Step It Up Jeff Lorber Fusion

• 1 Get Up 04:17
• 2 Up On This 05:37
• 3 Mustang 05:14
• 4 Fire Spirit 05:42
• 5 Arecibo 04:22
• 6 Right On Time 04:48
• 7 Starfish 05:02
• 8 Tenth Victim 04:49
• 9 Deep Green 06:29
• 10 Soul Party 05:50
• 11 Step It Up 04:34
• Total Runtime 56:44

Info for Step It Up

Step It Up ist die vierte Zusammenarbeit in Folge des Keyboarders, Komponisten und Produzent Jeff Lorber und dem Bassisten, Komponisten und Produzent Jimmy Haslip, seit die beiden Virtuosen die Jeff Lorber Fusion vor fünf Jahren reaktiviert haben.

Das Album spiegelt die Musik optimistisch, energisch und ‘to Step Up‘ die Kompositionen, Produktion und Improvisation auf die nächste Ebene. Dieses Album bringt den vertrauten Jeff Lorber Fusion Groove zurück, und doch erkunden Jeff Lorber und Jimmy Haslip einige neue unerforschte Gebiete.

Begleitet werden Jeff Lorber und Jimmy Haslip von einem Team von Weltklasse-Musikern, darunter zwei ehemalige Bandkollegen von Jimmy Haslip von den Yellowjackets: Bob Mintzer und Robben Ford.

"…Lorber [has the] remarkable capacity to bring musical authenticity to everything from bebop and lyrical balladry to sweet soul and some irresistible grooves." (Los Angeles Times)

"Der Sound ist das typisch volltönende Studiobrett der Szene mit zuweilen ungewöhnlich in den Vordergrund gemischtem Piano, die Musik flockt bewährt locker, teils funky." (stereoplay)

In the late ‘70s, trailblazing keyboardist Jeff Lorber had become a prominent figure in the jazz fusion movement—marrying traditional jazz with elements of rock, R&B, funk, and other electric sounds. Now, the acclaimed group he started then—Jeff Lorber Fusion—is back, revisiting the revolutionary sound it helped pioneer, and bringing its combination of complex harmonies, unconventional time signatures, and compelling rhythms along. Both of Lorber’s band mates have had storied careers between Fusion’s initial run and this reunion, with bassist Jimmy Haslip being best known as the long-time bassist with the Yellowjackets and Eric Marienthal playing with the Chick Corea Elektric Band.

Jeff Lorber, Klavier, Keyboards
Jimmy Haslip, Bass

Jeff Lorber
By the late 1970s, trailblazing keyboardist/composer/producer Jeff Lorber had become a prominent figure in the new movement known as jazz fusion – a marriage of traditional jazz with elements of rock, R&B, funk and other electrified sounds. Lorber and his band, the Jeff Lorber Fusion, first honed their craft in the Portland, Oregon, club scene and rapidly expanded their reach to a national and international audience via a combination of complex harmonies, unconventional time signatures and compelling rhythms.

In subsequent years, Lorber dropped the term “fusion” from his billing as the movement evolved into what is currently known as contemporary jazz. Still, he continued to explore the innovative, improvisational potential of grafting other musical forms to the jazz idiom.

More than three decades after his earliest recordings, Lorber has come full circle. His new recording, "Galaxy", set for release January 31, 2012, on Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group, revisits a sound he helped pioneer. The album takes the experiment that he started with his last GRAMMY®-nominated CD, "Now is the Time", up a notch with 11 exciting and energetic new compositions performed by some of the biggest names in jazz today.

Lorber’s music reaches a new level by crystallizing jazz, funk, and Latin rhythms with some killer melodies that will certainly translate to live performance. The first track, “Live Wire,” blends a blistering house beat with extended solos by Lorber and Koonse and some amazing drum fills from Colaiuta. “Big Brother” moves into hip hop territory, similar to Jeff's grooving “Rain Dance,” which became a huge hit for Notorious Big and Lil' Kim as “Crush on You.” “Montserrat” sounds like a mixture of Sly Stone and Tower of Power, with super funky horn arrangements by Dave Mann. Obviously, a year spent touring together has made Lorber, Haslip and Marienthal into a tight unit, which is evident from this recording.

Stretching the envelope has been Lorber’s strategy from the very beginning. Born in Philadelphia in 1952, Lorber began playing piano when he was just four years old. By his teen years, he had hooked up with several local R&B bands, but his tastes trended more toward jazz when he studied at Berklee College of Music.

After college, he relocated to Portland, Oregon, where he formed the Jeff Lorber Fusion. The group released their self-titled debut album in 1977, and quickly became one of the most popular acts in the jazz fusion scene, due in large part to relentless touring and a string of artistically daring and commercially successful recordings.

The entity formerly known as the Jeff Lorber Fusion became Lorber’s solo career with the release of "It’s a Fact" in 1982. After a brief but prolific stretch culminating with the highly successful "Private Passion" in 1986, Lorber took a break from recording his own material, opting instead to do session work and produce other artists. He resumed his solo career in 1991 with "Worth Waiting For", although he continued to produce for the remainder of the decade.

Lorber has been just as prolific and innovative in the new century as he was in the last, with recordings on Narada ("Philly Style", "Flip Side"), Blue Note ("He Had a Hat"), and most recently Peak ("Heard That").

Booklet for Step It Up