Jazz musicians, more than artists in any other genre (with the possible exception of classical music), have a transient existence. Go back and look at someone like my personal favorite jazz musician, Miles Davis, and realize that in five plus decades of making music, he was really the only constant in any of those great combos. There were plenty of comings and goings in those group. John Coltrane came and went, came back and then left again because, even as these legends played with Miles, they were also working their own projects.

That’s the way it is with jazz musicians to this day, and that probably explains why fans in that genre suffer none of the angst that fans in other genres feel when, say, a Lionel Richie leaves The Commodores to embark on a solo career. Besides, an in-demand jazz musician may front or be the side man in several bands while also getting some studio work along with arranging and composing.

Fourplay has experienced turnover since the band was formed in 1990, but the lineup has remained remarkably stable since their self-titled debut that featured El DeBarge singing “After the Dance” took the world by storm in 1991.

CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE