Pianist-composer Bob James says the name of his band, Fourplay, is more than simply a statement of its size.

“We operate without a leader,” he says. “It is more like four leaders or four sidemen, all with equal voices.”

The group that will perform Saturday at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild on the North Side has been around for 20 years with three of its four members always being the same: James, drummer Harvey Mason and bassist Nathan East.

But the guitar spot has changed twice, with Chuck Loeb joining the band in 2010, replacing Larry Carlton, who had been there since 1998, when he followed Lee Ritenour.

James is perhaps best-known for a popular style of jazz typified by his theme to the TV comedy “Taxi.” Similarly, the band has maintained that kind of accessible sound. He says it is “not out of any strict definition,” but because of the blend of the thinking of the four players.

Over the years, that musical product created a sound that steered the same direction, even with the changes of guitarists.

James shies away from comparing members, but says he is glad to have Loeb aboard because he is a “complete, well-rounded musician and a team player.”

Loeb’s attitude fits in well with the four-vote democracy of the Grammy award-winning band, he says.

Fourplay has an easy-going, contemporary sound that would seem to display James’s musical persona. But his musical nature is shown better perhaps by one fact of this show:

It is James’ fourth appearance at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild since 2006. In 2006, he performed in a quintet focusing on his music. In 2007, he returned in a look at Asian influences on jazz. In 2010, he and fellow pianist Keiko Matsui did a show of four-handed work.

“I like the challenges and appreciate having a place like the Guild that will let me demonstrate it,” he says.

James made himself known with a pop-jazz sound he honed in a series of albums in the ’70s featuring such jazz greats as flutist Hubert Laws and bassist Ron Carter. He won Grammy awards for efforts with guitarist Earl Klugh and David Sanborn.

Before that, though, worked on such classic albums as “Don’t Mess with Mr. T.,” by Pittsburgh saxophone star Stanley Turrentine. He also was an arranger and producer for Creed Taylor’s CTI records.

He recalls once having a soul-searching talk with his wife about whether he should focus on one aspect of the business and forget the others. She thought that was a bad idea, he says.

“Being a jack-of-all trades is OK if that is who you are,” he says.

He continues to take that route. While on the road with Fourplay, “Altair & Vega,” a James-Matsui duo album has just hit the streets. It is a two-disc set with a DVD of them playing at the Craftsmen’s Guild shows.

Meanwhile, he has started working on a solo piano project he hopes will lead to an album and tours.

He says he likes the challenges, but believes there is a more important group that does, too.

“I feel the audience will be getting bored if I give them the same thing,” he says.

By Bob Karlovits, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, October 12, 2011

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