For his second album
Robert Kyle has taken a trip down the smooth jazz road with excursions to swing and Brazilian beats. He is the composer or co-composer of all the tunes on the set. This CD sharply contrasts with his first, a tour de force of a cappella sax on which he played all standards. The outcome is mixed. The music is very pretty and often, somber. The latter trait fits nicely with
Kyle's sax, which sounds much like the haunting quality of
Ernie Watts sax that he uses when playing with Charlie Haden's Quartet West. Especially ear catching is the kickoff track "Once upon a Time" which opens with almost symphonic intensity segueing to a romantic sax. "Carumbamia" is an entertaining Brazilian-based tune which is the platform for
Kyle's dexterity on the flute. As the name implies "Hangin' with the Bubbas" has an R&B kick to it with pure funk organ sounding keyboards, and is the highlight track of the album. "Falling Water" is a vehicle for interesting pianism from Steve Weingart and rhythmic drumming by Kevin Winard. These good tracks notwithstanding, while this album is a cut above many of the smooth jazz products on today's market,
That Other Place, with its colorless backbeat drumming and electronically contrived keyboard waterfall sounds, falls into the trap of becoming repetitive and losing contact with the listener.
Kyle is a fine performer, but he should turn his attention to material more worthy of his talent. This album should appeal to smooth jazz fans. ~ Dave Nathan