Jeff Lorber Fusion - Wizard Island

[musiclover3928]

God damn!! is there enough human hair on that stage?! LOL.

Thanks for uploading this gem. Great classic!!!

[BoodysGarage]

WOW !! Memories. KILLER. And I had Dave Koz hair.



[musicmanro]

who is the bass player ?

[adburger]

@musicmanro Alec Milstein

[RonnieSLM]

Yes!! Thank U-4 posting this This is By Far My Favorite 4 Pc.!! Checkout Mr.Zoot Suit.

[Alexander1958able]

hello guys...all your comments are non sense because you are not really sure what jazz fusion means you..All Jazz Fussion songs and artists are GREAT...surely they have their own interpretations and feelings...So enough of your useless and JBS(justifiable bullshit).. you know what...you guys try to play instruments like this for sure you gonna get the same comments...hahaha..More power to Jazz...

[JohnnieRhodes]

Does anyone know of a video that exists of the Jeff Lorber Fusion with Kenny Gorelick (Kenny G) ? Kenny was the shit back then before he went into fluff mode with that irritating Soprano ! Like ToliKwoli said.....I saw them back in the day with Kenny....and he got standing O's all the time . Did Kenny buy the rights to all of the old footage or what ? Show everyone how baddass you were :)

[Hanzi63]

STRAK !

[leighski4171964]

Jeff is the stuff

[TheFiremancarl]

jeff is fucking awesome arraingment and composition. he kind of looks like a muppet in this video

[RiKK331]

I remember going hungry when at university in order to get a copy of this album on import! Glad i did though because ive never stopped being amazed by how awesome it was and still is! Still freaks me to see how many famous people have passed thru Jeffs hands and yet he never really got the acclaim he richly deserves. Yet hes still turning it on - latest album is brilliant!

Coolest white guy on the planet!

[woodie62]

@RiKK331 Ah, I disagree! Donald Fagan is the coolest! But Jeff is still the man!!!!

[deanlad08]

While this is one of my all time favorite songs, Jeff is too cute in those acid washed jeans and Dave looks like a frickin ' rooster in that mullet. Ya gotta love the 80's!

[skimes11]

Be sure to purchase Jeff Lorber's new album, Now Is The Time, scheduled to be released on June 1, 2010

[maplerrr]

yyyyyyyyyyyyyy el espinazo toca la bataka  :3

[noisynerdman]

1:51 i'm a huge fan of breaks... wow..thank the uploader...amazing to see this guy play live.

[SimoneAlmeidaPiment]

joia!!!!!!!!!

[DancingSpiderman]

Thirsty Lizard.

[jjam3774]

wow... is that Dave Koz or Eric...

It is really funny seeing all of that hair

[TLPnega]

this is so funny. fuck the novel value of this song is just too much for me.

[jazzpsalti]

@TLPnega I KNOW, RIGHT????

[TLPnega]

@jazzpsalti makes me want to GO AND PLAY MARIO OR SOME SHIT HAHAHA!

[jazzpsalti]

@TLPnega there's just so much fucking awesome in this song

[TLPnega]

Respond to this video...  MAYBE EVEN POKEMON! YES!

[bassrockin]

full body stone wash jump suits - and of course... MULLETTS!

[jazzpsalti]

chad wackerman makes this song not nearly as lame

[newtimes2]

The bass player listened to Danny Wilson, but he is no Danny Wilson lmao

he's alright though.

BTW does anybody know what happened to Danny

[jazzpsalti]

I just hung out with him on my birthday.

[jazzpsalti]

by the way I didn't mean it as a joke.If you are serious about tracking Danny down write me a PM...

[newtimes2]

Once Kenny left Jeff became more of a producer and had singers all the time. Bird and them guys are really just a different subject. Listening the first time I think Koz is stinking this song up and not in a good way. But i love the song.

[newtimes2]

Kenny G and Wayne in the same sentence might be a crime. You knew Kenny G would go on his own. Even if his first album was so weak the needle on my record players would lift up on its own. Still Danny Wilson the orginal Bass player was so funky I could breath.

[econhold]

the original band used to tear this cut to pieces & others back in the 80's in Philly at the Bijou- they put on some classic concerts

[GARZAVP]

parece la banda que hacia la musica de ALF

[aartman01]

Fantastic music with dodgy hairstyles and clothes!

[4DMANA]

that is a lush bass sound!

[maty7976321]

What a Great Proformance! the Fusion style is at his place here!

[magermax000]

one of my favorite tunes ever. I don't really care for the music that Jeff Lorber does now.

[bobbojazz]

No. That is Dave Koz

[bobbojazz]

No. That is Dave Koz on the tenor

[hwoodj20]

Does anybody know when kenny G played with Jeff, or is that him? I'm no fan, but someone said he was a great "bebop" tenor (even though this is a fusion band), and I almost laughed, but I wanted to see for myself.

[hwoodj20]

Let me change that comment some. Kenny G is cool, but I brefer Wayne Shorter over most other Sax players, with the exeption of Bird and Trane.

[Saxmaster1230]

He played with him from about 1980-1983. You can hear him on JLF Wizard Island, Galaxian LP's and Jeff Lorber's It's A Fact

[gabiosis]

Any one who can spot K G's talent gets my vote and the drumming on the Wizard Island album, is some of the tightest I've had the pleasure to listen to in the jazz funk arena!

[ToliKwoli]

Wow check dave koz out!! What a hairdo!! LOL

[ilovegoodsax]

@ToliKwoli You're obviously not old enough to remember (heck, you may not have even been born in '85!), but that look was the shit back in the day. However, I must say looking back 25 years later -- not so much (lol).

[radcam69]

@ToliKwoli Dyed, Fried, and laid to the side!

[musiclover3928]

@ToliKwoli haha, it looks like an used up mop head! :)

[tigermanxng]

@ToliKwoli Hilarious!!!!! rofl

[wrightguy]

This was part of a jazz special aired in Los Angeles in 1985, I Videotaped on it's first airing on cable tv. It included Alphonse Mouzoun and George Howard. Great concert. Went to burn the VHS tape I recently rediscovered in my archives to DVD and the audio dropped out after about 20 minutes AAARRRGHH! I'll try to rip these indivdual artists from you-tube and recompile them. Well worth the effort. It really was a GREAT CONCERT..!

[Jazzelegance]

I remeber. I also have it on VHS. Do you know who Lorber's bassist is on this video ?

[Saxmaster1230]

Alec Milstein

[bobdogner]

Alec Milstein. Badass bassist and nice guy to boot.

[barbie50a]

these guys are the best and they still are today......

[barbie50a]

omg look at these guys !! we are all gettting old lol

[Gr00ve99]

is that dave koz on sax????

he looks like a barbarian to me...

-_-"

[Oneness100]

Nice hair. Was this gig in the 80's?

[jsy2b]

One of the great tragedies of fusion is all people know of Kenny G is Kenny G and not Kenny Gorelick. I saw the JLF in DC in 1981 and Kenny blew everyone off the stage on sax and flute. He got 3 standing ovations after his solos. Its horrible what eventually happened, but money talks.

[Ken5244]

Well said. I saw the original band in '83 at a small gig at a NAMM show, and just like the show you saw, Gorelick was smokin'. Even more amazing was Marlon McClain, the guitar player. Gotta be one of the best electric guitarists I've ever seen (jazz, anyway), yet he remained virtually unknown.

Like you say, it's sad how Kenny sold his artistic soul and went for the cash.  All that talent, yet he dials it back to play to the Michael Bolton and Celine Dion demographic. Shame.

[jsy2b]

I also think it played a role in the death of this kind of fusion. When people started confusing the Kenny G stuff with Jazz Fusion, nobody really knew what fusion was anymore. I think this stuff (early Yellowjackets, JLF, some Crusaders, Vital Information, etc.) was some of the best jazz made in the 80's.

[Ken5244]

Yeah, I agree again. A number of credible jazz musicians veered off into Top 40, and the line got blurred. KG, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker and Nathan East, just to name a few.

I remember and liked The Yellowjackets and Vital Info. I even met Steve Smith at the same NAMM show that I saw The JLF. I don't think I've ever heard any Crusaders stuff though.

Another GREAT fusion band from that time was The Fents. Did you ever hear them? I also liked early Spyro Gyra.

