With Eye Contact Spyro Gyra saxophonist Jay Beckenstein offers an album that fits cleanly alongside the Spyro catalog but also stretches beyond its usual parameters. He surrounds himself with great veteran talent: Chieli Minucci (Special EFX), Jason Miles (producer of Miles Davis and David Sanborn), Jeff Beal, and Chuck Loeb--along with a roll call of world-class bassists including Mark Egan, Marcus Miller, Will Lee, John Patitucci, and South African player Bakithi Kumalo. Over a pitter-patter percussion groove, Beckenstein's soprano swirls around Minucci's breezy acoustic guitar lines on "Sunrise." On "West Side Cool," Jason Miles surrounds the saxman's confident, strutting alto with moody atmospherics and a rolling bass line. The bluesy, retrosoul-flavored "Northline" finds Loeb's crying guitar line and organ simmering around the alto, while the title track features Beckenstein and Loeb creating pure romantic passion. Loeb's acoustic improvisations ease in and around Beckenstein's alto and tenor and Egan's winding bass lines on the upbeat "The Other Side." After another triumphant Beckenstein-Loeb romance on "Heart and Mind," the saxman pays tribute to his one-time teacher Charles Mingus on the legendary bassist's "Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat" (featuring John Patitucci). --Jonathan Widran