Combine mouth-watering melodies and body-moving grooves soulfully spicy with jazz, funk, R/B, Latin, and soul, toss in the special ingredients of killer chops, many pioneering years of music-making and producing, add water, and let it all stew for oh... about 14 albums on 6 different record labels and voi-la! You're servin' up "Philly Style", Jeff Lorber's latest (15th!) release. And as expected, he always manages to leave his fans and listeners totally satisfied and wanting more...

Master keyboardist, composer, and producer, Jeff Lorber has played a major role in developing the R/B-jazz hybrid sound of the late '70s and early '80s which has helped define and shape the music that we've all come to know and love as Smooth Jazz...

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jeff Lorber began his career in music at the early age of 4 taking piano instruction. Later he also picked up guitar and performed with various rock and R/B bands around the city. After completing his study of music at Boston's prestigious Berklee School of Music, Lorber headed west to Portland, Oregon in the early '70s for a musical environment more viable to new original music. And it was in 1975 that the "Jeff Lorber Fusion" group signed with the now defunct Inner City records to release their self-titled debut in 1977 and follow-up "Soft Space" in 1978 that featured Chick Corea and Joe Farrell (both of the legendary fusion group Return to Forever).

Today, "fusion", in a musical context is defined as a music that combines jazz elements with an influence of repetative rhythms of rock--sometimes called jazz-fusion or jazz rock. And this would be partly appropriate when considering the early fusion sounds of the '70s which started with bands like Return to Forever (Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al DiMeola, Joe Farrell, and others), John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra (Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, Jean-Luc Ponty, and others), and Weather Report (Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Miroslav Vitous--later Jaco Pastorious, and Alphonse Mouzon). But these bands also included elements of funk and Latin with horn sections. Some bands even incorporated vocals.

This early fusion was also characterized by a melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic complexity in the songs' arrangements with various combinations of instrumentation. Exciting, mind-blowing with boldly adventurous and extremely impressive exhibitions of musicianship and virtuosity--yes. Accessible to most listeners--well, maybe not...

Influenced by Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, George Duke, Chick Corea, and Earth, Wind and Fire, Lorber fused these diverse influences and harmonic elements of jazz with melodies and grooves more akin to R/B, pop, and Latin. He topped it off with a simpler song structure used in popular music. Hence The Jeff Lorber Fusion!

The group's commercial success with their first two releases was so significant that the new Arista Records (led by Clive Davis) signed them. And for the next 7 albums with Arista, Lorber's success, influence and development of the "to-be-smooth-jazz-genre" would progress with each release.

The group's first release on Arista, "Water Sign" featured trumpeter Freddie Hubbard on the classic "Rain Dance", a track frequently sampled by today's to R/B, hip hop, and urban artists and producers like Lil' Kim, SWV, Erykah Badu, Irv Gotti, and the Neptunes.

"Wizard Island", the next release on Arista went to no. 1 on the Billboard jazz charts and featured Kenny Gorelick, a little-known (at the time) sax player and flutist from Seattle--who most people know today as Kenny G. In 1982 Lorber would disband the group for "It's a Fact", his third and first solo release with Arista.

Love it or leave it, '80s pop was the sound of advancing technology in music. Thanks to the increasing availability of less expensive microprocessors and integrated circuits in the late '70s, keyboard and synthesizer manufacturers began designing their instruments' components with digital circuitry. Add to this the birth of MIDI technology in 1983 and commercial electronic music would transform and advance by leaps and bounds. These technologies would have a tremendous affect on the production process and sound of popular music in the mid '80s--as they continue to do so today.

MIDI -- Musical Instrument Digital Interface -- basically allows the output of an electronic musical instrument to be converted to a digital message that can control other MIDI-equipped instruments/devices that receive it. This business of remotely controlling other instruments/devices would make way for hardware/software sequencers and drum machines that could store, in memory, several digitally recorded MIDI messages that could ultimately perform entire compositions. This was a dream come true for composers. He/She could now realize their complete song idea (melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, song structure, and sound) without any additional "live" musicians. And before long, much of the popular music in the mid '80s became chocked full with the sound of sequenced rhythm tracks, multi-layered keyboard sounds, synth bass, and drum machines.

