I forgot for a minute that Yamaha manufactures a lot of gear so I was a little dumbfounded for a minute about why these two long time pros were recording for a new, off beat label. Duh. In today’s world this makes perfect sense. What better way to have Yamaha show off all kinds of their recording and playing gear by putting it in the hands of these two pros and telling them ‘do whatever the hell you want’. Let’s just say James and East wouldn’t get this kind of love at Sony, WB, E One or any of the other usual haunts for their solo or Fourplay projects these days—all the way down to Bernie Grundman doing the mastering. Jazz with no walls or eyes on the clock is what these rascals serve up as they corral Vince Gill, the Nashville Recording Orchestra and more as they let 25 years of playing together show off the telepathy and simpatico they have evolved along the way. Real music for real listeners, slip on the headphones, block out the noise and let the magic have it’s way. Well done.

~ Source Article

NASHVILLE, Tenn. March 20, 2015 —Bob James and Nathan East, two of the  founding members of the contemporary jazz group Fourplay, have announced the forthcoming debut of their duet album, to be released by Yamaha Entertainment Group of America this fall. Although they have recorded together for decades and each have released solo projects, this duet is a first for both.

The legendary, GRAMMY award-winning musicians plan to showcase the true essence of eclectic jazz through a combination of epic melodies and soulful tunes. James, a distinguished pianist, and East, an unparalleled bass player, are both known for the meticulousness and originality in their music.
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The New Cool is a long time coming for one-half of the modern R&B jazz group Fourplay. Pianist Bob James and bassist Nathan East, together with the full range and force of Yamaha Entertainment Group’s state-of-the-art gear, extract the bare essence of each song’s character in the 11-track album out for an official release September 18.

The entire album of originals and a few, spare covers is an acoustic splendor of what piano, keyboards, and bass can do given the right circumstances, the right engineering — recorded in Nashville, and the right collaborative duo. Because James and East have been playing together for so long, naturally, their music will always go deeper, picking up on sonics — an exploration in the loveliest of melodies and harmonies — that otherwise might go unwarranted.
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It might be the height of summer but one great reason to look ahead into September is ‘The New Cool’ from contemporary jazz icons (and fellow members of super-group Fourplay) Bob James and Nathan East. 

It will be released on September 18, by Yamaha Entertainment Group, and predictably centers on jazz piano and bass duets as the vehicle for a diverse collection of original compositions and handpicked classics.  Recorded entirely in Nashville it reveals James and East in a way that you have never heard them before. 

Take for example the duo’s imaginative take on Willie Nelson’s ‘Crazy’ which carries with it the surprise of a Vince Gill vocal or the Brazilian jazz extravaganza which features percussionist Rafael Padilla and drummer Scott Williamson.
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Masterfully “Cool”: An album unlike any other…
by

Bob James and Nathan East

“The New Cool,” an expansive acoustic offering centered on scholarly jazz piano and bass duets, will be released September 18, a first from the GRAMMY®-honored artists and long-time collaborators. 

 Nashville, Tennessee (7 July 2015): Albums just aren’t made like the way “The New Cool” was made. Yamaha Entertainment Group label president Chris Gero put legendary keyboardist Bob James and master bassist Nathan East in the recording studio, equipped them with state-of-the-art Yamaha gear and gave them free reign to create. Recorded entirely in Nashville, the long-time collaborators emerged with an unexpected and audacious collection of original compositions plus a few handpicked classics, an acoustic jazz outing that will make you forget everything you thought you knew about these GRAMMY®-recognized artists best known as contemporary jazz luminaries. The disc produced by Gero, James and East will be released September 18.
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Long time manager of Fourplay, Sonny Abelardo, has been involved in music his entire life.  You could say music is in his blood.  In fact, his grandfather, Nicanor Abelardo, Sr. was a musical prodigy, and considered one of the greatest composers in the history of the Philippines.

Nicanor Abelardo, Sr. was born in into a family of artists, and was introduced to music when he was five years old, learning the solfeggio and the banduria.  At the age of 8, he composed his first work entitled “Ang Unang Buko”, which was dedicated to his grandmother.  By the age of 15, Nicanor had begun playing publicly in Manila, and began teaching in local schools.

In 1916, Nicanor began studying at the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music, and by 1924, was appointed head of the composition department at the Conservatory.  Later, he ran a school for young musicians, where he molded future National Artists Antonino Buenaventura, Alfredo Lozano, and Lucino Sacramento.  Then, in 1933, Nicanor Abelardo received his Master’s from the Chicago Musical College in Chicago, Illinois.

As a composition major at the University of the Philippines, he composed the melody for the university’s official anthem, U.P. Naming Mahal.  The building for the College of Music at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Abelardo Hall, and the main theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo, are named in his honor.

In the field of composition, he is known for his redefinition of the kundiman, bringing the genre to art-song status.  Among his works were “Nasaan Ka Irog,” “Magbalik Ka Hirang,” and “Himutok.”  Nicanor Abelardo died in 1934 at the age of 41, leaving a collection of more than 140 works, and a family heritage that continues today. (continue reading…)

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Fourplay was formed 25 years ago, born of a merging of jazz styles and instruments and expertise that forged the Berks Jazz Fest that same year.

A quarter-century later, both are matured, enhanced, reconfigured and still honoring the synergy that created them. So what better way to celebrate both silver milestones than to have Fourplay perform at Jazz Fest, which is exactly what will happen April 18, 7 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Cathedral. Tickets are $49.

Three of the four current members of Fourplay — Bob James, Nathan East and Harvey Mason — have been together since the beginning, crafting the improvisational contemporary jazz sound that still identifies the quartet today.

“We were in the studio recording “Restoration,” (a cut from Grand Piano Canyon),” said keyboardist Bob James, who is generally credited for bringing the musicians together (guitarist Lee Ritenour completed the group then and worked on the first three albums). “And we knew that something special was going on. Whenever you (collaborate) you hope things will click and sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t, but when the vibe is really happening, you feel it.”
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