Jeff Lorber

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Jeff Lorber
JeffLorberJazz.png
Background information
Birth nameJeffrey H. Lorber
Born (1952-11-04) November 4, 1952 (age 71)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. [1]
Genres Jazz, smooth jazz, jazz pop, jazz fusion
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, record producer
InstrumentKeyboards
Years active1975–present
Labels Inner City, Blue Note, Narada, Zebra, Verve, Warner Bros., Arista, Peak

Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) [1] is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Prototype by his band the Jeff Lorber Fusion.

Contents

Many of his songs have appeared on the Weather Channel's Local on the 8s segments and on the channel's compilation albums, The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz and The Weather Channel Presents: Smooth Jazz II . He was nominated for a Grammy Award for his album He Had a Hat (Blue Note, 2007)

Early life

Lorber was born to a Jewish family [2] in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, the same suburb as Michael and Randy Brecker, with whom he would later play. [3] He started to play the piano when he was four years old. After playing in a number of R&B bands as a teen, he attended Berklee College of Music, where he developed his love for jazz. [4] At Berklee he met and played alongside guitarist John Scofield. He moved to Vancouver, Washington in 1972. For several years he studied chemistry at Boston University. [5]

Jeff Lorber Fusion

Jeff Lorber at Jazzy Days in Denmark 2018 Jeff-lorber DSC00888.jpg
Jeff Lorber at Jazzy Days in Denmark 2018

His first group, the Jeff Lorber Fusion, released their self-titled debut album The Jeff Lorber Fusion in 1977 [4] on Inner City Records. Supported by a revolving cast of musicians, including drummer Dennis Bradford, he recorded five studio albums under this moniker. These early albums showcased a funky sound influenced by other jazz fusion practitioners such as Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, and Return to Forever, the latter's Chick Corea appearing on several songs. Like his contemporaries, Lorber performed on multiple keyboard instruments, including piano, Rhodes piano, and analog synthesizers, often favoring the Minimoog and Sequential Circuits Prophet 5. The Jeff Lorber Fusion's 1980 album, Wizard Island , introduced saxophonist Kenneth Bruce Gorelick, better known as Kenny G. [6]

Solo career

In 1984 he released his second solo album In the Heat of the Night and Jeff Lorber Fusion compilation album Lift Off. Later that year, he and the production duo of David Frank and Mic Murphy, otherwise known as the System, produced Step by Step. [7] The title track, written with Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters, rose to number 31 on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart. [1] The song "Facts of Love" (featuring Karyn White) from the 1986 album Private Passion was his biggest chart hit, reaching No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 [8] and No. 17 on the R&B chart. [1] Several singles from this period also appeared on the Billboard Dance charts. However, Lorber was not satisfied that he was being overtaken by a more vocal and R&B feel on his own albums, [9] so he took a seven-year hiatus. [10] After Step by Step, he quoted Clive Davis as telling him, "We really want you to put more vocals on your records", which Lorber thought was a mistake. [11]

Lorber's keyboard work appeared in the video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night . His input can be heard during the game's closing theme song "I Am the Wind" (which also featured the saxophonist Gerald Albright). [12]

Two greatest hits compilation albums were released in 2000 and 2002. Flipside (2005) was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category. [13] At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, his 2013 album Hacienda was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Album. [14] In 2018, he received a Grammy for his album Prototype in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category.

Lorber has done extensive production and session work for other musicians, including Dave Koz, Eric Benét, Herb Alpert, Carol Duboc and Laura Branigan. He hosts a show on Sirius Satellite Radio. [15] [16]

Personal life

Jeff Lorber in 2012 Jeff Lorber - Jazz na Starowce 2012 (2).jpg
Jeff Lorber in 2012

In 2004, Lorber was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease and received a successful kidney transplant from his wife Mink Lorber. [5]

He has served as a spokesman for the PKD Foundation, an organization for fighting polycystic kidney disease. [17] He has mentioned that the disease is common in his family. His daughters have it and his mother and sister died from it. [18]

Discography

Jeff Lorber Fusion - albums

YearTitleLabelChart positions
US
200

[19]
US
R&B

[20]
US
Trad
Jazz
[21]
US
Cont
Jazz
[22]
1977 The Jeff Lorber Fusion Inner City
1978 Soft Space
1979 Water Sign Arista 119
1980 Wizard Island 123
1981 Galaxian 7745
2010 Now Is the Time Heads Up 84
2011Galaxy73
2013 Hacienda 53
2015Step It Up94
2017 Prototype Shanachie 62
2018Impact54
2019 Eleven (with Mike Stern) Concord Jazz 42
2021Space-Time Shanachie
2023The Drop Shanachie
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

|}

Jeff Lorber - solo albums

YearTitleLabelChart positions
US
200

[19]
US
R&B

[20]
US
Trad
Jazz
[23] [21]
US
Cont
Jazz
[22]
UK
[24]
1982 It's a Fact Arista 7344
1984 In the Heat of the Night 106447
1985Step by Step90331197
1986 Private Passion Warner Bros. 68291716
1993 Worth Waiting For Verve Forecast 331
1994 West Side Stories 65
1996State of Grace1410
1998MidnightZebra
2004 reissue: Narada Jazz/EMI
1914
2001Kickin' ItGold Circle
2004 reissue: Narada Jazz/EMI
199
2003Philly Style Narada Jazz/EMI 105
2005 Flipside 94
2007 He Had a Hat Blue Note 95
2008Heard That Peak 96
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Jazz Funk Soul - albums

Jeff Lorber, Everette Harp, Chuck Loeb (2014—2017), and now Paul Jackson, Jr.

YearTitleLabelChart positions
US
Trad
Jazz
[21]
US
Cont
Jazz
[22]
2014Jazz Funk Soul Shanachie 52
2016More Serious Business72
2019Life and Times62
2022Forecast

Singles

Solo

YearTitleChart positions
US
[8]
US
R&B

[1] [25]
US
Dance

[26]
US
Jazz
[27]
UK
[24]
1985"Step by Step"105314
"Best Part of the Night"1580
1986"Facts of Love"2717995
1987"True Confessions"88
2006"Ooh La La"4
2007"Anthem for a New America"21
2008"Rehab"12
2009"You Got Something"5
2010"Pixel"22
2011"Sumatra"39
2013"Right There"45
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Jeff Lorber Fusion

YearTitleChart positions
US
Jazz
[27]
2012"Big Brother"1
"City"5
2013"Hacienda"1
2014"Fab Gear"1
2015"The Steppe"1
"Get Up"3
2016"Soul Party"11
2017"Hyperdrive"2
2018"The Badness"5
"Sport Coat Makes Good"8
2019"Highline"24

Jazz Funk Soul

YearTitleChart positions
US
Jazz
[27]
2014"Serious Business"1
2015"Speed of Light"20
2016"You'll Know When You Know"21
2017"Tuesday Swings"7
2019"Windfall"3
"Blacksmith"23

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References

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