Jeff Lorber
Encyclopedia
Jeff Lorber is an American
Grammy Award
-nominated keyboardist
, composer
, and record producer
.
After leading his own group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, he went on to pioneer the smooth jazz
genre
.
Many of his songs were featured on The Weather Channel's Local On The 8s segments, including appearances on the channel's compilation albums, The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz
and The Weather Channel Presents: Smooth Jazz II
.
In February, it was announced Jeff Lorber signed with Peak Records. Lorber's first CD for his new label is expected to hit the street on Tuesday, June 10.
He was also nominated for a Grammy for his 2007 Blue Note Records release titled, "He Had A Hat."
. Lorber started to play the piano
when he was four years old and after playing in a number of R&B bands as a teen, went on to attend Berklee College of Music
, where he developed his love for jazz
. He moved to Vancouver, Washington
in 1972.
. Supported by a revolving cast of musicians including longtime drummer Dennis Bradford, Lorber recorded five studio albums under this moniker. These early releases showcased a funky sound influenced by other jazz fusion
practitioners like Herbie Hancock
, Weather Report
and Return to Forever
, the latter's Chick Corea
appearing on several noteworthy Fusion cuts. Like his contemporaries, Lorber performed on multiple keyboard instruments including piano, Rhodes piano
, and various analog synthesizer
s, often favoring the Minimoog
and Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
.
"Rain Dance," found on the 1979 album Water Sign, was sampled for the 1996 Lil' Kim single "Crush On You." It was also sampled for the track Love Like This (featuring Lil' Cease) on Release SWV
's 1997 release Release Some Tension
The Jeff Lorber Fusion's 1980 LP Wizard Island introduced a young saxophonist named Kenny Gorelick, better known as Kenny G
.
-heavy sound. The album featured a new backing band as well as contributions from former Fusion bandmate Kenny G and legendary percussionist Paulinho Da Costa
. It's A Fact also contained several songs with vocalists, a stark contrast to the instrumental
recordings of the Fusion.
1984 was a prolific year for Lorber, who followed up his solo debut with In the Heat of the Night and Lift Off. Later that same year, Lorber teamed up with influential R&B production duo David Frank and Mic Murphy, otherwise known as The System
[], to produce his most successful effort to date, Step By Step[]. The synth-driven title track rose to number 31 on the R&B charts[].
Jeff Lorber's keyboard work is featured in the PlayStation video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
. His keyboarding can be heard during the game's closing theme song "I Am the Wind" (which also features saxophonist Gerald Albright
).
His subsequent albums continued to evolve in a smooth jazz direction. Two greatest hits compilations, The Definitive Collection and The Very Best of Jeff Lorber, were released in 2000 and 2002 respectively. To date, he has recorded a dozen solo albums, his most recent being 2005's Flipside which was nominated for a Grammy Award
in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category.
Lorber has done extensive production and session
work for other artists including Dave Koz
, Eric Benet
, Herb Alpert
and Laura Branigan
, as well as working on a track for the critically acclaimed 1997 PlayStation
game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
. In addition to his recording and performing,
Lorber also hosts his own show on Sirius Satellite Radio
.
, he received a successful kidney transplant from his wife.
Jeff has two daughters, Nica Lorber and Jessica Lorber.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-nominated keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
After leading his own group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, he went on to pioneer the smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
.
Many of his songs were featured on The Weather Channel's Local On The 8s segments, including appearances on the channel's compilation albums, The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz
The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz
The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz is a 2007 compilation release by Midas Records. It peaked at #1 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz charts in the same year....
and The Weather Channel Presents: Smooth Jazz II
The Weather Channel Presents: Smooth Jazz II
The Weather Channel Presents: Smooth Jazz II is a 2008 compilation release by Midas Records. It is the second CD from The Weather Channel which features their most requested music from the "Local on the 8s" segments...
.
In February, it was announced Jeff Lorber signed with Peak Records. Lorber's first CD for his new label is expected to hit the street on Tuesday, June 10.
He was also nominated for a Grammy for his 2007 Blue Note Records release titled, "He Had A Hat."
Early life
Jeff Lorber was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. Lorber started to play the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
when he was four years old and after playing in a number of R&B bands as a teen, went on to attend Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, where he developed his love for jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. He moved to Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
in 1972.
The Jeff Lorber Fusion (1977-1981)
His first group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, released their self-titled debut album in 1977 on Inner City RecordsInner City Records
Inner City Records, an American jazz record label now based in Elmsford, New York, was founded in 1976 by Irv Kratka, owner of Music Minus One, and Eric Kriss, an independent producer. Affiliated labels included Guitar World and Classic Jazz...
