artist info

When it comes to making music, four is often the magic number. From the Beatles to Modern Jazz Quartet, many legendary quartets have made their mark in the classical, pop and jazz traditions. Maybe it's the idea of four talented individuals, each approaching the other three from a unique perspective - like inspired travelers hailing from equidistant coordinates on a map - and bringing all of their talents to bear at a single point. Maybe it's just the sheer mathematical symmetry and balance of the number itself. Whatever the case, Fourplay has accessed the collective magic.

Fourplay is Bob James, Nathan East, Chuck Loeb and Harvey Mason, four of the heaviest hitters in contemporary music. Common ground is that each of these artists bears the distinction of having recorded, written, or produced music with the biggest recording artists in the industry; they include Anita Baker, Babyface, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Herbie Hancock, and Steeley Dan. The list of stars they haven’t played with is far shorter.

Bob James: Keyboards, sax, and guitar, arranger, composer, producer and vocalist. Discovered by Quincy Jones in 1964, powerhouse Bob James is considered to be a founder of the jazz fusion movement. To date, he has more than 50 albums, numerous Grammy’s and Grammy nominations under his belt.

Nathan East: Bassist and one of Fourplay’s original members. East is one of the world’s most sought after musicians with an impressive list of recording credits on over a thousand records. He has co-written and recorded songs for more artists than there is room to list. He has endorsed Yamaha instruments since 1981 and developed his own custom 5-string signature model, the BBNE2.

Chuck Loeb: For more than four decades, jazz guitarist Chuck Loeb recorded and performed in countless corners of the world, forever balancing the elements of traditional jazz with the innovations of contemporary jazz. Loeb honed his skills while a teenager at the Berklee College of Music and not to long after, was making a name for himself as a sideman, only to be snapped up by jazz luminary Stan Getz. After his time with the Getz ensemble, where he became musical director, Loeb resettled in New York finally breaking out to develop his solo career.

Harvey Mason: “Mase” is also a founding member of Fourplay and like the other members is a master musician, composer and producer who places among the most in-demand and most recorded session drummers of all-time. He has played on well over 1,000 recordings and hundreds of film scores, won four 1st place plaques from Modern Drummer magazine’s annual studio poll and has been the first call drummer for the Academy Awards ceremonies on 16 occasions.