Track Listing

1. Anthem for a New America
2. He Had a Hat
3. Grandma's Hands - Eric Benet, Jeff Lorber
4. Surreptitious
5. All Most Blues - Jeff Lorber, , Tom Scott
6. Orchid - Chris Botti, Jeff Lorber
7. Be Bops
8. Other Side of the Heart - Eric Benet, Paula Cole, Jeff Lorber
9. Hudson
10. Super Fusion Unit
11. Eye Tunes
12. Requiem for Gandalf
13. Burn Brightly

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18279 in Music
• Released on: 2007-04-03
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
The Jeff Lorber Fusion's 1970s grooves were hip enough for Nelly to sample them on his 2003 "Pimp Juice" remix. On Lorber's latest CD, the Philly-born keyboardist delivers some of his trademark funk, albeit with musical twists, and a slew of guests from saxophonists Kirk Whalum and Tom Scott, guitarist Russell Malone, and trumpeter Chris Botti to the horns from Blood, Sweat & Tears. His smooth-jazz fans will dig Lorber's lovely rendition of Bill Wither's "Grandma's Hands," graced with Eric Benet's impassioned vocal, and "The Other Side of the Heart," the quiet storm duet with Benet and Holly Cole. But, like a few of his contemporaries, Lorber unplugs and takes to the acoustic ivories on the orchestral, Aaron Copeland-esque overture "Anthem for a New America." He increases his swing cred on the Gil Evans-ghosted "Surreptitious" and "BC Bop" and proves that some smooth stars still have a little hard bop left in them. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Customer Reviews

Finally he's back!
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.

It's Time To Give Him His Due
If you are in to any kind of jazz you get the whole smorgasboard here. From smooth to bebop, it's all here. If Flipside side was nominated for a grammy then this one should easly win. Yes for some of you more die hard Lorber fans it's not what you traditionally hear from Jeff but again what ever the mood it's all here. I love the direction with the orchestra and horns and vocals. Some of you Lorber fans will have to listen more than once to be impressed but it's all here waiting for you to listen. Again Jeff well done you're the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Superb! Lorber's best playing ever!
I don't know about you, but every time I hear there's a new Jeff Lorber CD, great anticipation builds as I wonder what he'll do next to top the previous recording. Without fail, in my humble opinion, on each new CD, Jeff brings us to the new cutting edge of musical ideas, with fresh, inventive performances, A-List players, top quality production, and masterful compositions. The extraordinary new CD titled "He Had A Hat" continues the adventure.

"He Had A Hat" is an incredibly original, entertainingly diverse, cohesive body of music. On 13 tracks, styles range from contemporary jazz to hard bop and plenty of Lorber's signature funky fusion vibe. The All Star lineup bring their best playing game to the project, with excellent performances by Gerald Albright, Brian Bromberg, Chris Botti, Randy Brecker, Tom Scott, Kirk Whalum, Hubert, Laws, Alex Al, Vinnie Colaiuta, Russell Malone, Paul Brown, Dave Weckl, Bob Sheppard, Paul Jackson Jr., Abraham Laboriel Jr., Tom Scott and the Blood, Sweat & Tears horn section.

Featured vocalist Eric Benét sings the 1971 Bill Withers' classic "Grandma's Hands." Paula Cole duets with Benét on her original song "The Other Side of the Heart" written with Lorber for the album. Powerhouse horn ensembles are arranged by the masterful Tom Scott. Lorber himself takes a turn at arranging for a horn section on "Super Fusion Unit". World famous orchestrator Jeremy Lubbock fills out the lush sound experience on "Anthem for a New America."

With Tom Scott's killer horn arrangements, "All Most Blues" harkens back to jazz of the early `60s reflecting a Miles Davis mood. Lorber indulges in some "BC Bop" inspired by the chord changes of Charlie Parker's "Confirmation." Featuring Randy Brecker's hot trumpet, "Surreptitious" shows off that tight horn section and Lorber's incredible keyboards, pulling off a cool Herbie Hancock vibe.

The CD features Lorber's best playing ever - it is free, open, inventive, expressive, adventurous, unencumbered, and soulful. He attributes the expanse of his playing to the collaborative process involved in creating this album. Mixed by Paul Brown and produced by Blood, Sweat & Tears original drummer Bobby Colomby. The music sounds more spontaneous. Everything was recorded live with very organic instruments, not very much synthesis at all. It sounds like a lot of attention has been paid to harmony - brilliantly done throughout the album!

On "Orchid," Chris Botti composed and creates a compelling mood performing on trumpet. Lorber says Botti came up with the melody on the spot. In fact, Lorber previously worked with Bobby Colomby on two of Chris Botti's groundbreaking CDs. That high level of excellence is what Colomby and Lorber strove to achieve on "He Had A Hat." Mission accomplished, Gentlemen! Something very special is happening here. Can you say "Grammy"?!!