Heads Up Signs Fourplay

  I  

Heads Up announced Monday the signing of an exclusive recording agreement with Fourplay, the contemporary jazz quartet. Fourplay will make its Heads Up debut with a yet-to-be-titled album scheduled for release in summer 2008.

The band is scheduled to perform at an after-show party following the Grammy Award ceremonies at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 10. Fourplay’s after-show performance is scheduled for the Jazz Lounge in the west hall of the Staples Center.

Fourplay, whose current lineup consists of keyboardist Bob James, bassist Nathan East, guitarist Larry Carlton and drummer Harvey Mason, has combined elements of r&b and pop to their jazz foundations. In a span of seventeen years and ten albums, the quartet has continued to explore the dimensions and permutations of jazz while at the same time appealing to a broad mainstream audience.

East sees independent labels like Heads Up as the place to be, given the current record industry climate. “While the major labels are trying to keep the record business alive, the indies are doing a better job at keeping the music business alive,” East said. “The independents seem to be able to offer a more hands-on approach than the majors, which is definitely a benefit to the artist.”

More info: headsup.com



  • Ted_Nash_Alexa_Tarantino_by_Gilberto_Tadday_copy.jpg

    As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.

  • Coltrane_John_008_copy_2.jpg

    “This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.

  • 2tx3p_BNJF2025LineupApr11080x1350--1_copy.jpg

    The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.

  • Ethan_Iverson_by_David_Moressi_2024_copy.jpg

    “I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson, during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival.

  • Isaiah_Collier_by_Michael_Jackson_2025.jpg

    “At the end of the day, once you’ve run out of differences, we’re left with similarities,” Collier says. “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.”


On Sale Now
May 2025
Branford Marsalis
Look Inside
Subscribe
Print | Digital | iPad