The team behind contemporary jazz hits by Damien Escobar, David Benoit, Randy Brecker and others are back. The Architects of Sound are comprised of SRG/ILS CEO Claude Villani and Jazz Fusion legend Jeff Lorber. It all began when Claude signed Jeff Lorber to SRG Jazz and subsequently co-produced Jeff’s first album under the label, “Elevate,” in which Villani wrote the Top 10 song, “Teardrops In The Rain.”
AOS II was inspired by the chemistry between Jeff and Claude working on AOS I. “The project was so successful, and we had such a great time working on AOS I and literally recorded so many amazing records, that we said, why not go back to the lab and go recreate the magic,” mentions Claude. The song “Where We Belong,” became a Jazz Billboard Top 5 song. “The project allowed for us to get away from the traditional mentality and allowed for us to just have fun with no restrictions,” adds Lorber. Claude and Jeff wrote and produced every song on their follow up album, AOS II.
Architects Of Sound II features some of the best players in the genre including Gary Novak, Lenny Castro, Mark Lettieri, Cornelius Mims, and David Mann, to name a few. “We were excited to call on some of our friends and invite them to be part of the record,” shares Jeff. David Mann was a great contributor to the project as an arranger and amazing saxophone player. “This project also allowed me to start over and rebuild after losing so much during the fires last year, so it was a rebirth in so many ways”, shares Jeff.
The last song recorded in Jeff’s studio in 2025, was “755” from the AOS I project, and the hardest part to revisit was rebuilding a studio capable of recording at Jeff and Claude’s standards.
