 Fourplay is back with their release Esprit
De Four, from a band that has continued to cast their magic on the
Jazz world for more than two decades and twelve releases, it is crisp,
progressive, funky at times, and always engaging.
Fourplay
– Esprit De Four
Fourplay – Esprit De Four: December Dream; Firefly; Venus; Sonnymoon; Put Our Hearts Together
(instrumental version); All I Wanna Do; Logic of Love; Esprit De Four; Sugoi;
Put Our Hearts Together (vocal track)
Personnel: Bob James: Keyboards; Nathan East: Bass, Vocals;
Chuck Loeb: Guitars; Synths; Harvey Mason: Drums, Percussion, Vibes, Synths;
Seiko Matsuda: Vocals (track – 10)
Fourplay – Esprit De Four was produced by Fourplay
and was released on the Heads Up label a division of
Concord Music Group.
For over two decades and on twelve releases, Fourplay continues to create energizing, leading edge, progressive
music, and Esprit De Four is no
exception. The release Esprit De Four
contains contributions from all four members, each imparting their unique style
writing and arranging tracks.
The release opens with the
track, December Dream, from the
newest member of Fourplay, guitarist
Chuck Loeb. The arrangement is subtle and unpretentious, but it captures the listener’s
attention and draws them into the flow of the music, with each member painting
their own brush stroke to Chuck’s arrangement. Firefly, written by Nathan East, was inspired by the jazz trio Dirty Loops, who are good friends of
Nathan. He wanted to deliver Dirty Loops’ style, energy, and their different
chord progressions, and per Nathan, Fourplay
delivered; a great track that moves at a snappy pace.
The track Venus, written by Harvey Mason, is
mesmerizing and lures the listen into a seductive expression projected by Chuck
Loeb’s guitar and Harvey’s
tantalizing drum work. Sonnymoon, by
Chuck Loeb, is dedicated to the band’s manger, Sonny Abelardo, and it is a
poignant arrangement with a tender melody.
The band turns it up a notch
with the instrumental version of Put Our
Hearts Together, written by Bob James, which is stirring and powerful. The
track is a tribute to the victims of the devastating tsunami that struck Japan
in March 2011. As Bob James states “The people of Japan have been very supportive of
my music for more than 30 years. When the tragedy struck, I was immediately
motivated to do something.” He performed the song for the first time in Japan
just six months after the tsunami. The release closes with the same track, but
with the addition of Seiko Matsuda who lends her vocal prowess to the lyrics
written by Bob James’ daughter, Hillary James.
All I Want To Do, by Nathan East, is a passionate and alluring track that calls out,
“Now it’s me and you… Loving you is all I want to do.” The release closes with Logic of Love, by Chuck Loeb, the title
track, Esprit De Four, by Harvey
Mason, Sugoi, by Bob James, and Put Our Hearts Together, the vocal
track.
All together, Esprit De Four is a dynamic release
that shows the expressions of four masters of their instruments and masters of
crossing genres to radiate a sound that is fresh, energizing, and progressive. In
essence, this release is what you have come to expect from Fourplay.
Follow Fourplay on Facebook at:
www.Facebook.com/FourplayJazz.
Follow Luxury Experience on Facebook at: www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience.com.
Websites where you can
procure Fourplay – Esprit De Four are Amazon, CD
Universe, iTunes, and Concord
Music Group.
© November 2012. Luxury
Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com.
All rights reserved.
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