Fourplay: Let's Touch the Sky (2010)

Sometimes you have to shake things up, push a little farther, reach a little higher - even when you're a contemporary jazz foursome that's been operating at the top of its collective game for two decades. After twenty years and a dozen albums, in an industry that has undergone sweeping transformations in the past decade, Fourplay knows that the only thing that's certain, in music or any other business, is change. The latest proof of that axiom is the new face in their lineup - that of guitarist Chuck Loeb, who makes his compelling debut with the quartet on Let's Touch The Sky.

Loeb completes the four-man crew that also includes the band's founding members: keyboardist Bob James, bassist/vocalist Nathan East and drummer/percussionist Harvey Mason. Let's Touch The Sky also includes stirring performances by guest vocalists Anita Baker and Ruben Studdard. The infusion of new blood into the Fourplay lineup creates an opportunity to bring an even newer level of energy and inspiration into a band that is already known for taking chances and pushing the limits of contemporary jazz. "All four of us have been in this business long enough to know that there's always pressure to compromise, and we don't want to do that," says James. "We don't want to end up in the middle of the pack. We always aim to be leaders, and take the music to another level and raise the standards higher. I think the music on this new record, thanks in large part to Chuck's early contributions - and to the ongoing team spirit of the band as a whole - is very much a reflection of that philosophy."

Loeb, who openly admits to being a fan of Fourplay since their earliest recordings, sees his new membership status as the opportunity of a lifetime. "I want to be a part of the legacy they've built, going all the way back to their first recording and right up to their most recent one," he says. "There's been an incredible level of quality in the musicianship, the writing, the whole sonic palette that they're famous for. I'm excited to be a part of the next step in the evolution of all that." That sense of romanticism combined with optimism defining the project makes the rhythmic and exotic title track the fitting opener to the set. Written by James, the song sits atop a comfortable Latin groove and showcases the interplay between the keyboardist and his new band mate on acoustic guitar. The follow-up track, Loeb's driving and intense "3rd Degree" is a reference to his role as the third guitarist in the Fourplay saga (the original lineup included Lee Ritenour, who was later replaced by Larry Carlton in the late `90s). The track is built on a syncopated rhythm that allows plenty of room for everyone on hand to stretch out and demonstrate their virtuosity.

Guest vocalists Ruben Studdard and Anita Baker appear on the soulful "Love TKO" and the dreamlike "You're My Thrill," respectively. Studdard was recruited by East, after the two had appeared together in a live performance in Washington, DC. "They were filming a television special," East recalls. "There was a break to reload the cameras, and I just started playing the bass line of `Love TKO.' Ruben stepped up to the microphone to sing, and everyone in the room just stopped. I knew right then that we needed to have him sing this song on a Fourplay record, and when we asked him, he was very much up for it. The whole thing just came together so easily."

Mason, who has held down the groove for Fourplay since the very beginning, says time has done nothing to dull the edge. The band continues to explore new ways to reach for the next level of musicianship and creativity. "Let's Touch The Sky is the perfect title for where we are right now," he says. "In some ways, bringing someone new into the fold has made us a new band. It opens up new opportunities and new potential, and we want to see how high we can take it."

Tracklist:

1. Let's Touch The Sky

2. 3rd Degree

3. More Than A Dream

4. Pineapple Getaway

5. I'll Still Be Lovin' You

6. Gentle Giant (for Hank)

7. A Night In Rio

8. Love TKO

9. Above and Beyond

10. Golden Faders

11. You're My Thrill

Personnel:

Bob James (keyboards and programing)

Nathan East (bass)

Chuck Loeb (guitar)

Harvey Mason (drums and percussion)

Guest vocalists: Anita Baker, Ruben Studdard

Let's Touch the Sky

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Harvey Mason: Marching in the Street (1975)

Harvey Mason is considered one of the finest drummer on the soul and jazz scene today. In 1975, after his work with Herbie Hancock's band, the Headhunters, he sign to Arista Records as a solo artist and record this instrumental fusion to vocal orientated dance music LP. Personnel: Maxine Willard Waters (vocals), Randy Crawford (vocals), Wah Wah Watson (guitar), Dave Grusin (keyboards), Paul Jackson (bass), Hubert Laws (flute), Bobby Bryant (trumpet), Herbie Hancock (keyboards), Ernie Watts (saxophone), Jim Gilstrap (vocals), Bennie Maupin (saxophone), Lee Ritenour (guitar) and many others.

