Fourplay Yes, Please CD

YES, PLEASE was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

This is jazz lite, no doubt about it--the four storied musicians who make up Fourplay would be the first to tell you so. But YES, PLEASE is far from the overripe, cloying tones employed by so many "pop jazz" artists. Instead, it's full of subtlety, emotive, carefully considered solo statements, and tunes intended for more than coffee- commercial soundtrack music.

Though he contributes the least in terms of original compositions, veteran guitarist Larry Carlton offers some of the most soulful playing here. His warm-but-precise tone is simultaneously organic and cerebral as he improvises over the alternately funky and balladic motifs of the tunes. Keyboardist Bob James provides the same indefatigable blend of catchiness and taste that's made him so successful for decades. The rhythm section of Harvey Mason and Nathan East, who've backed a thousand contemporary jazz artists, keep the rhythms visceral without losing any of the more intimate nuances.

Recorded at Sear Sound and Remidi Sound, New York, New York; Larrabee East, Capitol Studios, and Pyramid Studios, Los Angeles, California.

Personnel: Nathan East (vocals); Larry Carlton (guitar); Bob James (piano); Ken Freeman (synthesizer); Harvey Mason, Sr. (drums).

Audio Mixers: Don Murray ; Steve Mixdorf; Antonio "Moogie" Canazio.

Recording information: Capital Studio, CA; Capitol Studios, CA; Larrabee East, LA; Pyramid Studio, CA; Pyramid Studios, CA; Remidi Studio, NY; Sear Sound, NY.

Fourplay: Nathan East (vocals, bass); Bob James (piano); Larry Carlton (guitar); Harvey Mason (drums).

Additional personnel: Sherree, Chante Moore (vocals); Ken Freeman (programming).

JazzTimes (12/00, pp.90-1) - "...An expansive album....travelling in some unexpected directions....it lets the artists play, without imposing boundaries..."