- http://www.orpheusmusicalinstruments.com/endorsers/jayb/jayb.html
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