When a busy session player records an album of his own, you never know what to expect. Will it be a cold, mechanical, strictly-for-the-money release? Or will creativity prevail? In the case of
Ricky Peterson's
Smile Blue, creativity usually prevails. Having backed everyone from
David Sanborn to
Prince,
Paula Abdul and the Jets, the keyboardist/singer had a chance to present some of his own ideas when he recorded
Smile Blue in 1991. This generally decent, if uneven, CD finds him wearing two hats: crossover instrumentalist and pop/R&B vocalist. As a singer, he sounds like a cross between
Sting and
George Benson -- an approach that serves him well on Bobby Caldwell's "What You Wont Do for Love" and pop/urban contemporary versions of standards like "Goodbye" and "Out of This World." Meanwhile,
Peterson has likable pop-jazz instrumentals in the mysterious "Half Life" and the congenial "Mitch." His adult contemporary vocals on "I Can't Think" and "I Need Your Love" are forgettable, but thankfully,
Smile Blue's strengths outnumber its weaknesses. ~ Alex Henderson