Jeff Lorber Fusion

Jeff Lorber | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 24, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B0015I2PY0
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,702 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of Jeff's Jazziest Albums, October 19, 2011

By 

Andre S. Grindle "Andre' Grindle" (Brewer Maine) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jeff Lorber Fusion (Audio CD)

Little known even to myself for a long time,this debut album for Jeff Lorber (or rather the Jeff Lorber Fusion in this case) was recorded by the Philadelphia native on the small Inner City record label in 1977. The band-which at this time consisted of Lorber on keyboards,Lester McFarland on bass,Terry Layne on reeds and of course Dennis Bradford on drums found themselves in a time heavily populated by many fusion oriented bands of many different sorts,from all over the globe. Some of them were relatively popular for a song or two. And all of them had a built in audience of musicians musicians. But it was clear by the late 70's even fusion wasn't exactly winning over the majority of the pop audience as it was expecting to originally. Instead it had it's own following, a bit smaller than expected. It hardly mattered to Mr.Lorber. Didn't then and doesn't now. All he wanted to do is put his sound out there and see what happened. And he's retained a lot of respect for that over the years.

All and all this amounts to being the jazziest album Lorber,as himself or Jeff Lorber Fusion ever recorded. His playing,whether on acoustic/fender rhodes piano or synthesizer is always melodic,vibrant and lively. This albums jazziest numbers,the lower tempo'd "Glisten",the percussive "Deva Samba" and the sleek "Terry's Lament" all showcase Terry Layne's sax solos as much as Lorber's musicianship,which adds an excellent flavor. On the brief "Refunk" the electronic jazz-funk sound is turned up to full power,a preview of the musical future to come for Lorber. On the churning rhythm of "Chinese Medicinal Herbs and the bonus track "Poppin" that funk groove is integrated into a heavy band fusion flavor of these songs for extra powerful grooves. "Funky Gospel","Life Off","Water Music","River Winds" and "Cousin Stu" all represent that soulfully grooving,melodic small group jazz-funk fusion sound Jeff Lorber always made famous. At their core, these songs represent his basic sound even to this day.

Honestly I have to thank an old friend of mine who had a jazz-funk based radio show at the nearby collage around 2003-04 for making me aware of the existence of Jeff Lorber. Luckily this coincided with some of my earliest uses of the internet. And thanks to both of these factors,and searching as many used record stores and ebay I was able to track down more and more information on Lorber. Not only was he recording even at that point but had a whole important history of which I was not aware,including the introduction of sax player Kenny Gorelick more popularly known as Kenny G) to the world during his years at Arista. But Lorber's brief and early years on the Inner City label still hold a special place for me. Here he was making some of the most artistically inclined and most jazz oriented music of his career. And free from the need to accommodate any particular radio market,critic or anyone like that. This is definitely made with lovers of plain old good quality music in mind. And it has some very strong grooves on it too. A wonderful example of musicians oriented pop/funk-jazz.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great album!, July 21, 2008

By 

Mario Toni Belamarić "mario toni" (zagreb, croatia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jeff Lorber Fusion (Audio CD)

What a great album! I have this album and "Water Sign" and can`t decide which one is better! The cd is not coming out of my player. The whole cd runs smooth & groovy and when you thought it was all over there is this bonus track "Poppin", for me maybe the best track on cd!
Jeff`s and band`s playing is so rich and powerful that you can almost feel the joy and positive attitude these guys had when they recorded this piece (aahhh, good old times....).
As I always say - it is interesting how today`s music (and other things) has de-evolved.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jeff Lorber Mr. Fusion, August 15, 2010

By 

A. M. Washington "fusion master" (Highland Park, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jeff Lorber Fusion (Audio CD)

I agree with reviewer Mario Toni, brother I've never taken my Jeff Lorber Fusion CD out of my player since I bought it. I absolutely love this CD. I've been waiting for someone to put the "Fusion" album as well as the Soft Space album on CD for over 20 years. The whole CD is great. And what can I say about the extra track, "Poppin" that hasn't already been said. Outstanding!!! It got a lot of airtime on the radio back in the day. Great 70's fusion jazz . Both of these albums are musical gems that I will always love and I'm sure you will love as well. If you are a Jeff Lorber fan, you have to pick up a copy of both CDs. I'm very sure you won't be disappointed.