Record Reflections by A. Scott Galloway

25 years ago, a super group of contemporary jazz giants formed a quartet dubbed Fourplay and began the business of making evocative groove-scapes spiced with a tasty dollop of sensuality via soul-pop vocal stars and sexy covers of touchstones by boudoir masters Marvin Gaye and The Isley Brothers. Since that time, they’ve pretty much ditched the vocals and gone deeper into what I call movies for the ears. Fourplay’s new 10-song CD, Silver (Concord Records) – recorded at Sunset Sound Studio in Hollywood where they cut their self titled debut in 1990 for Warner Bros. – marks the band’s 25^th anniversary and is, fittingly, one of its finest most consistent CDs in some time.

Aside from said aural movie wonders, I find the highlights of this album (with all songs referencing silver in some constitution) are the slinky “Horace” (pianist Bob James’ homage to jazz legend Horace Silver, the great pianist and prolific “soul-jazz” composer who passed away in June 2014), the acoustic brushed elegance of drummer Harvey Mason’s “A Silver Lining,” guitarist Chuck Loeb’s “Precious Metal” – the most sensual and romantic of the songs featuring special guest Kirk Whalum – and bassist Nathan East’s “Aniversario,” a tasty slice of funk. Extra special are the returns of Fourplay’s previous guitarists: original member Lee Ritenour (who contributes the rich harmonically layered CD-closer “Windmill,” co-composed with old west coast studio friend “The Mase”) and Rit’s replacement Larry Carlton who joyfully teams with Loeb on the bluesy groove “Silverado” which feels like an Eddie Harris line buffed to signature Fourplay polish.

~ CONTINUE READING FULL ARTICLE

The latest reports show that SILVER is currently…

#1 on Sound Scan Jazz Chart

#1 on Tower Records Jazz Chart

#1 on Yamano Music Jazz Chart

(continue reading…)

Fourplay lives Las Palmas, Gran Canaria Island

Las Palmas Beach

(continue reading…)

Continue to Bass Player Magazine…

“As usual Fourplay creates lightly funky and melodic groove music that is bluesy, danceable and quite accessible. Both James and Loeb take many fine solos but it is the sound of the ensembles that gives this group its own personality…Fourplay’s large audience will certainly find Silverenjoyable.”
Jazz Inside
————————
“Fourplay celebrates its 25^th anniversary with an inspired outing that includes former guitar members Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour as guests.”
Bass Player
————————
“All of the songs have that great feeling of consistent quality and deep grooves that Fourplay and these high-profile guest artists bring to the studio. That sense of fellowship permeates Silver from start to finish and you can be assured that this recording is definitely one that is definitely ‘Sterling Silver.’”
AXS.com
————————
“The album is a work of art…Sophisticated arrangements and ultrafine interplay are their most particular strength.”
First View
————————
 “Longevity among jazz groups is a surprisingly rare commodity. With relatively few exceptions, a run of a few years, at most, is standard; for a collective of jazz musicians to stick together for a decade or more is almost unheard of. That puts Fourplay, who celebrates their 25th anniversary this year, in a league of their own.”
Jazz Inside

September 2015 – 25th Anniversary Tour (continue reading…)

Allt är silver som glimmar när superkvartetten Fourplay 25-årsjubilerar. Tre av fyra har varit med 
sedan starten och på platta nr. 13 serveras idel nya kompositioner på temat snillrikt harmoniserad och fulländ­ad smooth jazz. (continue reading…)