feature photo: Raj Naik
During the ’80s, I bought a lot of Jeff Lorber LPs, while in the ’90s I stocked up on Mike Stern CDs. But never did I imagine that the paths of two of my long-time fusion favorites would cross. Thanks to a suggestion by Lorber collaborator Jimmy Haslip (founding member of another long-time favorite, the Yellowjackets), this surprising union actually happened, culminating in the upcoming new album Eleven.
Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber have long been icons of fusion since starting out in the late seventies and neither has ever really slowed down. But Stern’s brand of fusion has a big, arena rock sound while Lorber’s music has always been tight ‘n’ funky. Both find common ground by being firmly rooted in bop. But make no mistake, Stern can get funky and Lorber can rock out when the situation arises.
When there’s a special meeting of two, well-established musical personalities, the album is typically is defined by how much of it sounds like one of those personalities and how much it sounds like the other. Oftentimes, the artists try to split the difference and come up with a hybrid style. Not so much so on Eleven; the two take turns playing ‘Mike Stern’ type songs and ‘Jeff Lorber’ type songs.
You don’t have to even look at the credits to know which camp each songs came from: your ears will tell you that “Righteous,” “Motor City,” “Big Town,” “Rhumba Pagan” and “Runner” hail from Lorber’s pen at least in part. “Nu Som,” “Jones Street,” “Slow Change,” “Tell Me,” and “Ha Ha Hotel” are obviously Stern’s tunes. It feels like the one not contributing the song is a guest player on that song but that’s hardly a criticism because the ‘guest’ always manages to make the song a little bit better.
“Righteous” is one of Lorber’s snappy shuffles and you can’t help but to immediately notice that instead of a saxophone tracing his tightly-woven lines, there’s Miles Davis’ old guitarist doing the honors instead. “Nu Som” is the only Stern song here we hadn’t heard before, but it’s an engaging slice of Stern’s melodic side and the African n’goni provided by wife Leni Stern adds just a touch of exoticism.
Jeff Lorber’s acoustic piano takes center stage for straight-up groovers “Motor City” and “Big Town,” but Stern carves his own niche in these songs (which is why he’s always been in such high demand as a sideman). “Slow Change” — from 2001’s Voices — is an occasion for Stern rip off some bluesy wails amidst a complex but accessible melody and “Tell Me” from 1996’s Between The Lines is one of Stern’s best ballads and the two just let its pretty chorale do the talking.
“Ha Ha Hotel” is twenty-five years old but remains one of Stern’s signature tunes for a reason. Arranged in virtually the same way as the original, you still can’t but notice Haslip’s brawny bass this go around and now there’s Lorber’s keys to trace Mike Stern’s tricky thematic line as well as the sax from Bob Franceschini. Stern’s solo smokes with all the intensity he had back then, too. Jeff Lorber turns to the piano to respond with his familiar vigor.
“Rhumba Pagan” add background vocals, but it’s Dave Mann’s horn arrangement that lends an air of sophistication over a percolating pulse, while “Runner” runs on a 6/8 beat, and few can make that meter sound as funky as Jeff Lorber.
Though Stern came to this project with not much new material, the olds ones he brought are some of his best from his ‘classic’ period. And Lorber brings quality new material that he could have saved for his own albums, but he chose instead to make the most of his encounter with Mike Stern. Add a rhythm section that usually includes Haslip and your choice of elite drummer — Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl or Gary Novak — and you realize that no corner was cut in the making of this record.
What we get from Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber are the best of both worlds and that’s the strongest reason why Eleven merits a lot of listens. It’s coming out September 27, 2019 from Concord Music.
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