Growing up in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Cheltenham, where he attended the same high school as Randy and Michael Brecker, pianist Marc Copland, saxophonist Andy Snitzer and baseball player Reggie Jackson, Lorber began playing the piano at the age of four and as a teen performed with a variety of local R&B bands.
It represents something more ambitious and more jazzy and more compelling, I hope.”
“I guess the Venn diagram of my music intersects with some of those characteristics of smooth jazz, but my music has always been melodic, it’s always been funky and I definitely try to keep an attention to soloing. “While I’m grateful to the format for providing a platform for modern instrumental music, I was doing my music way before there was the term ‘smooth jazz,’” he said. A member of the all-star group Jazz Funk Soul, featuring saxophonist Everette Harp and guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., Lorber has also headlined The Smooth Jazz Cruise, dubbed “The Greatest Party at Sea.”Īs for the tag ‘smooth jazz,’ Lorber believes it is more a marketing term than a musical category. From 1977’s Jeff Lorber Fusion to 2017’s Prototype, named Best Contemporary Instrumental Music album at the 2018 60th annual Grammy Awards, to his recent collaboration with guitar great Mike Stern on Eleven, Lorber has shown a knack for creating fresh vibes and funky grooves while layering on jazzy improvisations on piano, synthesizer and his signature Fender Rhodes electric piano.Īn acknowledged pioneer of what would later become known as “smooth jazz” and “urban jazz,” Lorber has woven together elements of funk, R&B, rock and electric jazz into an appealing hybrid that has consistently won over listeners from coast to coast and resulted in several #1 radio hits. It definitely has a groove, and we play it with integrity." In the 2010s Lorber would shift away from synthesizers to emphasize more acoustic jazz sounds.Jeff Lorber, Grammy Award-winning keyboardist-composer-producer has, over the course of 42 years and 24 albums, pioneered the post-fusion sound of contemporary jazz with his radio- friendly, groove-oriented instrumental music. He said, "This music is entertaining and it has energy.
Porter characterized both albums as having uncomplicated melodies supported by danceable beats. Similarly, Art Porter Jr.'s album Straight to the Point was also released later in 1993 in the jazz fusion style, produced by Lorber at Lorber's own JHL recording studio. Worth Waiting For stayed on Billboard 's Contemporary Jazz chart for 30 weeks in 1993, selling more than 100,000 units. The album sold very well compared to straight jazz recordings, as the American public in the 1990s was demanding contemporary jazz.
JEFF LORBER FUSION 2018 TOUR SERIES
Worth Waiting For continued the 1980s series of Lorber's smooth jazz/ jazz fusion albums featuring prominent synthesizer sounds, mixing jazz with elements of contemporary R&B, funk and pop. Years later, he said he came back to solo jazz albums because he "wanted to be more in creative control and express myself." But Lorber was growing dissatisfied with compromising in favor of the artist he said "My attitude became less positive". In 1990 he put together saxophonist Dave Koz's self-titled solo album, and in 1991 he produced saxophonist Eric Marienthal's successful Oasis smooth jazz album.
In the interim, Lorber produced a number of dance remixes, including ones for U2 and Paula Abdul. The album marked a return by Lorber to his solo work, after a break of eight years in which he produced music for other artists. The album also hit number 33 on Billboard 's Jazz chart, and number 71 on the R&B chart. Worth Waiting For is the only album by Lorber to hit number 1 on that chart five others rose to number 2. Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart at the end of July 1993. Worth Waiting For is the tenth studio album by jazz keyboardist Jeff Lorber, released on Verve Forecast in January 1993.
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