Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for ''

Prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

'' by his band the Jeff Lorber Fusion. Many of his songs have appeared on

the Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel ...

's ''Local on the 8s'' segments and on the channel's compilation albums, '' The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz'' and '' The Weather Channel Presents: Smooth Jazz II''. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for his album '' He Had a Hat'' (Blue Note, 2007)

Early life

Lorber was born to a Jewish family in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, the same suburb as

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

and

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

, with whom he would later play. He started to play the piano when he was four years old. After playing in a number of R&B bands as a teen, he attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

, where he developed his love for

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. At Berklee, he met and played alongside guitarist

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951) is an American guitarist and composer. His music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis; he ...

. Lorber moved to Vancouver, Washington, in 1972. For several years, he studied chemistry at Boston University.

Jeff Lorber Fusion

His first group, the Jeff Lorber Fusion, released their self-titled debut album '' The Jeff Lorber Fusion'' in 1977 on

Inner City Records Inner City Records was a jazz record company and record label, label founded by Irv Kratka in 1976 in New York City. The company was a division of Music Minus One and also owned the label Classic Jazz. It started with reissues, then moved on to ...

. Supported by a revolving cast of musicians, including drummer Dennis Bradford, he recorded five studio albums under this moniker. These early albums showcased a funky sound influenced by other

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

practitioners such as

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer Alphonse Mouzon a ...

, and

Return to Forever Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhun ...

, the latter's

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain (instrumental), Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" ...

appearing on several songs. Like his contemporaries, Lorber performed on multiple keyboard instruments, including piano,

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

, and

analog synthesizer An analog synthesizer () is a synthesizer that uses Analogue electronics, analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a var ...

s, often favoring the

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

and Sequential Circuits Prophet 5. The Jeff Lorber Fusion's 1980 album, '' Wizard Island'', introduced saxophonist Kenneth Bruce Gorelick, better known as

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...

Solo career

In 1984, Lorber released his second solo album, '' In the Heat of the Night'', and Jeff Lorber Fusion compilation album ''Lift Off''. Later that year, he and the production duo of David Frank and Mic Murphy, otherwise known as the System, produced ''Step by Step''. The title track, written with Anita Pointer of

the Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

, rose to number 31 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' R&B chart. The song "Facts of Love" (featuring Karyn White) from the 1986 album ''Private Passion'' was his biggest chart hit, reaching No. 27 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 17 on the R&B chart. Several singles from this period also appeared on the ''Billboard'' Dance charts. However, Lorber was not satisfied that he was being overtaken by a more vocal and R&B feel on his own albums, so he took a seven-year hiatus. After ''Step by Step'', he quoted

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

as telling him, "We really want you to put more vocals on your records", which Lorber thought was a mistake. Lorber's keyboard work appeared in the video game '' Castlevania: Symphony of the Night''. His input can be heard during the game's closing theme song "I Am the Wind" (which also featured the saxophonist

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright (born August 30, 1957) is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for the albums ''24/7 (Gerald Albright and Norman Brown album), 24/7'' in 2012 and ''Slam Dunk'' in 2014 and was nominated for ''New Beginnings (Gerald Albr ...

). Two greatest hits compilation albums were released in 2000 and 2002. '' Flipside'' (2005) was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category. At the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid co ...

, his 2013 album ''

Hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

'' was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Album. In 2018, he received a Grammy for his album ''

'' in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category. Lorber has done extensive production and session work for other musicians, including

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...

Eric Benét Eric Benét Jordan (born October 15, 1966) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and musician. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards. Early life and education Benét was born on October 15, 1966, in Mobile, Alabama. He was raised in Mi ...

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

, Carol Duboc and Laura Branigan. He hosts a show on

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...

Personal life

In 2004, Lorber was diagnosed with

polycystic kidney disease Polycystic kidney disease (PKD or PCKD, also known as polycystic kidney syndrome) is a genetic disorder in which the renal tubules become structurally abnormal, resulting in the development and growth of multiple cysts within the kidney. These ...

and received a successful kidney transplant from his wife Mink Lorber. He has served as a spokesman for the PKD Foundation, an organization for fighting polycystic kidney disease. He has mentioned that the disease is common in his family. His daughters have it and his mother and sister died from it.

Discography

Albums

Solo Jeff Lorber Fusion Jazz Funk Soul
(Jeff Lorber, Everette Harp, Chuck Loeb (2014—2017),
and '' oeb's replacement' Paul Jackson, Jr.)

Singles

Solo Jeff Lorber Fusion Jazz Funk Soul

References

External links

Official site

Jeff Lorber Interview at allaboutjazz.com

Jeff Lorber & Jeff Lorber Fusion biography, discography and album reviews, credits & releases
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Jeff Lorber discography, album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Jeff Lorber Fusion discography, album releases & credits
at

Jeff Lorber albums to be listened
as stream on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

Jeff Lorber Fusion albums to be listened
as stream on

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorber, Jeff 1952 births 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists American jazz keyboardists American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists American radio personalities Berklee College of Music alumni Crossover jazz pianists Jazz fusion pianists Jazz musicians from Philadelphia Jazz musicians from Washington (state) Jazz-pop pianists Jewish American musicians Jewish jazz musicians Kidney transplant recipients Living people Musicians from Portland, Oregon Narada Productions artists People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania People from Vancouver, Washington Smooth jazz musicians Smooth jazz pianists