Album Information
Artist: Jeff Lorber
Album: Heard That
Label: Peak Records
Released: 2008

All Your Jazz is pleased to give you a review of the latest release from musician/artist Jeff Lorber. Heard That, just released within this last month by Peak Records, brings listeners a good listen, exemplifying the essential components and qualities of smooth jazz.

Important Notes:

After listening to this album, we have a few important things to note about it. First of all, it stands as a great example of how jazz fusion meets smooth jazz. While the overall feel is that of smooth jazz, including the components of instrumentation and overall layout of each track, there are strong tendencies toward fusion within the music. One example of this is the strong pulsing beat of the rhythm section in many of the tracks. Occasionally one is even reminded of funk, especially with the opening of track 9 “Night Sky.”

Another example is found in the background accompaniment of the brass and woodwind section, helping to intensify this constant pulsation typically found in fusion. This is found in various tracks throughout the album and is perhaps best shown in track 5 “Gamma Rays.” More info on Jazz Styles.

A second thing to point out is the judicious and appropriate use of various instruments. The trumpet and saxophone sections do add quite a bit to the overall sound of each track on this album, and it is good to see the artist making use of it in a such a way. While there are also opportunities for those instruments to solo, it is not brass and woodwind soloing in exclusion. This brings a unique feel and pulse to the music (again going back to a fusion influence).

Another instrument that is appropriately applied is that of the flute. It is not used on every track, but this is a good thing. Not because of Gary Meek’s lack of talent – quite the opposite really – but from the view that one should not include a flute simply because there is access to one. The flute is used creatively, from entrance to exit, and compliments the feel and color of the tracks.

This is not to say that a flute should always be used so judiciously in jazz; rather one should always consider the overall picture and flow of the song when considering choice of instrumentation. An example of the use of the flute on this album can also be found on track 5 “Gamma Rays,” and this one is done well

Overall:

Despite its tendencies on a few tracks to use the influence of fusion, this album is a true example of soft jazz. It falls under this category in many ways, from its instrumentation (keyboards/synthesizers/saxophone) to the light and bright feeling in most of the tracks. Piano is used occasionally but pales in comparison to the use of electric piano and vibe sounds that appear in about 85% of the album.

Organ (a Hammond sound) is also thrown in every now and then, and honestly I would have liked to hear more of this. There is still something to what I was saying about using instrumentation and sounds judiciously; however there is more room for it in this album, especially for complimenting Chelsea Nicole’s great vocals in a slow and soulful track like #6 “Don’t Stop.”

As I mentioned, there is a light feel to all of the tracks, very characteristic of smooth jazz. There are many ways to work within this style, and I have to say I was not particularly thrilled about the seemingly “one-path” approach. Lack of differentiation from track to track can make listening a little tedious (especially if listened to from beginning to end), and I believe this may be one of the biggest weaknesses of the album as a whole.

Having said that, there are some great tracks on this album – namely those mentioned above plus the intensity of track 10 and album title Heard That. This is one of the tracks that utilize a fusion-like feel and add to it the saxophones leading the head and most of the soloing. After hearing an album that uses a lot of keyboard (Jeff Lorber), this was a breath of fresh air.

So, What Do We Think?

We would recommend taking a listen to this album track by track, mixing it up a little. Putting it on “shuffle” mode will help to (1) break the monotony of the default track order; and (2) give the listener a better glimpse of the talented musicians featured throughout (regardless of how big of a role they played on the overall album).

Thanks to On Target Media (OTM) and Peak Records for the resources and support!

More Info:

www.otmg.com

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