It was evident Lorber was influenced by the advances in music technology. He too, exploited these advances in his work. His next 3 albums would take on more of a "produced" sound with pop characteristics and appeal--often including tracks featuring vocals. Those albums were "In the Heat of the Night" (1984) and "Step by Step" (1985)--his last 2 Arista releases. And "Private Passion" (1986)--which was Lorber's only Warner Brothers release. "Lift Off", which was produced for an Arista reissue of tracks from the Inner City albums "Jeff Lorber Fusion" and "Soft Space", was also released in 1985.

Continuing to bridge the gap between the early R/B-jazz sound and today's Smooth Jazz, Lorber peaked with "Step by Step" which earned him a Grammy-nomination for Best R/B Instrumental for the single "Pacific Coast Highway". And later the 1986 top-10 hit "Facts of Love" from "Private Passion" became a crossover pop and R/B smash that catapulted the career of vocalist Karyn White.

Because he was in such high demand as a session player, producer, and song writer, Lorber would relocate to Los Angeles where he would, for a long 7 years, compose and produce for several pop and jazz artists like Michael Franks, Eric Benet, Karyn White, Eric Marienthal, and Herb Albert. He discovered saxophonist Dave Koz, produced his first two albums and later produced Koz's 1999 album "The Dance".

Lorber also discovered and produced the late Art Porter, a ridiculously funky saxophonist and talented composer. Porter's first two albums "Pocket City" and "Straight to the Point" really helped open the door for reemergence of Lorber on the now-called Smooth Jazz scene with his debut Verve release "Worth Waiting For"--and was it. It featured Art Porter, Dave Koz, Bruce Hornsby, and Lee Ritenour. This release and his follow-up "West Side Stories" were huge hits in the format. Among other all-star artists contributing to "West Side Stories", R/B vocalist Eric Benet shined on the smash "Say Love". Plus Lorber threw in an updated oldie but goody, "Toad's Place" from his "Water Sign" album. Thanks Jeff!

"State of Grace", Lorber's last release on Verve was a change in direction. He was going back to a warmer, funkier, live-feel vibe that he had on his early Arista releases. Sonically he leaned more toward the "retro" keyboards like the acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hohner clavinet, Hammond B-3 organ, and some old analog synthesizers popular in the '70s and '80s like the Mini Moog.

On "Midnight", released on Zebra, Lorber continued using more retro keyboards, alot of acoustic piano, and played some guitar, too. It seems Lorber applied the "less is more" approach here. The album features very few guest artists but Lorber basically pulls out all the stops on this one. He achieves the warm, funky, live-feel vibe and exhibits his tasty composition skills and technical facility on the ebony and ivory. He does alot of playing. Stylistically, the album is well rounded being bluesy, soulful and jazzy--in a traditional and contemporary sense.

On his Samson release, "Kickin' It", Lorber makes good and frequent use of a small horn section. Saxophonists Gerald Albright, Dave Koz, Steve Cole, and Richard Elliot are featured along with Gary Meek who has appeared on all of the Jeff Lorber albums since "Worth Waiting For". Lorber does a killer remake of the Rufus and Chaka Kahn hit "Ain't Nobody". Plus, he does another of his old classics--"Reflections"--from his 1980 "Wizard Island" album and he covers "Keep That Same Old Feelin'" by the legendary Crusaders. One of the hardest groovin' tunes on the album is "What it is" and credit must be given to Alex Al (bass) and John "Little John" Roberts (drums). These cats are the funky dynamic duo of rhythm sections. Just take a listen, they'll be your superheroes, too!

Lorber's change in direction--which seemed to start with his "State of Grace" album--has brought him to his latest release "Philly Style". It has an updated old-school R/B-jazz sound that is reminiscent of his early Arista work with some current sounds and influences of soul and R/B. Lorber doesn't seem to quit catching and keeping your ears with a healthy dose of tunes full of lyrical melodies and grooves that just get funkier and more soulful over time. The superheroes Alex Al and "Little John" Roberts make up the compelling rhythm section and are all over this album (Lorber knows how to pick em')! He makes extensive use of a horn section and horn players on this album, too.

"The Definitive Collection" is the best selections from the Jeff Lorber Arista years since the Arista albums are no longer in print. We at Jazz-Pittsburgh.com are hoping for the reissued Arista albums in a boxed set!

For more information on Jeff Lorber visit: www.lorber.com. You can hear sound samples of his Arista work there, too!

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