The original members of the group were Bob James (keyboards), Lee Ritenour (guitars), Nathan East (bass), and Harvey Mason (drums).

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.

[4] Their next album, Between the Sheets (1993), reached number one,[4] went gold, and received a Grammy Award nomination.

In 2015 the band celebrated its 25th anniversary with the release of the album Silver with former members Ritenour and Carlton.