. Supported by a revolving cast of musicians including longtime drummer Dennis Bradford, Lorber recorded five studio albums under this moniker. These early releases showcased a funky sound influenced by other jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
practitioners like Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
and Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
, the latter's Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
appearing on several noteworthy Fusion cuts. Like his contemporaries, Lorber performed on multiple keyboard instruments including piano, Rhodes piano
Rhodes piano
The Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
, and various analog synthesizer
Analog synthesizer
An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...
s, often favoring the Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
and Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Sequential Circuits in San Jose, California between 1977 and 1984. The Prophet-5 was groundbreaking in that it was one of the first analog synthesizers to implement patch memory, a feature which stored user settings of every parameter...
.
"Rain Dance," found on the 1979 album Water Sign, was sampled for the 1996 Lil' Kim single "Crush On You." It was also sampled for the track Love Like This (featuring Lil' Cease) on Release SWV
SWV
Sisters with Voices, better known as SWV, is an American female R&B trio from New York. Formed in 1990 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B groups of the 1990s. They had a series of hits, including "Weak", "Right Here/Human Nature", "I'm So Into You", and "You're the One"....
's 1997 release Release Some Tension
Release Some Tension
Release Some Tension is SWV's third album. Guest appearances are made by E-40, P. Diddy, Missy Elliott, Foxy Brown, Lil' Cease, Lil' Kim, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Redman. The album features hits like "Rain" , "Someone", "Can We"...
The Jeff Lorber Fusion's 1980 LP Wizard Island introduced a young saxophonist named Kenny Gorelick, better known as Kenny G
Kenny G
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick , better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American, adult contemporary and smooth jazz saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986...
.
Solo career (1982-present)
In 1982, Lorber recorded his first solo album It's A Fact, which explored Lorber's R&B roots with a smoother, more synthSynthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
-heavy sound. The album featured a new backing band as well as contributions from former Fusion bandmate Kenny G and legendary percussionist Paulinho Da Costa
Paulinho Da Costa
Paulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...
. It's A Fact also contained several songs with vocalists, a stark contrast to the instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
recordings of the Fusion.
1984 was a prolific year for Lorber, who followed up his solo debut with In the Heat of the Night and Lift Off. Later that same year, Lorber teamed up with influential R&B production duo David Frank and Mic Murphy, otherwise known as The System
The System (band)
The System was an American synth pop duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist Mic Murphy and seasoned session keyboardist David Frank. The band was founded in 1982 in New York and backed up by Paul Pesco on electric guitar and Kris Khellow - keyboards, synthesizers.Sometimes the group is referred to...
[], to produce his most successful effort to date, Step By Step[]. The synth-driven title track rose to number 31 on the R&B charts[].
Jeff Lorber's keyboard work is featured in the PlayStation video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
. His keyboarding can be heard during the game's closing theme song "I Am the Wind" (which also features saxophonist Gerald Albright
Gerald Albright
Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist.Albright has sold over 1,000,000 albums in the U.S. alone. His self-produced music features him on bass guitar, keyboards, flutes, drum programming, and background vocals.- Biography :...
).
His subsequent albums continued to evolve in a smooth jazz direction. Two greatest hits compilations, The Definitive Collection and The Very Best of Jeff Lorber, were released in 2000 and 2002 respectively. To date, he has recorded a dozen solo albums, his most recent being 2005's Flipside which was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category.
Lorber has done extensive production and session
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
work for other artists including Dave Koz
Dave Koz
Dave Koz is an American smooth jazz saxophonist.- Life and career :Dave Koz was born on March 27, 1963 in Encino, California....
, Eric Benet
Eric Benét
Eric Benét, is an American singer. His duet with Tamia, "Spend My Life With You" was a number one song for three weeks on the US Billboard R&B chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2000....
, Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
and Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
, as well as working on a track for the critically acclaimed 1997 PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
. In addition to his recording and performing,
Lorber also hosts his own show on Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
.
Personal life
Jeff Lorber is married to Mingquan Tungwarapotwitan. When Lorber was diagnosed with polycystic kidney diseasePolycystic kidney disease
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is an inherited systemic disorder that predominantly affects the kidneys, but may affect other organs including the liver, pancreas, brain, and arterial blood vessels...
, he received a successful kidney transplant from his wife.
Jeff has two daughters, Nica Lorber and Jessica Lorber.
Studio albums (The Jeff Lorber Fusion)
- The Jeff Lorber FusionThe Jeff Lorber Fusion (album)The Jeff Lorber Fusion is the debut album by Keyboardist Jeff Lorber as leader of his band "The Jeff Lorber Fusion"-Track listing:All songs written and composed by Jeff Lorber.#Funky Gospel 5:38 #Glisten 6:00 #Deva Samba 4:28...
(1977, Inner CityInner City RecordsInner City Records, an American jazz record label now based in Elmsford, New York, was founded in 1976 by Irv Kratka, owner of Music Minus One, and Eric Kriss, an independent producer. Affiliated labels included Guitar World and Classic Jazz...
