Jeff Lorber Kickin' It CD

Jeff Lorber's label debut on Samson Records is a typical jazz fusion effort that will sound familiar to fans of his band of the 1970s and '80s, the Jeff Lorber Fusion. Teaming with co-writer/producer/arranger Steve Dubin, Lorber constructs a series of upbeat rhythm tracks over which he plays melodically on either acoustic piano or Fender Rhodes electric. He is joined on nearly every track by a guest saxophonist and/or guitarist. Tenor saxophonist Gerald Albright sits in on "Snakebite," "Keep That Same Ol' Feelin'," and "Kickin' It" (with guitarist Stuart Wylen); soprano saxophonist Dave Koz on "Happy Endings" (with guitarist Michael Landau) and "The Bijou"; tenor saxophonist Steve Cole on "Chopsticks"; soprano saxophonist Gary Meek on "Reflections" (with Wylen) and "What It Is"; and tenor saxophonist Richard Elliot on "The 'In' Crowd." Lorber cedes considerable space to his guests, but he still finds room for his own improvisations. He also brings in a horn section on several cuts, notably "Keep That Same Ol' Feelin'," which sounds enough like a lost Steely Dan track that you keep expecting Donald Fagen to start singing on instead of Siedah Garrett, who intones the repeated lines "Keep on/Keep that same ol' feelin'." "Ain't Nobody" is the 1983 Rufus and Chaka Khan hit, here rendered with an appropriately funky feel, and "The 'In' Crowd" is, of course, the 1965 Ramsey Lewis Trio hit, a nod to an obvious predecessor of Lorber's. The keyboardist slows the pace for "Reflections," but most of these tracks are lively pieces with lots of interplay that is only ended when they fade out. ~ William Ruhlmann

Recorded at JHL Sound, Pacific Palisades, California.

Personnel: Jeff Lorber (guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, bass synthesizer); Jeff Lorber (electric keyboard, synthesizer); Siedah Garrett (vocals); Michael Landau (guitar, electric guitar, nylon-string guitar); Stuart Wylen, Wah Wah Watson (guitar); Dan Higgins (flute, saxophone); Gary Grant, Jerry Hey (trumpet, flugelhorn); Bill Reichenbach Jr. (trombone); Alex Al (bass guitar); John Roberts, Lil' John Roberts (drums); Steve Dubin (drum programming); Tony Maiden (guitar); Gary Meek (saxophone, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Dave Koz (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Gerald Albright, Richard Elliot, Steve Cole (tenor saxophone); Ron King (trumpet, flugelhorn); Lenny Castro (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Paul Brown .

Recording information: JHL SOund, Pacific Palisades, CA; Pacific Palisades, CA.

Editors: Steve Dubin; Jeff Lorber.

Photographer: Nicolas Zurcher.

Arrangers: Steve Dubin; Jeff Lorber.

Personnel: Jeff Lorber (acoustic & Fender Rhodes pianos, synthesizer, guitar); Siedah Garrett (vocals); Dave Koz (soprano & alto saxophones); Gary Meek (soprano & tenor saxophones); Gerald Albright, Steve Cole, Richard Elliot (tenor saxophone); Dan Higgins (saxophone, flute); Ron King, Jerry Hey, Gary Grant (trumpet, flugelhorn); Bill Reichenback (trombone); Michael Landau (electric & nylon-string guitars); Tony Maden, Wah Wah Watson, Stuart Wylen (guitar); Alex Al (bass); John "Little John" Roberts (drums); Lenny Castro (percussion); Steve Dubin (programming).