The Jeff Lorber Fusion (1977-1981)

His first group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, released their self-titled debut album in 1977 on Inner City Records. Supported by a revolving cast of musicians including longtime drummer Dennis Bradford, Lorber recorded five studio albums under this moniker. These early releases showcased a funky sound influenced by other jazz fusion practitioners such as Herbie Hancock, Weather Report and Return to Forever, the latter's Chick Corea appearing on several Fusion cuts. Like his contemporaries, Lorber performed on multiple keyboard instruments including piano, Rhodes piano, and various analog synthesizers, often favoring the Minimoog and Sequential Circuits Prophet 5. "Rain Dance," found on the 1979 album Water Sign, was sampled for the 1996 Lil' Kim single "Crush On You." It was also sampled for the track "Love Like This" (featuring Lil' Cease) on SWV's 1997 album, Release Some Tension. The Jeff Lorber Fusion's 1980

album, Wizard Island, introduced a young saxophonist, Kenneth Bruce Gorelick, better known as Kenny G. Dennis is featured on these LPs: The Jeff Lorber Fusion (1977, Inner City); Soft Space (1978, Inner City)

Water Sign (1979, Arista); Wizard Island (1980, Arista); Galaxian (1981, Arista)