Spyro Gyra to Perform at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2/14

The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza presents Spyro Gyra at the Fred Kavli Theatre on Friday, February 14, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.

Nearly 40 years ago, Spyro Gyra formed out of a regular Tuesday night jam session at a club in Buffalo. The jazz fusion juggernaut would go on to become one of the most prolific and commercially successful groups in their jazz genre. They released twenty-nine albums with sales of over 10 million copies, received 12 Grammy Award nominations and played over five thousand shows in a completely remarkable career.

2014 represents a dual milestone for the group's almost singular achievement in modern jazz history. First, 2014 marks forty years as a band - something that very few bands get to say. The second is the 35th anniversary of their breakthrough platinum album Morning Dance, which was the musical achievement that introduced them to the world at large. To observe these dual anniversaries, the band is going to present a never-before-seen event for its fans. The band will perform the entire Morning Dance album in sequence for the first time ever in its career. This will be the first half of the show with the second half being highlights of the rest of their career in music.

In its earliest days, Spyro Gyra took its cues from Weather Report and Return to Forever, bands whose creative flights were fueled by a willingness to do things that had never been done before. The first few years saw the group's identity split into a dynamic live act and a producer-centric recording process, borne out of the rotating cast of characters springing from the band's jazz jam beginnings. In 1983, Jay Beckenstein made the decision to make the albums work of the band members he shared the stage with night after night. Although the band underwent several personnel changes in the 80s, these shifts slowed down about 20 years ago.

Single tickets are priced at $61-$41 with group discounts available. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or through the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard. For more information call 805-449-ARTS (2787) or visit www.civicartsplaza.com.