"Armed with a doctorate from the cutting-edge electronic music program at the University of California's San Diego campus, Willey serves up a classic new age brew on his CD, Peace Pieces. The sheer beauty and careful programming of his music makes this worth a listen." --Titus Levi, Keyboard, March 1995.
"Willey lives in California and, in his words, this disc is 'new age jazz bossa nova folk electronic instrumental experimental.' Actually, it's more than that: it's California new age jazz bossa... It's also Norway, Casteneda, and other places and writers, and it puts a hi tech approach in the service of easy listening." --Joel Chadabe, Electronic Music Foundation
"Peace Pieces is a grand collection of 13 pieces ranging from Jan Hammer like ballads to sound collage, with spoken lectures on theory, to samba, to driving uptempo jazz flavored pieces like "High Lights". The piece "Stairway to Seven" is a magnificent samba in the style of Tanya Maria. "(Winter) Solstice" was recorded by the group Muse Continuum. It builds into a nice jazz fusion piece with some great interplay between Bob's synth and Paul Tye;s guitar work. These are just a few of the highlights from this superb diverse collection of songs. Bob Willey, with the help of seven very talented musicians has created an evocative, eclectic work that spills over into varied musical genres. The soaring atmospheric melodies on Peace Pieces come from a variety of influences, a seamless blend of western pop, progressive jazz fusion, art rock, experimental, and even classical. For Bob Willey, the only limits to his music are those of his imagination which appears absolutely boundless. This is an innovative musical treat. Highly recommended." --Ben Kettlewell, i/e, Winter '93 and Dreamsword, Winter '93.
"Many of his most accessible works do fit right into the light jazz and new age listener's comfort zone. But where most of the music in those genres goes down with the nutritive value of mineral water, Willey's pieces deliver real caloric content." --Alan Reder, San Diego Reader
"Relaxed, bossa-inflected performances, with occasionally interesting solos. Though hardly a riveting player, Willey shows compositional promise. If E.Z. or, perhaps, comatose jazz is your style, you may find fresh material here." --Robert L. Doerschuk, Keyboard, December 1993
"Putting a finger on exactly the kind of music this is poses more problems than simply enjoying it. Its synthesizer-driven melodies glide across the ears in billowing, round sounds suggesting the Roland sound of the 70's fusion set to drum machine. Like a good deal of New Age keyboarding, it borders at times on elevator music and other times experimental jazz, but always promises the possibility of achieving the alpha state. Willey delivers on Peace Pieces, by giving us pleasing bits of his musical imagination loosely strung together by the concept of peace, and mildly laced with irony. The voice-over in the third song, 'Stairway to Seven', announces, 'I'll meet you where the seventh heaven meets cloud nine,' then launches into a lighthearted 'Ba-dum, bum-ba-dum' vocal part more like Manhattan Transfer meets The Love Boat. But the joke must be on us, because as soon as we're all done giggling we'll find ourselves singing along, or maybe humming it in the shower. If the synthesizer sound bugs you, you're not alone, but for the most part, Willey avoids the self-indulgent, cloying synthesizer syndrome. 'Out of the Blue' is as beautiful as a snowflake, while 'Welcome to the Trondheim Composer Group Concert' overlays a rhythmic soft jazz beat over a short speech about Norwegian music. In '(Winter) Solstice', he is joined by real drums, guitar, and bass in a very delicate jazz exploration. The whole compilation, which Willey calls 'more a series of discoveries than compositions,; does experience a sagging middle, but on the whole it stays fresh and intimate. In the jacket Willey journals the strange origins of several songs. Willey has poked his hands into the clouds and brought back magic elixirs, perfect for cases of over-seriousness." --Brennan Washburn, Heartsong Review, Fall '93 / Winter '94
http://willshare.com/robert/reviews/pp.html