[jsy2b]

Sorry for the acronym, JLF is Jeff Lorber Fusion. I will look up the Fents. I dont know if you heard of this, but the band that Dave Matthews Band Drummer Carter Beauford played in was called "Secrets" and was based in Richmond, VA during the mid-80s. I heard a tape of them once and it was incredible. One of those things that may be on the internet somewhere. I dont know what you think of the Rippingtons, but for a long time they were my favorite band.

[Ken5244]

I doubt if you'll find any Fents stuff here. They got lousy record company promotion and weren't very well known. They only did 2 or 3 albums. The first, called "First Offense," (get it?) was amazing -- they recorded the entire album live, one song after another all in one take, direct-to disc (the master disc was being cut directly as they played). The sound quality was amazing.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with Secrets or the Rippingtons, but I'll add them to my list of bands to check out.

[mitchasics]

Sadly, Dave Koz is great in this video when he played with Lorber, but I can't take his smooth studio recordings. He's truly more an entertainer now, with his 'routines' during his show. At least live, Kenny does more musically, but that is my opinion and I've seen them both.

[Ken5244]

I love your line about being "more of an entertainer now." That nails it, and is what sadly happens to a lot of artists (*cough* Vegas *cough* Branson *cough*). I guess it's up to each artist to decide where to draw the line between art and commercialism, and it's up to us, the fans, to either support that decision or not.

This is a bit of an extreme example, but did you ever see those old Saturday Night Live skits where Bill Murray played the lounge lizard? They were hilarious. *laugh*

[mitchasics]

Remember too though that record companies highly dictate the type of music an artist records. Such is the reason why Kenny G left Arista and joined with Concord. Clive Davis of Arista wanted him to do another cover record, with the Latin theme as Kenny was planning to do, but he had originals in mind.

[Ken5244]

Quote: "Remember too though that record companies highly dictate the type of music an artist records."

Yeah, that's always been part of the equation to one extent or another. For as long as musical artists have been making albums, record companies have been pushing them to make music that'll "sell." It's the age-old conflict, with both sides needing the other. That's why most artists with integrity say, "the playing is great but the business sucks."

[Saxmaster1230]

Yeah Marlon McClain is good. He oes a nice solo on the song "Galaxian"

[slimdudeDJC]

He once played axe for Pleasure. Listen to "Future Now". Best they ever done, IMO.

[Oneness100]

I saw Kenny Gorlick play with JLF and he played great, but he went into the Smooooooooooooooooooooooooth Jazz realm.

I think the Spyra Gyra, JLF, Yellowjackets, Special Effects, etc., were commercialized jazz fusion starting, at times, to be considered Smooth Jazz. But some went a little more overboard with the Ultra Commercialization like Kenny G (Gorelick). The 80's was more produced commercial fusion, unlike Mahavishnu, Weather Report, RTF. I guess the record labels had their influence.

[1cubcrazy1]

Kenny G- Kenny Goerlick

[RhythmDroid]

I MUST have that acid-washed baggy denim body suit for my shows! hah hah...

[HammondB200]

That's the most awful haircut i've ever seen... seriously

[4binlids]

Ghetto blasters, rollerskates and Jeff Lorber Fusion in Hyde Park in the '80's....happy days!

[111CG111]

mò ci è fort u bassist! grande jeff come sempre..

[bambamdrummer]

I'll tell ya, This band has nothing on the original fusion band with Kenny G. I saw them in 1980 and in 1981 and OMG were they ever funky and tight. I wished there were clips of that band, to die for! This band is good but the other was better.

[Tech470]

@bambamdrummer Amen! I saw them every chance I got when they were in the L.A. area. sometimes twice in one week!

[paulmartin2009]

So, so many thanks adburger for posting this one. i bought the album when it first came out and have been influenced by it ever since. is there something i should know about the mis-spelled title? best period for jazz fusion ever, so exhilarating. thanks again

[adburger]

No, that's just a typo... sorry.

[kidshady45]

@adburger Where is the typo?

[mrbubble906]

Man Chad looks so young.

[cpdrumming]

TOOOOOOO Funny!!!!!!!!!!

[mojay11]

LOL-Check out the hair on Dave Koz back int he day....Hilarious!

[RhythmDroid]

That was smokin. I Wizard Island was the first Lorber song I ever heard and I'm pretty sure it's still my favorite. So punchy and happy.