) - Soft SpaceSoft Space (album)Soft Space is the second album by Keyboardist Jeff Lorber as leader of his band "The Jeff Lorber Fusion"-Reception:Released in 1978 this album featured special guest artists, Chick Corea and Joe Farrell...
(1978, Inner City) - Water SignWater Sign (Jeff Lorber album)Water Sign is the third album by Keyboardist Jeff Lorber as leader of his band "The Jeff Lorber Fusion"-Reception:Released in 1979 this would be Jeff's first album on Arista Records.-Track listing:All songs written and composed by Jeff Lorber....
(1979, AristaArista RecordsArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
) - Wizard IslandWizard Island (album)Wizard Island is the fourth album by Keyboardist Jeff Lorber as leader of his band "The Jeff Lorber Fusion"-Reception:Released in 1980 this would be Jeff's first album to chart number one on the Jazz Album Charts.-Track listing:...
(1980, Arista) - GalaxianGalaxian (album)Wizard Island is the fifth album by Keyboardist Jeff Lorber as leader of his band "The Jeff Lorber Fusion"-Reception:Released in 1981 this would be Jeff's last album as leader of his band "The Jeff Lorber Fusion" until 2010's Now Is The Time....
(1981, Arista) - Now Is The TimeNow Is the Time (Jeff Lorber Fusion album)Now Is the Time is a jazz album released by Jeff Lorber Fusion. The album was released in 2010 on Heads Up Records and was produced by Jeff Lorber, Bobby Colomby, and Jimmy Haslip. It was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album....
(2010, Heads Up)
Studio albums (solo career)
- It's a FactIt's a FactIt's a Fact is the first solo album by jazz musician Jeff Lorber.-Track listing:#Tierra Verde #Full Moon #Warm Springs #It's a Fact #The Magician #Your Love Has Got Me #Delevans #Always There...
(1982, AristaArista RecordsArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
) - In the Heat of the NightIn the Heat of the Night (Jeff Lorber album)In the Heat of the Night is the second full-length studio album by jazz keyboardist Jeff Lorber. It was released in 1984 on Arista Records. A re-issue of the album was done in Japan on BMG International in 2004.-Track listing:...
(1984, AristaArista RecordsArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
) - Lift Off (1984, AristaArista RecordsArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
) - Step by Step (1984, AristaArista RecordsArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
) - Private Passion (1986, Warner Bros.Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
) - Worth Waiting For (1993, Verve Forecast)
- West Side StoriesWest Side StoriesWest Side Stories is the twelfth studio album by a Grammy Award nominated composer, keyboardist and pioneer of the smooth jazz genre, Jeff Lorber, released on Verve Forecast in 1994....
(1994, Verve Forecast) - State of Grace (1996, Verve Forecast)
- Midnight (1998, ZebraZebra RecordsZebra Records is a San Francisco-based record label....
) - Kickin' It (2001, Samson)
- Philly Style (2003, Narada JazzNarada ProductionsNarada is a record label formed 1983 as an independent New Age music label and distributed by MCA Records. Now a fully owned subsidiary of EMI, Narada evolved through an expansion of formats to include music from other styles including world music, jazz, Celtic music, new flamenco, acoustic guitar...
) - Flipside (2005, Narada JazzNarada ProductionsNarada is a record label formed 1983 as an independent New Age music label and distributed by MCA Records. Now a fully owned subsidiary of EMI, Narada evolved through an expansion of formats to include music from other styles including world music, jazz, Celtic music, new flamenco, acoustic guitar...
) - He Had a HatHe Had A HatHe Had a Hat is a 2007 Grammy Award-nominated album by jazz pianist Jeff Lorber. All compositions on this album were original, except for "Grandma's Hands" which was originally composed and performed by Bill Withers.-Track listing:...
(2007, Blue NoteBlue Note RecordsBlue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
) - Heard That (2008, PeakPeak RecordsPeak Records is a record label that was co-founded by The Rippingtons leader and guitarist Russ Freeman & Andi Howard in 1994.The early years, Peak founded as a production for Russ' group The Rippingtons in GRP Records...
)
Compilations
- The Definitive CollectionThe Definitive Collection (Jeff Lorber album)The Definitive Collection is a compilation album of jazz fusion songs by American pianist Jeff Lorber and was released in 2000 through Arista Records....
(2000, Arista) - The Very Best of Jeff Lorber (2002, GRPGRP RecordsGRP Records is an American jazz record company, owned by Universal Music Group and operates through its Verve Music Group. The company's name has had different meanings. In its early days, it stood for "Grusin/Rosen Productions," after the founders...
/VerveVerve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
)