He Had A Hat (Blue Note)
Jeff Lorber
Released April 3, 2007
Grammy Nominee for Best Contemporary Jazz Album 2008
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kdMd44CxPwz1ot5AY5LVohOvF0pldBfk8
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/4rD67UyVTytQoiPjbFKTTJ?si=8zmT4WA-Qba7JUneDhAeeQ
About:
The album, and title track, He Had a Hat, are named after the punchline of an old Jewish joke:
There is a grandma and her grandson on a beach. A big wave comes in and sweeps the child into the sea.
“Please, God,” she says, looking up at the sky. “Bring back little Mikey. I’ll do anything—feed the hungry, heal the sick—anything.”
Another big wave washes in, depositing the boy on the sand. “He had a hat!” she says.
The joke was told to Jeff Lorber by the album’s producer, Bobby Colomby, in the recording studio, and Lorber felt it fit in well with the album’s lighthearted mood
Jeff Lorber: Yeah, it is just a funny joke. We were just having so
much fun in the studio making the music. It just kind of hit us in the right
way when we thinking of titles for the album. There was just a lot of joy about
making the music, and so the title captures that fun. The title is memorable,
somehow.
All About Jazz: It definitely translates to the music. Did you have a set
concept when going through the recording process on this album? Did you want to
try new things—give the audience something different?
JL: Bobby Colomby and I co-produced and co-wrote
the music. I
have been a big fan of his. He was the founder of Blood, Sweat & Tears,
which was obviously a very successful group, and it was also very
innovative—stylistically all over the place. The debut CD of Jaco Pastorius was
produced by Bobby. It varied stylistically and, in a way, that Jaco album was
sort of a model for what I was hoping to come out with on this record—being at
a very high level musically and having some great guests to collaborate with on
the record.
I
just wanted great songs, great music and great production; that was basically
the goal. We didn’t really limit ourselves to a style. I think my last few
records were more focused in terms of trying to create a specific sound for the
record. On He Had a Hat it was much more eclectic and kind of all
over the place. We have some straight-ahead jazz, funky grooves, Latin and
vocal tunes. I think the thing that makes it cohesive is the fact that, you can
hear my musical personality come through on most of the material. Harmonically,
the material is interesting all the way through, no matter the style of each
song.
AAJ: One of the many things I love about the album is the humanity behind
each song. Especially when considering the titles such as “Grandma’s Hands
and “The Other Side of the Heart. Every song is such a joy to listen to
and there is something to appeal to everyone on this album.
JL: We definitely didn’t hold back. On a lot of different records you try
to come up with the ten songs that you record. We actually recorded about
twenty songs for this one and we cut that down eventually to the thirteen that
are on the record. There is actually a bonus track that I think will end up
being used for something, I’m not sure what. We just really wanted to give it a
real full effort and not hold back at all. We wanted to put as much into the
record as possible and exhaust ourselves in terms of any musical possibility
that might be interesting to explore.
(…)
AAJ: I
think that this album really is a testament to the wonderful career that you
have as an artist, and really showcases the evolution in terms of creating
something new and interesting.
JL: I just kind of look at this record as being
the direction I would like to continue to go in. To make music that is harmonically
adventurous and challenging. I am very lucky to have a collaborator like Bobby
and great musicians like this to work with. I certainly hope to pursue that
path of writing and recording.
Katrina-Kasey Wheeler (All About Jazz)
Track Listing:
1. Anthem for a New America (Bobby Colomby / Jeff Lorber) 3:48
2. He Had a Hat (Bobby Colomby / Jeff Lorber) 4:34
3. Grandma’s Hands (Bill Withers) Featuring: Eric Benét 4:06
solo: Gerald Albright
4. Surreptitious (Bobby Colomby / Jeff Lorber) 4:10
solo Randy Brecker
5. All Most Blues (Bobby Colomby / Jeff Lorber) Featuring: Tom Scott 4:25
solo: Tom Scott
6. Orchid (Featuring: Chris Botti) 3:54
7. Be Bops (Bobby Colomby / Jeff Lorber) 2:28
8. The Other Side of the Heart (Featuring: Paula Cole / Eric Benét) 5:35
9. Hudson (Bobby Colomby / Jeff Lorber) 3:58
solo: Bob Sheppard
10. Super Fusion Unit (Bobby Colomby / Jeff Lorber) 3:52
11. Eye Tunes (Bobby Colomby / Jeff Lorber) 3:50
solo: Hubert Laws
12. Requiem for Gandalf (Bobby Colomby / Jeff Lorber) 3:43
13. Burn Brightly (Bobby Colomby / Jeff Lorber) 3:52
solo: Russell Malone
Personnel:
Jeff Lorber: keyboards
Abraham Laboriel Jr.: drums (1, 2, 3, 8, 9)
Brian Bromberg: bass (1, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12)
Paul Jackson Jr.: guitar (2, 4, 8, 10), rhythm guitar (3)
Lenny Castro: percussion (2, 9, 10, 12, 13), tamborine (3)
Alex Al: bass (2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 13)
Kirk Whalum: tenor sax (2)
Gerald Albright: alto sax (3)
Paul Brown: guitar licks (3)
Eric Benet: vocals (3, 8)
Paula Cole: vocals (8)
Randy Brecker: trumpet (4)
Ada Rovatti: tenor sax (4)
Dave Weckl: drums (4, 10, 13)
Tom Scott: alto sax (5)
Chris Botti: trumpet (6)
Bob Sheppard: tenor sax (6, 9)
Vinnie Colaiuta: drums (5, 6, 7, 11, 12)
Hubert Laws: flute (9, 11)
Russell Malone: guitar (13)
The Krim Symphonic Orchestra (1, 8)
The Lair Studio Brass Ensemble (5, 10, 12)
Gary Grant: trumpet
Bob Shepard: flute, alto flute
Steve Durnin: french horn
John Mitchell: bass clarinet
Richard Todd: french horn
Jeff Driskoll: alto flute
Bob McChesney: trombone
Craig Gosnell: bass trombone
The Blood Sweat and Tears Horns (4, 7, 9, 11, 13)
Teddy Mulet: trumpet, flugelhorn
Steve Jankowski: trumpet, flugelhorn
Tom Timko: saxophones
Jens Wendleboe: trombone, bass trombone
Recorded at JHL Sound, Pacific Palisades, CA, Sunset Sound and Capitol Studios
Produced by Bobby Colomby
Recorded by Jeff Lorber and Dave Rideau
Mixed by Paul Brown and Jeff Lorber (4, 6)
Mastered by Chris Bellman
Photography: Jeff Bender
Artwork: Carla Leighton
Review:
A sophisticated showcase for his varied jazz styles, Jeff Lorber’s He Had a Hat finds the pianist moving from softly funky pop-jazz numbers to a few straight-ahead swingers. Always an urbane and tasteful musician, Lorber has often found a good balance between contemporary pop oriented material and more cerebral improvisational cuts, and He Had a Hat is a prime example of this duality. To these ends, tracks like the title cut and the frenetic “Surreptitious” evince a kind of Tower of Power meets Brecker Brothers funk. Fittingly, trumpeter Randy Brecker adds his supple chops to the latter track. Similarly engaging big-band numbers like “All Most Blues” and the afterglow ballad “Orchid” bring to mind both early- and late-period Miles Davis, respectively. Also joining Lorber here are a bevy of name artists including trumpeter Chris Botti, vocalist Paula Cole, saxophonist Gerald Albright, and many others.This CD was nominated for a Grammy award in 2007 for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
Matt Collar (AllMusic)