Four80East began as a studio project when DeBoer and Grace, who had been writing, arranging and producing for other artists on their Boomtang Records label (cf.
The Boomtang Boys), put together material of their own and released it as
The Album, in 1997.
The Album was well received by critics and the public alike. The group's name comes from the address of Boomtang's recording studio, The Speed of Sound, at 480 Richmond Street East in Toronto. In 1998, they had released
music video titled "Four80East: Eastside" and styled black and white, based on music track from
The Album under same name "Eastside". Video had been filmed on locations in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Director was
Jeremy Hood, filmed by
Domenico A. Galloro. Budget was estimated as CA$20,000 Filming studio was Raje Films. The pair's second album
Nocturnal, was released in 2001; DeBoer and Grace wrote all of the songs for the album, and enlisted tenor saxophonist Jon Stewart, flutist Andrew McPherson, and trumpeter Ivana Santilli to contribute instrumentals. The album
Round 3 came out in 2002, and included contributions from harmonica player Carlos Del Junco. Their fourth album,
En Route, containing instrumental dance music, was released in 2007. Four80East's fifth CD,
Roll On, came out in 2009, followed by a sixth,
Off Duty, in 2012.
Four80East LIVE, a collection of 15 select songs recorded from three different shows, was released in early 2014. The group is also featured on the 2007 compilation album,
The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz. ==Band members==