Pieces of a Dream: Coming at You from All Sides

This instrumental group has used pretty much the same formula for years, and quite successfully. It involves mixing up the play list with a variety of musical genre, contemporary R & B, Latin, contemporary pop, even including some real jazz now and then, throw in some background vocal wailing and whining as the occasion permits and make sure the plug doesn't fall out of the wall to assure that the electronic instruments are operating on all cylinders. But the group never forgets that their basic staple is smooth or contemporary jazz (?). And no matter what genre they may be addressing on any one track, it is done within the smooth framework. It is also important to make sure that the music or its arrangements are not aggressive or demand anything from the listener. In short, this is wonderful music to read to, shop to, exercise to, snooze to, gyrate to (the contemporary reincarnation of Sammy Kaye's swing and sway) or just relax to. There are some cuts where there is a hint of energy in the playing especially on "Let's Roll". But much more typical on this session are songs such as "Love's Silhouette" and "Remembrance", done using the keyboards and programming devices as cushions. As indicated, this group has stayed with this formula with great success for years and on this latest release, there is 67 minutes of its further application.

So if it ain't broke, why fix it?