CD8:2002 Fourplay-Heartfelt
Fourplay fans might be surprised to find that the supergroup's new album Heartfelt (Bluebird), represents a daring departure from the silky smooth style that made them one of smooth-jazz's most successful acts. This time out, the foursome created the material via a series of improvisational performances that they assembled into full compositions. The new tunes might have less clearly defined melodies than their predecessors, but they are filled with exploratory yet accessible performances.
In "Tally Ho!" Bob James' Piano, seemingly urged on by Harvey Mason's crashing cymbals, picks up speed until Larry Carlton's guitar enters and engages in its own chase with Mason's robust drumming. It wouldn't be a Fourplay album without at least one boudoir bound tune, and here it's "Let's Make Love," written by bassist Nathan East and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and sung by East. The title track possesses a moody beauty, while "Ju Ju" features a march rhythm that's overlaid by Carlton's bluesy improvisations. Yes, the direction is different, but it's also very satisfying. I hope Fourplay will continue in this vein on future albums.
专辑曲目：
1.Galaxia-05:45
2.That's The Time -06:44
3.Break It Out-05:43
4.Rollin'-04:11
5.Let's Make Love -03:56
6.Heartfelt-06:59
7.Tally Ho!-05:55
8.Cafe L'amour-05:18
9.Ju-Ju-05:27
10.Goin' Back Home-05:58
11.Karma-05:28
12.Making Up-04:35
CD9:2004 Fourplay-Journey
To paraphrase the Eagles, you'll get a peaceful, easy feeling when you listen to Fourplay's Journey (Bluebird). The veteran smooth-jazz act has created a collection of easygoing tunes that demonstrate that laid-back is not synonymous with simple; there's plenty of singular soloing, adept group interplay and interesting compositional ideas going on here. On "From Day One," keyboardist Bob James states the charming main theme, and then guitarist Larry Carlton steps in to take it in a soulful, bluesy direction, while "Play Around It" finds bassist Nathan East whispering playful lyrics about his bandmates as the funky rhythm grooves along. James and Carlton gracefully trade off the melody on their delicate cover of Sting's "Fields of Gold," and then the band travels to Brazil for the bossa nova tune "Rozil." East's vocals have long been part of the Fourplay sound, and he's particularly expressive on the title track, a love ballad that would fit well on adult-contemporary radio.
Amazon.com:
Pianist Bob James and drummer Harvey Mason have gotten their bebop yearnings out of their systems through solo albums, and guitarist Larry Carton took care of his blues craving with an album of his own. Now, they reunite their smooth-jazz supergroup leaving bassist Nathan East with plenty to do. East dominates the first half of this album with vocal work on the first five tracks. While Carlton leads the Sting cover, "Fields of Gold," it is the opening riff, East's vocals on the bridge, and his signature bass runs at the end that make it attractive. East hip-hops the proceedings on his composition "Play Around It" and sings passionately enough on the title track to warrant kudos from his other employer, Eric Clapton. The other half of the record is a more adventurous group effort featuring longer lines and more intense soloing, particularly on James's "Avalabop" and Carlton's "Cool Train."
专辑曲目：
1. Fields Of Gold
2. Play Around It
3. From Day One
4. Journey
5. Rozil
6. Cool Train
7. Avalabop
8. The Firehouse Chill
9. Departure
10. 147 4th St
CD10:2006 Fourplay-X
Smooth-jazz journeymen Fourplay reunite for X and deliver more solid, lite-instrumental sounds. Centered around the talents of keyboardist Bob James, guitarist Larry Carlton, bassist Nathan East and drummer Harvey Mason, Fourplay also feature here blue-eyed-soul icon Michael Mcdonald who takes an inspired vocal turn on the Steve Winwood tune "My Love's Leavin'. It's a great track that nicely exploits the aesthetic connection and '70s heritage of both smooth jazz and soft-rock. Similarly appealing are James's noirish "Screenplay showcasing Carlton's bluesy chops and James's urbane keyboard style; as well as East's slow R&B ballad "Sunday Morning". This is a softly-funky, superbly crafted and unapologetically low key album. Frankly, that's what longtime fans have come to expect from these masters of smooth and in that sense X succeeds.
