Dreams Beyond Control

Dreams Beyond Control is the seventeenth album by the American jazz group Spyro Gyra, released in 1993 by GRP Records. The group supported the album with a North American tour.

The album peaked in the top 5 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.

Production
The album was produced by Jay Beckenstein. Alex Ligertwood, formerly of Santana, sings on "Patterns in the Rain" and "Send Me One Line". It was the first time a Spyro Gyra album contained vocals in English. The Tower of Power Horns played on the album. The group experimented with the songs on tour before recording them. ""Waltz for Isabel" is a tribute to Beckenstein's third daughter.

Critical reception
The Chicago Tribune deemed the album "a rather leaden excursion into R&B-flavored pop-fusion." The Boston Herald concluded that "beneath this somewhat tougher exterior beats the same faint musical heart, full of sweet melodies, perky rhythms and chatty solos—but every bit as empty of risk and guts as ever."

Track listing

 * 1) "Walk the Walk" (Julio Fernandez) – 4:20
 * 2) "Patterns in the Rain" (Foster Paterson) – 4:38
 * 3) "Breakfast at Igor's" (Jay Beckenstein, Scott Ambush) – 5:23
 * 4) "Waltz for Isabel" (Beckenstein) – 4:43
 * 5) "South Beach" (Fernandez) – 5:13
 * 6) "Send Me One Line" (John Martyn) – 4:57
 * 7) "Bahia" (Dave Samuels) – 5:08
 * 8) "Kindred Spirit" (Tom Schuman) – 4:05
 * 9) "Birks Law" (Beckenstein) – 4:36
 * 10) "Same Difference" (Beckenstein, Fernandez) – 5:25
 * 11) "The Delicate Prey" (Jeremy Wall) – 5:33

Personnel
Spyro Gyra
 * Jay Beckenstein – saxophones
 * Tom Schuman – keyboards
 * Julio Fernández – guitars
 * Scott Ambush – bass
 * Joel Rosenblatt – drums
 * Dave Samuels – vibraphone, marimba, mallets

Additional Personnel
 * Howard Levy – harmonica (3)
 * Marc Quiñones – percussion (5, 7)
 * Cyro Baptista – percussion (7, 11)
 * Alex Ligertwood – lead and backing vocals (2, 6)
 * Lani Groves – backing vocals (6)
 * Will Lee – backing vocals (6)
 * Vaneese Thomas – backing vocals (6)

Tower of Power Horns (Tracks 1 & 3)
 * Stephen "Doc" Kupka – baritone saxophone
 * Emilio Castillo – tenor saxophone
 * David Mann – tenor saxophone
 * Greg Adams – trumpet, horn arrangements
 * Alan Chez – trumpet

No Sweat Horns (Tracks 5, 7 & 10)
 * Scott Kreitzer – tenor saxophone, flute, piccolo flute
 * Randy Andos – trombone, bass trombone
 * Barry Danielian – trumpet, flugelhorn, horn arrangements

Production

 * Jay Beckenstein – producer
 * Jeremy Wall – assistant producer
 * Phil Brennan – assistant producer, management
 * Larry Swist – assistant producer, recording, mixing
 * Dave Grusin – executive producer
 * Larry Rosen – executive producer
 * Kevin Becka – assistant engineer
 * Steve Regina – assistant engineer
 * Dann Wojner – assistant engineer
 * Ted Jensen – mastering
 * Joseph Doughney – post-production technician
 * Michael Landy – post-production technician
 * Michael Pollard – production coordinator
 * Diane Dragonette – assistant production coordinator
 * Sonny Mediana – production director
 * Sharon Franklin – assistant production director
 * Andy Baltimore – creative director
 * Scott Johnson – art direction
 * Dan Serrano – art direction
 * Alba Acevedo – graphic design
 * Jackie Salway – graphic design
 * Martin LaBorde – front cover illustration
 * David A. Wagner – color photography


 * Additional Studios
 * Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York).
 * Post-Production at The Review Room (New York City, New York).