Fourplay
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Fourplay (stylized as fOURPLAY) is a contemporary American smooth jazz quartet. The original members of the group were Bob James (keyboards), Lee Ritenour (guitars), Nathan East (bass), and Harvey Mason (drums).<ref name="Yanow">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1997, Ritenour left the group and Fourplay chose Larry Carlton as his replacement. In 2010, Carlton left Fourplay and was replaced by Chuck Loeb,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> who died on July 31, 2017.<ref name="Mergner">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During Loeb's illness, saxophonist Kirk Whalum joined the group for performances.
The group has enjoyed consistent artistic and commercial success by grafting elements of R&B and pop to jazz, appealing to a broad mainstream audience. Their debut album, Fourplay (1991), sold over a million copies and remained at the number one position on the Billboard contemporary jazz chart for 33 weeks.<ref name="Larkin">Template:Cite book</ref> Their next album, Between the Sheets (1993), reached number one,<ref name="Larkin"/> went gold, and received a Grammy Award nomination. In 1995, their third gold album, Elixir, also was number one and remained on the chart for more than 90 weeks. In 2015 the band celebrated its 25th anniversary with the release of the album Silver with former members Ritenour and Carlton.
DiscographyEdit
| Title | Label | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Fourplay | Warner Bros. | 1991 |
| Fourplay Live: The Authorized Bootleg | Warner Bros. | 1992 |
| Between the Sheets | Warner Bros. | 1993 |
| Elixir | Warner Bros. | 1995 |
| The Best of Fourplay – (original release) | Warner Bros. | 1997 |
| 4 | Warner Bros. | 1998 |
| Snowbound | Warner Bros. | 1999 |
| Yes, Please! | Warner Bros. | 2000 |
| Heartfelt | Bluebird | 2002 |
| Journey | Bluebird | 2004 |
| X | Bluebird | 2006 |
| Energy | Heads Up | 2008 |
| Let's Touch the Sky | Heads Up | 2010 |
| Esprit De Four | Heads Up | 2012 |
| Silver | Heads Up | 2015 |
| The Best of Fourplay – (2020 Remastered) | evosound | 2020 |
DVD-VideoEdit
- An Evening of Fourplay Volumes I and II (1994)
- Live in Cape Town (2005)
- Live at San Javier Jazz Festival (2006)