Jeff Lorber Wizard Island

Released in 1980, Wizard Island is the fourth album by keyboardist Jeff Lorber as leader of his band "The Jeff Lorber Fusion". The album was Lorber's first to reach number one on the US Jazz Album chart.

As with previous release 'Now is the Time' Jeff Lorber is joined by the Yellowjackets' Jimmy Haslip on bass, Eric Marienthal on saxophones and Vinnie Colaiuta and Dave Weckl sharing drumming duties.Jeff once again takes some of his more popular tunes from the past, like "Wizard Island", "City" and "The Underground" and updates them with the new band. "Essentially this album is a part two", Lorber says. "It features the same rhythm section, but it's even more into the jazz fusion direction. It's more energetic and the performances are tighter." In total, 'Galaxy' includes 11 Jeff Lorber original compositions.

GRAMMY Award-winning keyboardist/composer/producer Jeff Lorber recalls seeing guitarist Mike Stern during his much-ballyhooed tenure with Miles Davis in the early ‘80s. “I’ve been a fan of his for a long time,” said the keyboardist, who was touring hard in support of his hit records Wizard Island and It’s a Fact in those analog days. “Jeff Lorber Fusion and Miles Davis were playing some of the same festivals back then, so I got to hear him play.” For his part, Stern offered, “To be honest, I was aware of him, and had heard a bunch of good things, but I had never really checked him out. We were just in different orbits, me and Jeff.”