Keyboardist, composer, and producer
Jeff Lorber
didn't let the COVID-19 pandemic slow him down. He spent much of 2020 producing artists -- including
Herb Alpert
-- while writing and demoing new tracks of his own. Longtime drummer
Gary Novak
regularly showed up at
Lorber
's studio to record while social distancing. Bassist
Jimmy Haslip
added his parts via the Internet, and
's guests participated in the process the same way. That said, these 11 cuts are tight, seamlessly integrated, and come off with an organic energy. His guests are all old friends. The horn players include
Bob Mintzer
,
David Mann
, and
Gary Meek
; guitarists include
Paul Jackson, Jr.
Robben Ford
Michael Landau
.
Hubert Laws
lent his flute to a couple of jams, while saxophonist
Gerald Albright
actually played bass on "Memorex."
The double-time groove in the title cut opens the set as a breezy sprint.
states the vamp on the Fender Rhodes, framed by synth bass and guitar as
Novak
and
Haslip
drive the tempo.
Mintzer
enters on the second chorus, extending its harmonic reach to the stratosphere without losing the groove. The bright, funky, bluesy interplay between
Jackson
's guitar and
Mann
's sax on "Back Room" is infectious. "Sun Princess" commences as a lithe, contemporary jazz groover.
grafts on tenets of
Pat Metheny
's euphoric harmonic vocabulary to frame his canny piano fills and solo. "Mind Reader" is one of two cuts that benefit from
Ford
's guitar exchanges with
. Momentarily referencing the vamp from
Grover Washington, Jr.
's "Mister Magic," the rhythm section funkily bumps and bounces around the front line, pushing them inside the melody. When they emerge, it's as a unit soaring toward the horizon together. "Memorex" is cooking jazz-funk with knotty horn and keyboard lines contrasting melodic vamps and counterpoint as
Albright
's popping bassline wrangles with the piano and
's horns for dominance. "Louisiana" is uncharacteristic of the
JLF
. Drenched in Southern-flavored R&B, its lilting, sunny melody is intercut with elegant bass, sax, and keyboard lines -- on piano, synths, and a B-3 -- as
Landau
's guitar channels the gritty funk of
the Meters
' guitarist
Leo Nocentelli
. "Chick," dedicated to the memory of
Chick Corea
, is pure fusion. The bubbling rhythm tracks are saturated with snare breaks and a churning, bumping bassline from
framing
Meek
's gorgeous soprano saxophone and
Laws
' flute that join in an adventurous lyric statement.
returns with all burners cooking on "Truth."
offers his funkiest clavinet atop his layered keyboards, while the horn interplay between
is sumptuous, and deeply in the pocket.
's complex cadences underscore the earworm melodic hook, and he delivers a mean meat-and-potatoes jazz-funk solo. What makes
Space-Time
such a joyous and compelling listen are
's tunes. They are penned and arranged with uncommon detail, revealing the considerable strengths of his sidemen who, in turn, deliver savvy creativity, abundant technical facility, and wide-open joy in return. As a whole,
is flawless, resonant, and stands with
's best recordings. ~ Thom Jurek