By Diaa Bekheet | Washington, DC
Jeff Lorber new album
American keyboardist and composer Jeff Lorber has released a new album. Hacienda is another fusion gem by one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion. It showcases eleven tracks, building on a huge success of Lober’s 2011-2012 European tour that produced his earlier album Galaxy.
“The last record [Galaxy] had a song called ‘Live Wire‘ [a seven-minute opener] that had a sort of a European house beat,” said Lorber who has 25 albums under his belt. “And that was very successful for us, and we kind of continue that on this record with the song Hacienda kind of has that.”
The song title is named after a nightclub in Manchester, England in the 1980s. The Hacienda was the Rock & Roll hub for groups like New Order.
Hacienda also includes a rendition of Frank Zappa’s “King Kong,” with French jazz fusion co-founder Jean-Luc Ponty on violin.
Hacienda features a powerful comeback of Lorber’s formidable Grammy-nominated trio the Jeff Lorber Fusion, featuring bassist and co-producer Jimmy Haslip, and saxophonist Eric Marienthal.
Lorber’s last album, Galaxy, was a great success, not only in the United States, but also in Europe where he toured in 2011. At that time, I talked with him about his career and music. Here’s a short version of the interview with two songs from Galaxy: “Live Wire” and “Horace.”
Listen to more music and interviews here on Jazz Beat
