Making Magic with Four80East
[photos courtesy of Mary Finn and Trace Caley]
On a night once again overflowing with superb music at numerous venues, we settled in at the Central Park Performing Arts Center to see Canadian duo Four80East and their amazing “pick-up” band on a near-perfect evening April 18.
Why only “near-perfect”? Three reasons. One: Tony Grace, the percussionist half of the Canadian duo who created Four80East in 1997, has been battling with immigration this year (a wag might say we saw Two40East). His clearance had just come through, but somebody put it in the mail, and he was not there. Two: CPPAC was barely half full, truly a crime for such an amazing but under-publicized group. Three: The sound quality at CPPAC was once again woefully inadequate to the task.
PAUSE.
Opinions are like, well, everybody’s got one. In this particular case, there are a lot of other “ones” besides the author with displeasure at the subpar sound. The overall volume was too loud, not by a lot, but by enough. It would be wise for the venue to consider the demographics of the audience. The bass and bass drum were too loud, causing unnecessary vibrations, muffling and drowning out the overall sound. The guitar was much too low in the mix. This was unprofessional. I assure you that I will receive another attempt at a scathing condemnation from the sound folks of my opinion here. Your mileage may vary.
Back to the perfect part.
The formula that Rob DeBoer and Tony Grace have cobbled together reminds me of what the Steely Dan duo did: create beautiful music and find outstanding musicians to play it with them. All instrumental funk fusion, in the Four80East equation. There are musicians like DeBoer and Grace who can assemble top-notch bands wherever they go, thinking right now at funkster Joe Marcinek.
For this program, DeBoer curated a group of five of the most outstanding players in the Tampa area: Jordan Garno, guitar; Mike MacArthur, tenor and soprano saxophones; Tom George, electric bass; Dave Reinhardt, drums; and Gilberto Garcia, percussion. Garno, George, and Reinhardt were also with DeBoer at the Four80East shows April 12 & 13 in Melbourne and Boca Raton.
One of the most impressive aspects of the evening was how incredibly comfortable DeBoer was playing with these professionals and how much space he gave them to create. Garno and MacArthur had numerous features throughout the 100-minute set. George, Reinhardt, and Garcia were also critical to the success of the evening with the amazing power of the rhythm section and the dazzling additions Garcia provided. You would never have know that this was not a regular working sextet. Flawless!
The 13 compositions played during the set were drawn from three decades and 13 recordings, especially six from the just-released live Barn Sessions: Volume One (be sure to check YouTube for videos of those). Casey noted how amazing it was to see them create the magic before our very eyes — 100% correct.
The set opened at 8 p.m. on the dot with “Been Too Long” (since they’ve played here, several people noted). Garno and MacArthur had great solos and then the opportunity to trade the melody back and forth, MacArthur throwing in “Salt Peanuts” near the end. They followed that with Latin funk rave-up “Cinco Cinco Seis,” drawn from their Four on the Floor EP. DeBoer later explained about the meaning of Four-on-the-floor: “a rhythm used primarily in dance genres such as disco and electronic dance music. It is a steady, uniformly accented beat in time in which the bass drum is hit on every beat” (Thanks, Wikipedia). Garcia and his army of percussion toys were on complete display.
“This Time Around” was magnificent electric piano, so very reminiscent of Joe Sample’s solo work. On “Sweet Tooth,” MacArthur’s tenor evoked the great sounds of Grover Washington Jr. Garno’s guitar and DeBoer’s piano defined “Montreux.”
DeBoer’s engagement with the crowd and his band members was wonderful. MacArthur picked up his soprano saxophone for “Table for Two” and sounded great (not that noodle nonsense), but afterward he and DeBoer bantered about DeBoer’s tepid view of the soprano; MacArthur pretended to throw it offstage!
There was audience participation on “The Walker,” DeBoer describing a homeless man who walked from the east side to the west side in front of their studio; he split the audience in half, the east side singing “To the east side” and the other “To the west side.” (Pure luck, he noted afterward, in picking east correctly!)
George had the opportunity to step out with a bass solo on “Easy Come, Easy Go.” DeBoer utilizes several keyboards, samples, and loops in his music, all perfectly integrated, clearly evident during “Double Down.” Garno soloed, Garno and MacArthur wrangled, and Garcia played his rainstick. The title track to Four on the Floor let Reinhardt set the pulse, and MacArthur wailed.
There were numerous calls from the crowd for requests, which simply don’t work well in the context of a band who has prepared a limited number of songs for presentation in this long-distance relationship. One woman in front referenced “Noodle Soup” several times, and DeBoer, with his huge smile even wider, noted that the soup was in the back, in a pot, simmering.
Garno had more space on “Come On Home,” a tune very Crusaders-like in sound, again with DeBoer calling to mind the great sounds Joe Sample created. “Bumper to Bumper” began with more gorgeous piano, then matching guitar. Eventually, it evolved into a play-around, as DeBoer in turn indicated each member to step up. Truly delightful.
Done? WE DON’T THINK SO! Do we know one more, DeBoer asked the band. They responded with that soup, now ready to serve. MacArthur led off “Noodle Soup” with a fine intro, and then everyone dove in for one last spin along Four80East.
[Been Too Long, Cinco Cinco Seis, This Time Around, Sweet Tooth, Montreux, Table for Two, The Walker, Easy Come Easy Go, Double Down, Four on the Floor, Come On Home, Bumper to Bumper; E: Noodle Soup]
This was incredibly special. Friends don’t let friends* miss Four80East, and they don’t keep this amazing music a secret. SPREAD THE WORD! (*Thanks to Pat Williams!)
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[…] is just so much great music — everywhere you look and listen. We just had the opportunity to hear Four80East, a Toronto duo who have been playing for three decades, in Largo last week: […]