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Jeff
Lorber
Over three decades after breaking
ground as leader of the pioneering Jeff Lorber Fusion, the Philly-born and bred
composer, producer and keyboard legend is still keeping the vibes fresh and the
grooves funky, inspiring contemporary jazz fans everywhere to exclaim with each
new musical excursion: Heard That. On his highly anticipated Peak Records debut,
Lorber keeps the soulful momentum going, collaborating brilliantly on pop, jazz,
R&B and blues-influenced tracks--and even harkening back a bit to his early 80s
Fusion heyday--with one of urban jazz's top hit makers and sonic architects, Rex
Rideout.
Highlighted by a swinging, bluesy-brass twist on Amy Winehouse's Grammy winning
"Rehab," (the first single,) Heard That features a typically vibrant Lorber
all-star guest list, including trumpet great Rick Braun, guitarist Paul Jackson,
Jr., bassist Alex Al, and Peak labelmate, saxman Gerald Albright. Lorber has
been touring all throughout 2008 as part of Guitars & Saxes with Albright, Jessy
J, Jeff Golub and Peter White.
As 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 artist
looking for a hit melody and groove, from Albright to Eric Marienthal, Richard
Elliot and David Benoit, tapped his behind the board talents. But on his later
projects, Lorber sought new inspiration himself by collaborating with other
producers. On his first three Narada Jazz sessions, including Kickin' It (2001),
Philly Style (2003) and 2005's Grammy nominated Flipside, the keyboardist
partnered with producer Steven Dubin. Leaning more jazzy on his eclectic 2007
date He Had A Hat, he worked with legendary Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer and
Chris Botti producer Bobby Colomby.
Eager to return to his trademark R&B sound when he signed with Peak, Lorber
immediately sought out Rideout, who has lent his Midas touch over the past ten
years to a virtual who's who of contemporary jazz and soul instrumentalists and
vocalists: Albright, Elliot, Boney James, Paul Taylor, Kirk Whalum, Maysa, Will
Downing, Lalah Hathaway and Ledisi.
"I have been a fan of all of the records he'd been doing in the urban jazz realm
for years," the keyboardist says. "My last album He Had A Hat was more of a
serious jazz exploration, and I wanted to record a more funky, R+B approach that
would be modern, yet also have some of the funky sound and jazzy chord changes
like the music from 1979's 'Water Sign' which is one of my favorite albums.
Songs on Heard That like 'The Bomb', 'Night Sky' and 'Gamma Rays' have these
influences. There's also a strong blues influence, especially on 'Don't Stop and
the title track."
That exciting blues twist is also a prominent element in Lorber's instantly
infectious romp through "Rehab," which was actually added to the set list of
Heard That at the last minute "I was just messing around at the piano," he says,
"and realized it would be a good instrumental song, based on a Wurlitzer piano
figure, which I included in my version, of course. The whole thing came down
very quickly and spontaneously. Tony Moore, a good friend who just happened to
be coming over, played the drum part on Bobby Colomby's 30 year old Slingerland
drum set that he used to play with Blood Sweat and Tears. We got into a groove
reminiscent of Ramsey Lewis' 'In Crowd' immediately. Rex suggested a Motown
style back beat guitar part which I recorded with plenty of spring reverb, like
a record from the 60's. Gary Meek and Rick Braun laid down their horn parts a
few days later and everything just clicked."
While most of Lorber's previous recordings exclusively feature him on piano,
Wurlitzer, Hammond B-3, Fender Rhodes and synthesizers, the playful spirit of
the sessions for Heard That allowed for him to share the keys with Rideout, most
notably on the old school soul-jazz jam opener "Come On Up" (highlighted by a
swirl of Rhodes and piano with the Ron King/Gary Meek horn section and a
crackling Paul Jackson, Jr. guitar solo); the cool, slow jam soul ballad "You
Got Something" (which they wrote with featured vocalist Phillip "Taj" Jackson);
the wild and soaring, brassy funk/fusion explosion not called "The Bomb" for
nothing!; and the sensual vocal track "Take Control," which blends a thick funk
ballad rhythm and dark keyboard chordings with co-writer Lauren Evans' dreamy
vocals.
"Rex and I were surrounded by tons of keyboards in my studio," Lorber says, "and
every time we came up with a new idea, whoever was closest to the one that would
have the right sound would play it. It was great to have his flavor as a
complement to my style." The rest of the tracks, include the guitar and bass
driven "Don't Hold Back"; the percussive and whimsical, fusion-influenced "Gamma
Rays" (with Rick Braun on trumpet and Gary Meek on tenor sax and flute); the sly
and sensual, bubbling bass and horn accented "Don't Stop"; the vibrant up-tempo
"Night Sky," featuring Lorber's bright piano melody and retro wah-wah guitar ;
and the high energy, swinging funk/jazz title track closer which Lorber wrote
with rising urban jazz star Eric Darius, with whom Lorber toured Indonesia and
Japan in early 2008.
Since the late 80s advent of the New Adult Contemporary format, Jeff Lorber has
found himself filling a unique dual role. Having played a significant role in
developing the late 70's, early 80s R&B-jazz hybrid sound that later evolved
into today's smooth jazz, the keyboardist is a true elder statesman of the genre
and mentor to many of this generation's top artists. Philly raised and Berklee
educated, Jeff Lorber recorded his first two albums for Inner City records: The
Jeff Lorber Fusion (1977) and Soft Space (1978)-both of which have been recently
re-issued.
Lorber fondly refers to the wealth of music he created on his six popular Arista
albums from 1979-1985 (which led to his first Grammy nomination for Best R&B
instrumental for "Pacific Coast Highway" in 1985) as "second generation fusion."
In 2000, Arista Records released The Definitive Collection, which gathered the
best material from these classic recordings. After the heyday of Jeff Lorber
Fusion-a band which featured a then little known sax player named Kenny G, whose
first album Lorber produced-the keyboardist produced R&B artists like Karyn
White (including her Top Ten hit "Facts of Love") and entered his remixing phase.
Getting back into the instrumental groove in the 90s, he produced tracks on Dave
Koz's first two albums and many other artists including Art Porter and Michael
Franks.
Throughout 2004 and 2005, Lorber anchored the immensely popular tribute tour
Groovin' For Grover, which featured Gerald Albright throughout its run in
addition to stints by Richard Elliot, Paul Taylor and Kirk Whalum. In November,
2004, the keyboardist had a kidney transplant surgery (his wife Mink was a
perfect match) after experiencing end stage renal failure due to the genetic
condition Polycystic Kidney Disease; he is currently a spokesman for the PKD
Foundation. True to his hardworking form, Lorber was back in action within a few
weeks, performing gigs and getting back to his popular, weekly three hour radio
show Lorber's Place Sunday nights on Sirius' Satellite Radio's Jazz Café Channel.
"I'm very grateful to be healthy and having the opportunity to do what I love to
do, which is making music," says Lorber. "I think the key to my success and
longevity is my work ethic and the time I spend focusing on writing . Some
artists only compose songs when it's time for the next album, but I'm open to
inspiration and ideas 24 hours a day, always thinking about harmony, melodies
and chords. The best part of recording Heard That was having the chance to work
with and become friends with Rex, who generously brought his talent and
perspective to the project. Jazz thrives on being a collaborative medium and
working with Rex was for me was a great opportunity to learn and bring in new
ideas"
So as you're grooving along to Jeff Lorber's Peak Records debut, shout it out as
loud as you can: I Heard That!
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