'Tuned In' review: Jeff Lorber's 'Galaxy' puts you in the comfort zone

"Galaxy" by Jeff Lorber Fusion

“Galaxy,” Jeff Lorber Fusion (Heads Up)

If music genres were blood types, Jeff Lorber’s redefined version of “jazz fusion” would be O positive: It’s universal and it blends with everything.

Currently the most prevalent form of jazz (which is sometimes referred to as smooth jazz or contemporary jazz — not to be confused with the mad-scientist version of jazz fusion Miles Davis pioneered some 40 years ago), Lorber’s style is inoffensive and usually bland enough to serve as nondisruptive background music. It’s omnipresent when you’re shopping, casually dining, waiting in line for coffee or on hold during a business call. More popular genres — including rap, country, rock and dance — ignite greater passion, but that comes with more negative backlash.

Keyboardist/composer Lorber has been playing for decades, and though he certainly has a knowledgeable following, most of his listening audience hears him by happenstance, like while watching the Weather Channel’s “Local on the 8s” segments.

Lorber’s fan base will appreciate the new “Galaxy” because it retreads some of his more appreciated older songs, dressing up such tracks as “Wizard Island,” “The Samba” and “The Underground” in more polished, urbane contexts. The core of the Jeff Lorber Fusion group includes bassist Jimmy Haslip (of Yellowjackets) and saxophonist Eric Marienthal, though “Galaxy” also features the work of drummers Vinnie Colaiuta and Dave Weckl, guitarists Paul Jackson Jr. and Larry Koonse, percussionist Lenny Castro and trumpeter Randy Brecker. (There are no vocals.)

In general, the more active the rhythm section, the more interesting the “Galaxy.” Colaiuta and Castro make a terrific tandem on “Live Wire” and “Montserrat” — the latter picking up extra texture from Lorber on Rhodes, piano and Minimoog. Meanwhile, Marienthal pulls focus on “Big Brother,” “Rapids” and the title track.

Overall, “Galaxy” is meticulously designed by Lorber and company, and it can be both lively and calming at the same time.

But don’t get too comfortable, or you might get lost in the generic atmosphere of “Galaxy’s” orbit.

Rating: 3

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