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PG Music Soloist Set Jeff Lorber Fusion
Jeff Lorber Philly Style
Philly-raised
and Berklee-educated, Jeff Lorber had no specific design in mind
when he recorded his first album in 1976. In those days, artist
experimentation was encouraged, and Lorber set no limits on his
own freewheeling expressions. He simply drew from artists he
admired - from Herbie Hancock, Tower of Power, Miles Davis, to
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - combined those influences,
simmered slowly and somehow discovered a sound that has
withstood the test of time.
Lorber
fondly refers to the wealth of music he created on his earlier
album as "second generation fusion," starting with Jeff Lorber
Fusion's self-titled debut. During the first half of the
following decade, the band became one of the most popular jazz
acts of the period, touring non-stop and even scoring a Best R&B
Instrumental Grammy nomination for their radio hit Pacific Coast
Highway. 1984's STEP BY STEP was their most successful outing
yet, but at the Fusion's peak, Lorber disbanded the group,
instead turning to production and session work.
He explains,
"The early fusion of the '70s, the sounds I was influenced by
like Return to Forever and Weather Report, tended to feature
awesome, hard-rocking grooves behind the jazz improvisations. My
group, Grover Washington, Jr., and Spyro Gyra crafted more of a
synthesis of jazz, R&B, and latin rhythms where melody was as,
if not more, important than wailing solos and hardcore chops.
The composing took on a shape closer to pop songwriting. I saw
it as the bridge between that hardcore movement and today 's
smooth jazz sound."
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), Lorber 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
later, 1999's THE DANCE) and other projects for Eric Marienthal,
Eric Benet, Art Porter, Michael Franks, and Herb Alpert.
After
re-emerging as a solo artist with 1993's WORTH WAITING FOR,
Lorber went on to release WEST SIDE STORIES (1994), STATE OF
GRACE (1996), and MIDNIGHT (1998) - proving that he is a top
jazz artist in his own right. KICKIN' IT, Lorber's 2001 spirited
and funky release, showcased his refined talents as a songwriter
and his amazing chops. Traditionally producing his own albums,
Lorber wanted to experiment on a few tracks for KICKIN' IT with
an outside producer and contacted Steve Dubin. Best known for
his work with Peter White, Richard Elliot, and Najee, Dubin -
like Lorber himself - worked in the '80s and '90s as a remixer.
The chemistry was immediate.
"The reason I
wanted to work with Steve was to inject some new ideas and get a
fresh approach to writing and production," Lorber recalls.
"Things went so well that I wound up completely scrapping the
other material. He's a terrific drum programmer, and he had a
great point of view about style and sonics."
For Lorber's
Narada Jazz debut, it was an easy choice to collaborate again
with Dubin. "We actually grew up in the same north Philadelphia
suburb, went to the same high school, and we played during the
'70s and '80s at The Bijou, a small club in Philadelphia, but we
never met until we worked together on KICKIN' IT." The
Philadelphia connections grew stronger as Lorber gathered
players for recording. Drummer and fellow Philadelphia native
"Little John" Roberts unknowingly supplied the title for the new
album: his personal brand of drumsticks is called Philly Style.
Everything after that started to fall into place for the new
album.
"Steve (Dubin)
and I would reminisce about the old neighborhood and smile at
the happy coincidence that PHILLY STYLE had become." Naturally,
a number of the tunes on the album reference Lorber's old
stomping ground and the music that came from the burg.
"Philadelphia is such musical city, going back to TSOP, Teddy
Pendergrass, Gamble and Huff, and now Jill Scott, the Roots, and
Musiq." The title track, Philly Style (co-written and guest
performance by Richard Elliot on tenor sax) and Regardless Of
fit right in. The latter tune features vocalist Naila (who has
been on tour with Beck) who also performs on Soul Food. "We used
the chorus from Goodie Mob's original, and built a whole song
around it," Lorber recalls.
Laissez Faire and Serpentine Lane turn more to the jazz side of
Lorber's repertoire of style. "We went back to a fusion jazz
style on those songs. While we were recording it, we kept on
re-writing and re-mixing. The final result took us to some
unexpected places."
Please
Note:
Some Soloist
Disks require Band-in-a-Box 7.0 or greater.
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