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Marching in the Street (RS) / Marching in the Street (MU) @ 320K

Herbie Hancock: Headhunters (1973) [remastered 1997]

Keyboardist Herbie Hancock's remarkable career took a surprising turn with this funk album--one of the first jazz albums to be certified gold. Hancock's already-storied career had included an extended tenure with Miles Davis as a member of both the classic quintet of the '60s and the trumpeter's groundbreaking electric dates. As a leader, the pianist had followed a similar course, cutting both outstanding acoustic dates (Maiden Voyage, Empyrean Isles) and experimental electric sessions (Sextant, Crossings).

Head Hunters, however, was something different: a stripped-down date featuring reedman Bennie Maupin as the only horn player, and a funk-oriented rhythm section made up of Paul Jackson, Harvey Mason, and Bill Summers. Hancock traded in his sophisticated piano performances and complex compositions for simple melodies, slow-burn funk grooves, and light electric keyboard splashes. The results, particularly on the tracks "Chameleon" and "Watermelon Man," had a profound impact on other musicians, although critics charged Hancock with playing to the galleries. But the album has stood the test of time--something neither the wealth of Hancock's imitators nor his own subsequent albums in this vein have been able to do. --Fred Goodman

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Headhunters - Part 1 - Part 2 (HF) / Part 1 - Part 2 (RS) flac

Headhunters: Evolution Revolution (2003)

Three decades ago, Herbie Hancock stretched the limits of blending jazz with rock, R&B/funk, and a bit of avant-garde on the groundbreaking million selling album Headhunters. Members of that group have reassembled for this stunning 16-track updated brew where they add heavy doses of straight-ahead be-bop ("Take No Prizzonerz," "Woody Shaw"), blues ("Everything," "Fonkyfried"), African music ("Yekola," "Evolution Revolution"), and even smooth jazz ("Headhunting," "Martell on the Rocks") to the '70s hybrid. The keyboard player who originally put percussionist Bill Summers, drummer Mike Clark, and bassist Paul Jackson together wasn't available so the trio did what any 21st century scientists of sound would do, they got Hancock clones--an electric version (Ronald Markham) and an acoustic version (Victor Atkins). The Hancock stamp is all over the fusion tunes, especially "Stick It," featuring an electrified trumpet part from Nicholas Payton that sounds like another Hancock alum, Eddie Henderson. Other guests with Hancock ties include guitarist Wah-Wah Watson, original Headhunters reed man Bennie Maupin, and drummer Harvey Mason. Mason went on to become an original member of the group Fourplay, and Summers, the only musician on every track on this album, went on to help form Los Hombres Calientes. --Mark Ruffin

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Evolution Revolution Part 1 / Part 2 (RS) Part 1 / Part 2 (MU) @ 320K

Bob James - Angels of Shanghai (2008)

This project pairs smooth jazz keyboardist/composer Bob James and his Fourplay bandmates bassist Nathan East (who sings on the ballad "Endless Time") and drummer Harvey Mason, with guitarist Jack Lee and the Angels of Shanghai, who are masters of the er-hu, a two-string violin, the lute-like pipa, a harp-zither called a guzheng, and the dizi bamboo flute. James' sympathetic pianisms best blend with the Sinocentric sonorities and syncopations on the hip-notic "Gulangyu Island" the Asian and French-inflected "Melodia: A Quiet Place for Two" and "Angela with Purple Bamboo," a Silk Road update of James' beloved theme from the TV show Taxi. "By combining the spirit of American jazz with the beauty of traditional Chinese instruments by absorbing and learning from this rich Eastern cultural heritage,"" James writes in the liner notes, "I have sought to explore ways that we would communicate openly and freely; improvising and sharing our discoveries." --Eugene Holley, Jr.