The jeff lorber fusion funky gospel free#

The bandвЂ™s energy got higher and higher as each member traded solos. Even PhillipsвЂ™ bass solo was all blues with guitar-like string bends and trills. Lamb switched to tenor and played like he was on the South Side of Chicago. Lorber seemed most pleased when sounding like an electrified Horace Silver.

The greatest moment of the bandвЂ™s set was вЂњTune 88,вЂќ in which Lorber and each band member tossed aside the expected fusion and went into straight blues.

Each band memberвЂ™s identity really came through strongly on this piece making it a set highlight. Novak brought a frenetic be-bop sensibility to the band as Lamb and Lorber soloed and presented the songвЂ™s melody lines. Phillips would get a little too slap happy on bass but he held up the funk end of the rhythm. The melody line on вЂњChinese Herbal MedicineвЂќ had an Asian feel at first but it was PhillipsвЂ™ slap bass and LorberвЂ™s blues runs that brought this tune back to America, more specifically LorberвЂ™s hometown of Philly. Patrick Lamb played some impressive soprano sax, though at times it lacked character and originality. The band opened with a track from LorberвЂ™s latest CD, Galaxy (Heads Up/Concord Music Group), entitled вЂњLive WireвЂќ which brought to mind a mid вЂ70s Stevie Wonder fusion-soul groove. Though Lorber is known as one of the great legends of fusion, it was his strong blues and gospel keyboard work that proved to be the mostВ exhilarating during this set. Headlining the show was the Jeff Lorber Fusion featuring Patrick Lamb on soprano and tenor saxes, Gary Novak on drums, and Nathaniel Phillips on bass. The California weather was sunny and perfect and as the showвЂ™s emcee Pat Prescott (KTWV 94.7 The Wave) put it, this was a вЂњPerfect Memorial Day celebration.вЂќ

The jeff lorber fusion funky gospel free#

The Playboy Jazz Festival held its second Free Community Concert at The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Mall yesterday, featuring two acts dedicated to the soul of fusion-jazz.