Peaceful Flight

It's appropriate that guitarist Keith Robinson breaks us into his debut Peaceful Flight with a laid-back cover of Babyface's "For the Kool in You," because the disc captures the same type of charm the Grammy-winning artist/producer is noted for — a combination of slick, machine generated grooves and folksy electric and acoustic melodies, and even a few tenderhearted vocals. Robinson rarely stretches out of the mid-range mellow funk mode; a brief acoustic solo over the gentle sway of "Bossa of Love," and some punchy improvisational electric jaunts over a sharp groove on "Forever You" pretty much sum up his not too daring sense of innovation. And while "Ready for Love," featuring the lush piano accents of Alex Bugnon, is a pretty vocal tune, it doesn't tell us much about Robinson's guitar abilities. Robinson has better success taking stylistic chances outside the typical urban/smooth jazz flow. The title track — which would have fit in well with the authentic retro-soul instrumentals on the Jackie Brown soundtrack — features the thick drum beats of Sonny Emory beneath Robinson's one-two punch of a wah-ah rhythm guitar and a lively acoustic melody.