In 1990, MCA's jazz roster was absorbed by GRP, so Spyro Gyra switched labels, releasing Fast Forward, their first album for GRP, later that year. Over the course of the '80s, the membership of Spyro Gyra fluctuated, but Beckenstein and Schuman remained at its core, keeping the group's signature sound intact. In 1983, vibraphonist and marimba player Dave Samuels - who had played on several of the group's albums - became a full-fledged member of the band. Their albums were consistent best-sellers, and their concerts often sold out. Morning Dance firmly established Spyro Gyra as one of the most popular artists in contemporary jazz, and throughout the '80s their popularity continued growing. The record became a major hit, spawning a Top 40 single with "Morning Dance" and going platinum. Morning Dance, their first album for Infinity, was released in 1979.
Wall left the band in 1978, leaving Schuman as the group's main keyboardist. The album slowly became a success and Amherst sold the rights to the band to Infinity Records, a division of MCA. Spyro Gyra independently funded and recorded their debut album, releasing the record on the local independent label Amherst in 1976. Electric guitarist Chet Catallo, drummer Eli Konikoff, and percussionist Gerardo Velez all joined in 1978 (with Wall dropping out), and bassist David Wofford was added in 1980. Not long afterward, the group added keyboardist Tom Schuman. The owner misspelled the word as Spyro Gyra, and the band fell into place, featuring Beckenstein, Wall, Jim Kurzdorfer, and Tom Walsh. The saxophonist told him "Spirogyra," a word he learned in a college biology course. A club owner who wanted to advertise an upcoming appearance by the band asked Beckenstein for the group's name. Around 1974, the group was beginning to gel and cultivate a following. Beckenstein and his longtime friend, keyboardist Jeremy Wall, had been leading a group with a revolving membership every one of the many members in the band were loosely involved in the local jazz and rock scenes. The roots of Spyro Gyra lie in Buffalo, New York, in 1974. They have also earned over ten Grammy nominations, for albums including 1980's Catching the Sun, 1990's Fast Forward, and 2009's Down the Wire.
Known for their stimulating live performances and knack for crafting danceable melodies, the group has issued a steady stream of high-charting albums like 1979's gold-certified Morning Dance, 1981's Freetime, and 2001's In Modern Times. Taking inspiration from bands like Weather Report and Return to Forever, Spyro Gyra broke through in the mid-'70s, combining R&B and elements of pop and Caribbean music with jazz. Excludes: Burundi, Gabon Republic, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Swaziland, Gambia, Seychelles, Congo, Republic of the, Ghana, Mali, Angola, Cameroon, Mayotte, Guinea, South Africa, Algeria, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Lesotho, Chad, Mauritius, Morocco, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Somalia, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Namibia, Egypt, Western Sahara, Comoros, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Benin, Cape Verde Islands, Rwanda, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Tanzania, Kenya, Senegal, Niger, Eritrea, Madagascar, Mauritania, Reunion, Djibouti, Saint Helena, Libya, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Botswana, Zambia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Belize, El Salvador, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, Saint Lucia, Honduras, Panama, Virgin Islands (U.S.Led by saxophonist Jay Beckenstein, Spyro Gyra are one of the most consistently commercially successfully pop-jazz groups to emerge out of the fusion era.