Fourplay的音乐历来都会遵循一种雅、柔、软、艳的体系，《X》专辑同样也不例外，Bop乐迷也许会因为它节奏的软弱无力而嗤之以鼻，Avant-Garde Jazz或Free Jazz的信徒更会对它的守旧与具象而不屑一顾。但Fourplay却还是用十五年的亲身历练告诉所有的乐迷，并非只有突出苦和辣才算是爵士乐的宗旨，Smooth Jazz最大的作用就是用来表现爵士乐里的酸甜可口的成份。
《X》唱片一共9首单曲，总长不到50分钟，应该是10张专辑中最短的一张。“Turnabout”作为开场曲并似乎没有让人们有太多的惊喜，他们惯有的节奏搭配4个人卖力的演奏，还不错。不过耐下心来再听一遍的时候可以发现一些新事物，Larry Carlton在大篇幅的即兴段中居然放弃了他早就习惯了的Blues，虽然这回是换成了较为funky的风格，但和弦的表现明显比以前柔滑了很多。 “Cinnamon Sugar”进一步证实了答案，Larry Carlton这回终于像他第一次加入Fourplay的时候那样，尽力靠拢Lee Ritenour的温柔曲风。而且还保留了同其他三人共同拥有的节奏，这一点要比早年的Fourplay时尚了很多。唱片放到过半以后，迎来了可以杀人的温柔“Twilight Touch”。“黎明”一直是Fourplay早年非常乐衷的一个主题，方面节奏的Larry Carlton明显也感染了Bob James,这位最近一直在亚洲频繁活动的钢琴家把东方人婉约带入西方音乐中，也许这时已经没有人还念叨着Lee大哥了。但精彩还没有完，“Be My Lover”应该成为专辑中的一个经典，无论是节奏、旋律还是技巧，此曲无可挑剔，其时尚程度更可以被看作“Someone To Love”和“Save Some Love For Me”这两首过去专辑经典的一个融会，并且这3首曲子和Lee Ritenour都不相关。
新唱片中同样收录了两首人声作品，并为此邀请了两位歌手客座。其中，《My Love's Leavin'》里的男声Michael McDonald除了在本色音的感性流露时，还不会让人感觉异样，但只要是一到去用胸腔音演绎高音时，一定会让人误以为是隐姓保名的Michael Bolton在献技。另一首《Be My Lover》同样也是一首属于美国上流社会的大众情歌，“福音”歌手Michele Pillar和乐团贝司手Nathan East哼哼叽叽的合唱虽然若有若无，但却因为肉嗓这种世间最柔嫩乐器而为能全曲的温馨、雅致氛围再添上一种懒洋洋、软绵绵。
毫无疑问，《X》和Fourplay所有的唱片一样，它并非是精神食粮，能给你带来凤凰涅磐般的灵魂冲击，乐手高超的技艺和娴熟的默契也无法突出自由主义患者最钟爱的天马行空的想像力，而它们对Blues、Funk等等曲风的运用也是雕琢远远大于开拓，或者更可以说根本没有过将它们实验、改革的野心。但他们却正是因为突出了音乐中最细腻的感官功能，而让爵士乐变得前所未有的松驰和芬芳，而这种每每总是能对人身心又唯美又浪漫的陶冶，也让Fourplay成为了“必柔”牌爵士最有信誉保证的商家。
专辑曲目：
1. Turnabout
2. Cinnamon Sugar
3. Eastern Sky
4. Kid Zero
5. My Love's Leavin'
6. Screenplay
7. Twilight Touch
8. Be My Lover
9. Sunday Morning
发表于 2007-4-29 15:18
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