SmoothJazz.com Review
by
Sandy Shore
Some may be surprised that this Grammy Award-winning, hit songwriter is a fan of Smooth Jazz… In fact, the composer of eighteen Top 10 hits (three of which where #1 : “Vehicle,” “The Search is Over,” and the theme from Rocky III, “Eye of the Tiger”) has been directing his creative energy towards his ‘Jazz That Rocks’ venture, Jim Peterik’s Lifeforce, a fashionable project that merges Smooth Jazz with pop and soulful R&B, over the past several years. The new FORCES AT PLAY is a star-studded outing featuring format favorites : Steve Cole, Nick Colionne, Chieli Minucci, Mindi Abair, Acoustic Alchemy, Steve Oliver, Jessy J, David Pack and Blake Aaron, plus a new force in Smooth Jazz, Peterik’s co-purveyor of finely crafted vocals, Lisa McClowry. All thirteen tracks are the bomb dot com, but favorites include the Abair co-penned “Sall Good,” Petrik’s salute to jazz belles, “Jazzy Lady,” and the fun Oliver collaboration “Talking Drum.” “My message and mood is positive and uplifting,” Peterik said. “I feel that visualization of your desired outcome is the first step to actualization.This theme, as well as making sure we appreciate and maximize each day, runs through my songs.”
