Sure, we at Buffalo.com may cover our fair share of indie and alt rock—more than our fair share, some might say.  But that does not mean we don’t occasionally pair our sweet black berets with over-sized Cosby sweaters and appreciate us some jazz.

And appreciate us some jazz we will on Saturday when Jeff Lorber Fusion takes the stage for an 8 p.m. concert at the Rockwell Hall at Buffalo State College (1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo).  Tickets start at $30, unless you are a student ($15) or an old ($27).  The concert is part of the Buffalo State Performing Arts Center’s Great Performers series.

What is Jeff Lorber Fusion, you ask?  Allow us to laugh condescendingly while we throw an extra layer of black polish on our gold-buckled wingtip loafers.  So much classier than laces!  Anyhow, let’s break this into two parts.

Jeff Lorber
Jeff Lorber is a Philadelphia native who began playing piano at age four.  He attended the Berklee College of Music and formed the Jeff Lorber Fusion in Portland, Ore. in the late 1970s. The group released their self-titled debut album in 1977, and quickly became one of the most popular acts in the jazz fusion scene, due in large part to relentless touring and a string of artistically daring and commercially successful recordings (or as we call it in the jazz world, “selling 100 records.”  Kidding!).

Lorber was nominated for a Grammy in 2007 and is considered a pioneer of the smooth jazz genre.  He’s wildly talented and will provide the appropriate music by which to groove your lady.  Or man, as the case may be.

Here what he sounds like:

Fusion
“Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations, often using wind and brass and displaying a high level of instrumental technique.”  Thank you, Wikipedia. 

This is a must-attend concert for local jazz aficionados.  And if you aspire to be a jazz aficionado, this is a great way to start.  Now go name-drop Susie Ibarra and you’re on your way.