With his trademark smooth sound bringing together elements of funk, R&B, rock, and electric jazz, keyboardist, composer, and producer Jeff Lorber helped pioneer a genre of fusion later formatted in contemporary jazz.Born in Philadelphia, he began playing the piano at the age of four, and as a teenager performed with a variety of local R&B bands. Lorber's infatuation with jazz began during his stay at the Berklee College of Music, and after forming the Jeff Lorber Fusion he issued the group's self-titled debut in 1977.
During the first half of the following decade, the band became one of the most popular jazz acts of the period, touring nonstop and even scoring a Best R&B Instrumental Grammy nomination for the radio hit "Pacific Coast Highway." Released in 1986, Private Passion was Lorber's most successful outing yet, but at this commercial peak he stopped recordin, instead turning to production and session work. He did not issue his first proper solo LP until 1991, Worth Waiting For, remaining both a prolific performer and producer for the rest of the decade.
He recorded for several labels in the '90s and released successful smooth jazz albums in the 2000s. More than three decades after his earliest recordings, Lorber has come full circle. His 24th Album, Galaxy, set for release January 31, 2012, revisits a sound he helped pioneer. The album takes the experiment that he started with his last GRAMMY®-nominated CD, Now is the Time (2010).
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