[benvincenzo]

Ti ho scoperto tardi JEFF , ma ora sono felice ti aver scoperto un grande ...... saro' un altro ispiratodella tua genialita'.bye bye

[tpfaff100]

Hey Kittyhawk was also quite good at the time. Group 87 too. The Inner City label records that Jeff Lorber made were really the best. Wizard Island was Lorber's last serious album IMHO. I guess the 1980s fusion genre was unsustainable. The voicings were so nice tho' on the early Jeff Lorber albums. Wow.

[beathoven1]

2:37 serious solo

[Ken5244]

Anyone know what happened to their original guitarist Marlon McClain? I saw The JLF ~ '83 or '84 at the NAMM show in Anaheim, California. I was about Chad Wackerman's age at the time (a teenager) and was blown away. They played a handful of songs in a small room and I was right up next to the stage. An unknown (and pre-commercial) Kenny Gorelick was in the band, and was great, but Marlon McClain just blew my socks off -- what a smokin' guitarist.

[woodie62]

I don't know exactly what happened to him but he collaborated with Patrice Rushen on some of her earlier alblums. He was working consistantly with a group called Pleasure. Listen to their 1979 alblum, "Future Now" and you will here Marlon McClain seriously do his thing!!!!

[quickturtle]

simply great !!!

[Emeraldjazzlady]

I didn't write anything to lextowco that required a response like the one 16 minutes ago.

There are great vibes in here because there are nice people who love Jeff Lorber and Dave Koz's music.

[beathoven1]

omg @ flute synth solo @ 2:38

[edoges]

!!!!!!!! Good Stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bas7es]

Cool! Very cool bass player. Nice drummer.... Little bit to smooth music for my taste, but that is a choice of Mr Lorber to go into smooth jazz. ;) Great performance!

[lextowco]

Jeff Lorber Fusion was thae best...brings lots of memories...I had all his Lps until he started trying to crossover and got really commercial

[Emeraldjazzlady]

He did get kind of commercial for a while. His newer stuff is good.

I love the drummer on this song.

Did you purchase "HE HAD A HAT?" It has a little of everything.

[lextowco]

no I didnt...is it as good as his earier stuff? It seems, as some artists progress they may stumble on a new style that is different but maybe not as effective to certain listeners as the earlier stuff...Stanley clarke fell into that trap as well as lenny white...but opinions are like azz holes...everybody has one...lol

[Emeraldjazzlady]

I suggest that you go to Jeff Lorber's site. I think he used to have samples or full songs from HE HAD A HAT. Then you could see if you like it. Stanley Clarke and Lenny White are ggggrrrreeeeeaaaaatttt!!!

[Saxmaster1230]

stanley clarke was the bass player for chick corea wasnt he?

[lextowco]

yeah....Return to Forever was the group...stanley Clarke - Chick Corea- Lenny Whaite and Al dimeola....one of the greatest fusion bands ever and definitely the greatest early fusion band....

[Saxmaster1230]

yeah im just discovering rtf they were like the best fusion band besides weather report and jeff lorber fusion

[lextowco]

ok kool ...I'll check it out

[shaftieboy]

If you love this,check out 'Lava lands' from the 'wizard Island' album,great jazz/funk.

[Saxmaster1230]

hey shaftieboy i have Lava Lands posted u shuld check it out

[gnolt]

THE Jeff Lorber Fusion put out some great jazz album's in the late 70's and early 80's.Kenny G got his start playing sax in the band.

[Saxmaster1230]

yea well he was Kenny Gorelick back then but he was pretty funky back with jeff lorber

[Emeraldjazzlady]

I didn't know Kenny G's last name was Gorelick. Why did he change it??? :)

[Saxmaster1230]

he didnt change it just dropped the other letters of his last name to make a stage name

[lextowco]

he didn't...he just shortened it so he'd would sound more commercial ala J-LO....R kelly..etc,,,he's one of the smooth jazz(commecial jazz) pioneers...can't say I like it all but some of his stuff i like...

[Saxmaster1230]

yea most of his stuff with jeff lorber and some of his older albums( G Force, Gravity)

[grondo2001]

fantastic. more please! ;0)

[JazzySaxE]

im going to cry! i really am! i love this song!

[Emeraldjazzlady]

I like this song too!! Good vibes and kind words written by the people in here on this video. It's nice.

God bless you......

[Emeraldjazzlady]

The comment I made earlier was for you. I agree with you.  I LOVE THIS SONG TOO!!