Cool Canadians: Four80East to fill dance floor

Four80East is an electro-jazz collective that’s all about the groove. Mixing jazz with soul music and electronic production, the Canadian producer duo of Rob DeBoer and Tony Grace have created a signature bass-propelled sound that entrances listeners of their recordings and enthralls audiences at their live shows.

See them perform during the jazz festival at 6 p.m. on deck at The Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach with special guest Art Sherrod Jr.

Since breaking out with their critically acclaimed first release “The Album,” in 1997, Four80East has been a mainstay on contemporary jazz radio and touring circuits with hits like “Eastside” and “Noodle Soup” and five subsequent albums.

Although the band was born as a studio project, DeBoer and Grace have been able to transform their layered and captivating sonic productions into a high-energy live show with the help of many world-class session musicians who join them on stage.

DeBoer, a multi-instrumentalist who plays keyboards, guitar and bass, fronts the band on their live performances.

As a production team and as artists, DeBoer and Grace have had global success.

They’ve won every major music award in their native Canada from a Juno to a MuchMusic Award to a Canadian Radio Music Award. Internationally, they’ve achieved commercial success and received critical accolades for their work as remixers, label owners, producers, and artists in the genres of R&B, jazz and dance. They’ve also migrated their talents to film and TV as composers for hit shows, films and commercials.

For 20 years as producers and songwriters and almost as long as Four80East, they’ve reinvented themselves time and time again.

Whether pushing the boundaries of musical integration on their recordings or filling the dance floor at their concerts, Four80East is continually putting their unique twist on contemporary jazz’ sound and style.

For them music is all about being fresh and exciting and, most importantly, all about the groove.