Spyro Gyra — North Sea Jazz Festival, The Hague, 2003

Full filmed concert of Spyro Gyra at the North Sea Jazz Festival 2003, on 13 July, in the Statenhal in The Hague, Netherlands — the festival’s closing day. A pillar of American jazz fusion since the late 1970s, the band led by saxophonist and founder Jay Beckenstein unfurls a repertoire crossing jazz, funk, Latin and instrumental pop, the hallmark of a group that popularised the genre far beyond jazz circles. This high-definition live capture highlights the precision of the arrangements, the generous solos and the immediate melodic sense that define Spyro Gyra on stage. North Sea Jazz, one of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals, provides a choice setting for a performance at once virtuosic and accessible. The full concert video is a valuable document for fusion fans, catching the band at the height of its stage maturity. Savour it for the ensemble’s cohesion, the silky groove and the contagious energy of a filmed live concert that has lost none of its charm.