He Had a Hat

Jeff Lorber | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 3, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note
• ASIN: B000NJLLVU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,462 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smoothjazz.com Review, April 3, 2007

By 

Sandy Shore (Monterey, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: He Had a Hat (Audio CD)

Have you ever dropped by one of your favorite restaurants, and then just been blown away by some delectable new recipe on the menu? You thought you knew what to expect, but this turned out to be such an extraordinary surprise that you couldn't wait to tell all your friends. That's exactly how I'm feeling about composer, producer, and keyboard legend Jeff Lorber's HE HAD A HAT. It's fresh. It's different. It's varied. It's astoundingly good! From the first lush chords of the inspiring "Anthem for a New America" to the last reverberations of the fusion-funk "Burn Brightly," this album, produced by Bobby Colomby (BS&T), is incredible in its depth, energy, and organic ensemble work, featuring a true who's who of contemporary jazz (Randy Brecker, Chris Botti, Tom Scott, Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright, Hubert Laws, Paul Jackson, Jr., Russell Malone, Brian Bromberg, and Dave Weckl are just some of the players). This is one of those projects that absolutely inspires me with its creativity and power. To quote Jeff, "I'm making a quantum shift on HE HAD A HAT because I felt it was time to shake things up a bit...the timing is perfect because I get the sense that a lot of people are looking for something unique and different out there." Yes we are, Jeff, and you have magnificently delivered what I predict right now will be one of the best, if not the best, contemporary jazz albums of 2007! ~SCOTT O'BRIEN

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It will grow on You, May 1, 2007

By 

Edward Maxwell "Sweet EDMAX" (Louisville, KY, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: He Had a Hat (Audio CD)

Have you ever had a CD that you started to play and just felt like it was strictly average, only to play it a second time when you are in tune to find out that the music was really good?

That is what this CD did for me. I did not fully appreciate it the first time I played it but then I had a chance to not be distracted and the music was simply awesome.

From start to finish this CD takes you through several transitions from Smooth Jazz to Be Bop to Old school and back to Smooth Jazz. And boy does it have a flair. Jeff has outdone himself this time. The CD is really really well constructed and well put together. It is like fine wine that gets better everytime you hear it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally he's back!, May 17, 2007

By 

jazzyeric - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: He Had a Hat (Audio CD)

I've followed this guy since day one and even attended the same music school, mainly because he (and other great players) went there. It used to be that the name Jeff Lorber caused everyone to immediately imagine flames coming off the keyboards. On his earlier albums, which I still listen to A LOT, Jeff would simply sit down at the keyboards then "play his butt off". If you like funky fusion and you haven't heard his 25+ year-old Wizard Island album, then you haven't really heard funky fusion. There were no computers or other gimmicks. It was just smokin' music complete with rippin' solos. Kenny G. was the Sax player. But believe me, it wasn't the watered down Kenny G. that you're likely familiar with.

But, something happened. I guess it was the "smooth jazz" revolution and/or possibly all of the production projects that Jeff does. The fiery performances were replaced by very safe, very diatonic, and in my opinion, very vanilla background music. As a result, I stopped buying Jeff's records, which is something that I never thought that I'd do. But, it seemed that he simply lost his chops or at least felt that playing a be-bob line or a hip diminished scale pattern would get him kicked off smooth radio. My hero was gone. No more solos to transcribe. No more fire.

Maybe the popularity of satellite radio has changed this. I don't know. But, I do know that Jeff can still "play his butt off" as he demonstrates so on this CD. Sure, he still has some of the watered down stuff in there, but he's included enough heat to cause me to immediately pick up a copy and start jammin' again with the old Jeff.

Jeff, there are a lot of us out here who simply want to hear you play without holding back anymore. Hopefully, the success of this recording will help reinforce the validity of what I'm saying. I haven't been this excited about a Jeff Lorber release in years.