Contemporary jazz quartet Fourplay have released their thirteenth album, entitled Esprit De Four. Originally formed in 1991, the band currently consists of bassist Nathan East, drummer Harvey Mason, keyboardist Bob James and guitarist Chuck Loeb. This is Loeb’s second recording with Fourplay and the band is taking advantage of the new direction.
“In the songwriting and recording process, we were building on the spirit we felt during the making of our previous record, Let’s Touch the Sky,” says James. “We had made the adjustment to Chuck’s sound, and had really enjoyed performing the new music on the road. So we were eager to follow up on this new direction the band had taken.”
Each member of the group brought their writing skills to the table, with East providing the tunes “Firefly” and “All I Wanna Do.” “Firefly” was inspired by Swedish jazz/pop trio Dirty Loops, who take pop songs and reharmonize them.
“They’re great musicians and good friends of mine,” East states. “I was hoping to capture some of the same fun and energy and unique chord progressions that the trio band is known for, and Fourplay really delivered it.”