"Mysterious Traveller" ( Wayne Shorter) - 3:56."Sugar Free" (Bauza, Biggz, Lorber) - 4:00."Pixel" (Colomby, Jimmy Haslip, Lorber) - 4:13.Moy" ( Bobby Colomby, Steve Dubin, Lorber) - 4:22 "Rain Dance/Wanna Fly" (Irene Bauza, Frankie Biggz, Jeff Lorber) - 5:23.In Allmusic, Alex Henderson wrote that the album is not "the work of a jazz purist or a bop snob, but.has a jazz improviser's mentality" and called it "a fine album". Marvin Leon Lake, of The Virginian-Pilot calls the album "a successful endeavor" that "captures the improvisational energy of fusion, while infusing more jazz and R&B into Lorber’s tunes". He comments how the album "offers a variation of tempos" and that the songs " seamlessly from one to the next". Also from All About Jazz, James Nadal calls the music "easy on the ears and accessible to a broad audience". writes how the musicians "serve up a pleasing disc". He also commented that it is "refreshing to see how Lorber is willing to kick up the jazz quotient on R&B influenced tunes".
Reviewer Howard Dukes called Now Is the Time a "listener's album" "with its radio friendly R&B songs and instrumentals that cover the scope of electrified jazz". The album's closing track, "Sumatra", features the Blood, Sweat & Tears horn section. "Water Sign" is another track that was previously released as an instrumental that has been updated with lyrics by IreneB. "Chinese Medicinal Herbs" is new version of old Jeff Lorber Fusion track from their first release. "Las Rosas" is another track co-written by Colomby and features Lorber on piano. "Black Ice", a remake from the 1978 album Soft Space, is highlighted with a Jimmy Haslip bass solo. "Curtains/Before We Go" is a new version of another old Jeff Lorber Fusion track that has been sampled by Nelly on " Pimp Juice".
This version highlights saxophonist Eric Marienthal. "Mysterious Traveller" is a new arrangement of the Wayne Shorter penned song from the 1974 Weather Report album of the same name. "Pixel" was penned by Lorber along with Bobby Colomby from Blood, Sweat & Tears and Jimmy Haslip from the Yellowjackets and features the Blood, Sweat & Tears horn section. George Benson's touring drummer, Lil' John Roberts, plays on the album's second track, "Dr. This version has lyrics written and sung by IreneB. The original, an instrumental, has been sampled by Lil' Kim on " Crush on You". The opening track, "Rain Dance/Wanna Fly", is one of several new versions of old Jeff Lorber Fusion tracks, this one was originally on the 1979 album Water Sign. The other nominees were Never Can Say Goodbye by Joey DeFrancesco, To the One by John McLaughlin, and Backatown by Trombone Shorty. The album was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album but lost to the Stanley Clarke album The Stanley Clarke Band. The album also features the Blood, Sweat & Tears horn section, Tom Timko, Steve Jankowski, Jens Wendelboe, and Teddy Mulet, on two tracks, "Pixel" and "Sumatra" and vocalist IreneB on four tracks, "Water Sign", "Rain Dance/Wanna Fly", "Sugar Free", and "Curtains/Before We Go". This version of The Fusion includes Lorber on Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hammond B-3 organ, and acoustic piano with bassist Jimmy Haslip, saxophonist Eric Marienthal, guitarist Paul Jackson, Jr., trumpeter Randy Brecker, and drummers Vinnie Colaiuta and Dave Weckl. The title has a very positive thrust to it, and it evokes a certain sense of being serious and taking charge. It represents a real musical shift toward something a little jazzier, and a little more exciting. We wanted a return to the sound of the Jeff Lorber Fusion, but informed by everything I’ve learned since then. We all had a vision of what we wanted this record to be.
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