West Side Stories

West Side Stories is the eleventh studio album by the six-time Grammy Award-nominated, one-time Grammy winning composer, keyboardist and pioneer of the smooth jazz genre, Jeff Lorber, released on Verve Forecast in 1994. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Prototype by his band The Jeff Lorber Fusion.

The collection of eleven songs written mostly by Lorber himself included several featured artists. Among them, Eric Benét, Paulinho da Costa, Paul Jackson, Jr., Michael Landau, Hubert Laws, Kongar-ol Ondar, CeCe Peniston, Kongar-ol Ondar, Paul Pesco (guitarist on the Madonna's The Virgin Tour), or Art Porter, Jr.

The album scored in the U.S. Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart at number five.

Personnel

 * Jeff Lorber – arrangements (1-11), acoustic piano (1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10), synthesizers (1-4, 6, 8-11), Hammond B3 organ (1, 4, 10), Minimoog (1, 2, 5, 8), percussion (1, 8, 9), Steinway grand piano (3, 7), electric bass (3), Wurlitzer electric piano (4, 5), melody guitar (4, 8), wah guitar (6)
 * Paul Jackson, Jr. – rhythm guitar (1, 2), electric guitar (6, 7)
 * Michael Landau – guitar solo (1), rhythm guitar (2), electric guitar (3, 6, 7), nylon guitar (3)
 * Marlon McClain – rhythm guitar (4, 8, 11), electric guitar (5), steel guitar (5)
 * Paul Pesco – rhythm guitar (4), wah wah guitar (8), steel guitar (9)
 * Oliver Leiber – rhythm guitar (10), Mu-tron (10)
 * Nate Phillips – electric bass (1, 5, 8, 11)
 * Alec Milstein – bass pops, synth bass (3), percussion (3), arrangements (3), electric bass (4, 6, 10)
 * John Robinson – drums (1-7, 10), drum loop (6)
 * Sergio Gonzales – drums (8, 9, 11)
 * Paulinho da Costa – congas (2), shaker (2), castanets (2), percussion (3, 4, 7, 9, 11)
 * Gary Meek – soprano saxophone (1, 2, 4, 6)
 * Art Porter, Jr. – soprano saxophone (8, 11)
 * Hubert Laws – flute (7)
 * Eric Benét – lead vocals (5), backing vocals (10)
 * Jeff Pescetto – backing vocals (5)
 * Shades of Soul – backing vocals (5)
 * Kongar-ol Ondar – throat singing (9)
 * CeCe Peniston – lead vocals (10)

Production

 * Guy Eckstine – executive producer
 * Jeff Lorber – producer, engineer
 * Marlon McClain – producer (5)
 * Eric Benét – assistant producer (10)
 * David Frank – assistant producer (10)
 * Jessica Lorber – associate producer, assistant engineer
 * Alan Meyerson – mixing, live drums engineer
 * Randi Bach, CPA – album coordination, business management
 * Nate Herr – product manager
 * Margery Greenspan – art direction
 * Lili Picou – design
 * Dennis Keeley – photography
 * JHL Sound (Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles) – recording and mixing location