Jeff
Lorber - Biography
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 see 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)
Jeff 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 outside producer
and contacted Steve Dubin. Best known for his
work with Peter White, Richard Elliot, and Najee,
Dubin - like Lorber - 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 - 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 the 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 syle 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."
PHILLY STYLE gave the Lorber the chance to record
one of his favorite tunes, Uncle Darrow's. "I
originally wrote the tune for a project that was
released on Verve. The groove is reminiscent of
Rain Dance, a song from the Jeff Lorber Fusion
album WATER SIGN, which has been a popular sampling
source for Li'l Kim, Erykah Badu, and other rap
and R&B stars- that track's influence can
be heard on quite a few current hiphop tracks,
including some current hits produced by Irv Gotti
and also the Neptunes.
On Uncle Darrow's, Lorber brings together the
legendary sax man Gary Meek and trumpeter Ron
King for a funky horn section, giving the tune
a brassy, Crusaders-type of vibe. The ballad,
When She Smiles, was, as Lorber mentions, "like
the whole album, just came together spontaneously.
We needed a change of pace, and Steve Dubin came
with a nice mellow groove, I sat down at the piano,
and the rest of the song pretty much wrote itself.
PHILLY STYLE's easy way began right in the studio.
The rhythm section, consisting of former Rufus
guitarist Tony Maiden, Jeff, and studio stars
"Little John" Roberts and Alex Al had
that rare, but immediate interplay.
The
group spent three days cutting the basic tracks
and recorded to analog tape - unusual these days,
to get a warmer sound. "We didn't want to
lose anything that happened in the studio. It
gives such a warmer feel, more natural...just
real. On KICKIN' IT, I was so careful to keep
the arrangements sparse, like Down to The Bone,
Joe Sample, and Ramsey Lewis. The album was very
bluesy and pianistic. This time, we really got
more free and mixed it up with some fresh grooves...Philly
style." from Jeff Lorber's official site
www.jefflorber.com
