STUCK IN THE VINYL AGAIN - SPYRO GYRA - CARNAVAL

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Good Monday morning gang and welcome back to Stuck In The Vinyl Again . Today we remember Japanese born American jazz fusion guitarist, Hiram Bullock, on this, the 14th anniversary of his passing. He died in 2008, age 52, from cancer. During his 5 decade career he played with many acts including the Brecker Brothers, Roberta Flack, Bob James. Chaka Khan, Jaco Pastorius,  David Sanborn, Bonnie Tyler, Spyro Gyra, and tons of others. It's his work on Spyro Gyra's 4th studio album, that is our interest today. Carnaval was released September 29, 1980 on the MCA label and produced by Jay Beckenstein and Richard Calandra. The 8 song jazz fusion record reached #49 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and it's sole single, "Cafe Amore", peaked at #77 on the Hot 100, and #14 on the Adult Contemporary charts. 

"Cafe Amore" (Chet Catallo) – 5:02 

"Dizzy" (Tom Schuman, Eli Konikoff) – 4:40

"Awakening" (Jeremy Wall) – 5:48

"Cachaca" (Beckenstein) – 4:18

"Fox Trot" (Beckenstein) – 4:40

"Sweet 'n' Savvy" (Schuman) – 5:12

"Bittersweet" (Beckenstein) – 4:28

"Carnaval" (Wall) – 5:26

Band

Jay Beckenstein – saxophone (1-8), acoustic piano (4)

Tom Schuman – keyboards (1, 2, 4-7)

Jeremy Wall – keyboards (3, 8)

Dave Samuels – marimba (2, 5-8), vibraphone (2, 5-8)

Chet Catallo – guitar (1-7)

Jim Kurzdorfer – bass (3)

Eli Konikoff – drums (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7)

Gerardo Velez – percussion (2-6, 8)

Guests

Michael Brecker – flute (1)

Randy Brecker – trumpet (1, 2, 5, 8)

Rob Mounsey – Polyphonic synthesizer (1-7)

Hiram Bullock – guitar (2, 8), guitar solo (2)

John Tropea – guitar (3-7), guitar solo (4, 7)

Will Lee – bass (1, 2, 4-8)

Steve Jordan – drums (4, 8)

Errol "Crusher" Bennett – congas (1, 4, 6, 7, 8), percussion (1, 4, 6, 7, 8)

Richard Calandra – percussion (3)

Steve Kroon – percussion (4, 8)

David Darling – cello (2, 3)

Horn Section

Jay Beckenstein – alto saxophone

Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone

Tom Malone – trombone

Randy Brecker – trumpet

String Section

Jonathan Abramowitz – cello

Jesse Levy – cello

Sanford Allen – violin

Lamar Alsop – violin

Peter Dimitriadies – violin

Harold Kohon – violin

Harry Lookofsky – violin, concertmaster

Guy Lumia – violin

Matthew Raimondi – violin

Richard Sortomme – violin

Production

Jay Beckenstein – producer

Richard Calandra – producer

Jeremy Wall – assistant producer, horn and string arrangements (1-5, 7, 8), conductor (1-5, 7, 8)

Tom Schuman – horn and string arrangements (6), conductor (6)

Michael Barry – engineer, mixing

Neil Dorfsman – engineer, mixing

Jack Malken – engineer, mixing

Jason Corsaro – assistant engineer

Chris Howard – assistant engineer

Lucy Leslie – assistant engineer

Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York, NY).

George Osaki – art direction, design

David Heffernan – cover artwork

Waring Abbott – band and sleeve photography

Eliott Saltzman – studio photography