Musicians: Russell Ferrante, keyboards; Jimmy Haslip, basses; Marc Russo, soprano and alto saxophone; William Kennedy, drums and percussion.

With: Alex Acuña, percussion; Bill Gable, cello and percussion on "Wildlife", vocals on "Sightseeing"; Brenda Russell, Alex Acuña, Diana Acuña, Bill Gable and Jimmy Haslip, vocals on "Wildlife".

Not content to stick to the same successful formula of previous albums, Yellowjackets came up with a few new twists for Four Corners. The first change would be the addition of drummer extraordinaire William Kennedy, replacing Ricky Lawson. The other change is the music. While "Mile High" and "Indigo" still echo of classic Yellowjackets, the showcase pieces "Wildlife" and "Sightseeing" are considerably more complex than anything they'd attempted before.

Layers of dense synthesizers, a battalion of percussion, and world beat influences abound throughout many of the tracks on this album. "Out Of Town" also gets a remote big band flavor--bop saxophone licks, and Russ' synthesizers providing the electronic equivalent of the horn sections. This was my personal introduction to the Yellowjackets' music back in 1987.

At first listen, it didn't do much for me. But after several more spins, I was able to pick up more of the elements buried within the different layers, and began to appreciate everything happening within the music.

Four Corners is the fifth studio album of the American jazz group Yellowjackets, released in 1987. The album reached a peak position of number three on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. This was the first Yellowjackets album to feature Will Kennedy on drums.

Tracks
1 Out Of Town (Jimmy Haslip; Russell Ferrante) 5:05
2  Wildlife (Alex Acuna; Jimmy Haslip; Russell Ferrante) 6:06
3  Sightseeing (Jimmy Haslip; Russell Ferrante) 5:55
4  Open Road (Russell Ferrante) 3:41
5  Mile High (Bill Gable; Jimmy Haslip; Marc Russo; Russell Ferrante; William Kennedy) 4:15
6  Past Ports (Russell Ferrante) 5:33
7  Postcards (Jimmy Haslip; Russell Ferrante) 5:31
8  Room With A View (Russell Ferrante) 4:31
9  Geneva (Jimmy Haslip) 2:28
10  Indigo (Jimmy Haslip; Marc Russo; Russell Ferrante; William Kennedy) 5:29

Musicians

Bass - Jimmy Haslip
Drums - William Kennedy
Piano - Russell Ferrante
Keyboards - Gary Barlough
Synthesizer - Russell Ferrante
Programming - Gary Barlough
Sax - Marc Russo
Percussion - Alex Acuna
Percussion - William Kennedy
Vocals - Alex Acuna

Other Musicians

1 Out Of Town
Vocals - Diana Acuna

2 Wildlife
Cello - Bill Gable
Percussion - Bill Gable
Vocals - Bill Gable
Vocals - Brenda Russell

3 Sightseeing
Cello - Bill Gable
Percussion - Bill Gable
Vocals - Bill Gable

Liner Notes

Producer – David Hentschel, Yellowjackets
Producer (Executive) – Ricky Schultz
Engineer (Second) – Bart Stevens, Dan Garcia, Jon Ingoldsby, Andy Harper, Sharon Rice
Mastered By – Stephen Marcussen
Mixed By – David Hentschel
Recorded By – David Hentschel
Art Direction – Kathleen Covert
Illustration – Lou Beach
Photography – Bonnie Schiffman
Mastered At Precision Lacquer
Mixed At The Complex
Recorded At Bill Schnee Studios
Recorded At Music Grinder Studios
Recorded At Producers Studio
Phonographic Copyright MCA Records Inc
Copyright MCA Records Inc