Jeff lorber fusion al5-8081
Two of my biggest influences have always been Herbie Hancock and Bill Evans, and with this record I think we were able to approach the kind of progressive jazz they are famous for."Īs high-charting, pop/jazz-oriented releases like West Side Stories (1994), State of Grace (1996) and Midnight (1998) were establishing him as one of the genre's top artists, Lorber also became an in- demand producer every smooth jazz artist looking for a hit melody and groove, from Michael Franks to Gerald Albright, Richard Elliot and Rick Braun, tapped his behind-the-board talents.
#Jeff lorber fusion al5 8081 free
Even if I didn't have an overriding specific concept going in, I knew I wanted to be free from the usual expectations. What I've done previously is more about songwriting and creating a style, but the music here is about just playing, having incredible fun and ensemble energy with some of my all-time favorite musicians. The timing is perfect because I get the sense that a lot of people are looking for something unique and different out there. "I've been making funky jazz for some time now, and some of my early Jeff Lorber Fusion projects pointed the way to what became the smooth jazz radio format. "I'm making a quantum shift on He Had a Hat because I felt it was time to shake things up a bit," says Lorber. Colomby, former drummer and a founding member of jazz-rock legends Blood, Sweat & Tears, also recruited that band's esteemed horn section for five of the recording's tracks. Lorber's guest list rolls like a euphoric, multi-genre jazz encyclopedia: Randy Brecker, Chris Botti, Brian Bromberg, Tom Scott, Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, Bob Sheppard, Hubert Laws, Alex Al, Paul Jackson, Jr., Paul Brown, Russell Malone, Abe Laboriel, Jr., Dave Weckl and Vinnie Colaiuta. Over the course of 13 tracks, the keyboardist pays homage to a wide range of his favorite influences, tapping into everything from gospel and brass-driven old school jazz-fusion to smoky and sultry Miles Davis-flavored moods, hard driving bebop, swinging jazz and, of course, his more familiar funk-jazz vibe.
#Jeff lorber fusion al5 8081 full
G's fans will immediately recognize his soprano tones on the dreamy "Tierra Verde" but will have a harder time picking his funkier style out of the slamming, discofied "Fusion Juice." This collection will also please audiophiles who have long desired to throw out their old scratched Lorber records and hear these classics remastered.Long considered one of modern music's most adventurous players and performers, Lorber goes full throttle on He Had a Hat, taking a freewheeling, stylistically varied approach as whimsical as the collection's title (a punchline from a beloved old Borscht Belt joke). While Lorber lovers and serious modern jazz collectors will no doubt thrill to get their hands on this wealth of classic material, fans of both smooth jazz and pop music who don't know Lorber from Count Basie may want to hear it for another reason - the early development of a then-obscure Seattle saxman known as Kenny Gorelick (later known as multi-million selling Kenny G). (The Fusion was together from the mid-'70s through the early '80s, and that includes warts and all.) Despite the glorious melodies, beautiful keyboard passages, and irresistible funk, a few spacey synth solos would be conspicuously cornball if they were played today. The 16 tracks perfectly represent a time that postdates the hardcore jazz fusion of the early '70s and predates smooth jazz.
The buoyant funk tune "Fusion Juice" sums up the spirit and percussive energy the band had, and which the keyboardist has carried on into his popular '90s work. It was pop, it was soul, it was rock-fusion, with dashes of jazz, blues and - dare it be mentioned, yet of its time - a dash of disco. Long before the coining of the radio-generated buzzwords "new adult contemporary" or "smooth jazz," the composer/keyboardist Jeff Lorber was riding a creative wave of pop/jazz fusion, building a loyal following for a synthesis of sound so fresh and distinctive that only one name could really define it - the Jeff Lorber Fusion.