Jazz / Contemporary Jazz, Acid Jazz
Bryden Baird Trumpet
Divine Brown Vocals (Background)
Joe Sherbanee Executive Producer
Jon Stewart Sax (Tenor)
Matt Parker Art Direction, Design
Nick Rawson Mastering
Rob DeBoer Keyboards, Vocals (Background), Guitar, Programming, Producer, Bass
Tony Grace Drums, Producer, Percussion, Programming
Canadian Jazz/electronica outfit Four80East returns for their highly-anticipated new studio album iEn Route/i. Titled for its constant flow of instrumental groove, the contemporary duo's Native Language Music debut and first new release in five years puts a fresh spin on their past work to create a collection that's remarkably cinematic. Attractively packaged in a "deluxe-edition" jewel case with die-cut slipcase.
The line that separates jazz-electronica from "smooth jazz" (or, let's be honest, from plain old easy listening) can be a treacherously thin one. It's the line that separates Weather Report from, say, Spyro Gyra, and many artists drawn to that borderland end up becoming forever lost in the shifting sands of watered-down funk grooves and wind chimes. Four80East navigate the line pretty well, and if they occasionally stray onto the syrupy side, you get the feeling that they don't really care as long as the grooves are fun and the melodies are attractive -- which they really are, almost all the time. "Five by Five" opens the album on an interesting and funky note, and is quickly followed by the all too aptly titled "Noodle Soup," a tune that is perhaps just a bit too silky and a bit too infused with synthesized strings (and wind chimes). But "Double Down" generates a darker and edgier mood, and "Easy Come, Easy Go" flirts nicely with reggae. "Closer" is an example of a song that dances around the edges of goopiness -- the "ha ha hey hey" vocals are just kind of silly, though most of the other elements in that track are fairly engaging. En Route is a very pleasant listening experience overall, even if parts of it are more soothing than interesting. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
Four80East
Active Decades: '90s and '00s
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Jazz-Funk, Contemporary Jazz, Acid Jazz, Crossover Jazz, Smooth Jazz
Toronto-based Four80East is actually a studio side-project for Rob DeBoer (piano, guitar, bass, programming) and Tony Grace (drums, programming), who, along with Grace's brother Paul, run Boomtang Records. Four80East developed over several years, between Grace and DeBoer's remix schedule (for the likes of Econoline Crush, Amanda Marshall, Corey Hart, Wild Strawberries, Philosopher Kings, and Ashley MacIsaac) and their other project, the pop band the Boomtang Boys. Four80East started as an outlet of pure fun to play a sort of loose, improvisational dance music inspired by groove music out of the U.K. The other half of the band is Jack Trentman on guitar and trumpet, and Jon Stewart on tenor saxophone. The band's first album, titled appropriately enough The Album, came out in 1997 on Boomtang. It earned considerable airplay in both the U.S. and England. Nocturnal followed in early 2001, marking their first effort for Higher Octave. A year later, Round 3 followed up on their self-proclaimed "trip-jazz" sound.
--- Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide |
