Bass CDs
Review – Fourplay “Silver”
Review – Fourplay “Silver”…
When I first started learning to play the bass, my teacher asked me if I had heard of Fourplay. I had not so I decided to find a CD the next time I went to the book store. (Yes, there used to be such a place where you could buy books and CD’s). This how I got my first taste of this amazing jazz quartet’s music with their “Best of Fourplay” album that released in 1997.
Listening to that CD over and over again, I concluded that Nathan East is by far one of the most influential bass players of our time.
It is no wonder that you have seen Nathan in our magazine on numerous occasions. Here are a few of the interviews with this iconic bass musician that we have done over the years.
bassmusicianmagazine.com/2007/12/bass-musician-magazine-dec07jan08-issue-featuring-nathan-east/
bassmusicianmagazine.com/2011/01/bass-musician-magazine-featuring-nathan-east-january-2011-issue/
You might have noticed a review I did of “The New Cool” by Nathan East and Bob James last September.
bassmusicianmagazine.com/2015/09/cd-review-the-new-cool-with-nathan-east-and-bob-james/
As we arrive to the present, it is a great pleasure to encounter that Fourplay is celebrating their 25th Anniversary! Without question, these guys have simply gotten better with time like a fine wine. Their musicality is exquisitely intertwined and perfectly balanced as only years of close collaboration can develop. Every musician here is at the top of their game!
Fourplay is:
- Bob James: Piano, Rhodes, Synths
- Chuck Loeb: Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Synths
- Nathan East: Bass, Vocals
- Harvey Mason: Drums, Percussion, Vibes, Synths
Here they are behind the scenes of “Silver”.
This is the kind of Jazz ‘for the people’ and stems from a confidence level that only musicians that know they are excellent can provide. The songs are melodious, structured, and full of the kind of patterns that appeal to anybody.
“Silver” is a predominantly an instrumental body of work with ten tracks. Each one is unique with a diverse approach and tells its own story. The tracks are perfectly crafted to communicate a complex sentiment that make you feel the emotion behind the composition. It is exciting for me to follow Nathan’s bass lines, but I find myself really enjoying the fine details the rest of the band provides as well.There are plenty of opportunities for each of them to cut loose and show their stuff. I am thrilled about how well balanced this CD was engineered so you can hear each of the players clearly.
If you are already a Fourplay fan, you probably already have this CD. On the other hand, if you are just getting acquainted with Jazz this would be a great starting point. Start with Silver, then you can go back twenty-five years and see how this group has evolved into such a higher musical entity.
This CD is a must-have!
Fourplay ‘Silver’ is available at Amazon.com