Chris Botti – To Love Again

Artist: Chris Botti

Title: To Love Again

Label: Sony

Rating: 7/10

FILE UNDER: The man and his horn.

CORPORATE LINE: On his latest collection, When I Fall In Love, the best-selling trumpet virtuoso expands the range of his earlier work with an album devoted to once and future classic love songs, each one performed with Botti’s impeccable taste and signature tonal qualities.

Featuring guest vocal performances from Paula Cole (“What’ll I Do” & “How Love Should Be”) and Sting (“La Belle Dame Sans Regrets”), When I Fall In Love reunites Botti with legendary producer/musician Bobby Colomby, who helmed Botti’s 2002 seasonal collection, December. Botti is accompanied by the London Session Orchestra on all but one of the new album’s tracks and the result is a lush and sultry sojourn into the very heart of romance. When I Fall In Love is mixed by the multiple Grammy-winning engineer Al Schmitt with arrangements by Jeremy Lubbock, Billy Childs and Gil Goldstein.

THE GREAT:
“Embraceable You” – Botti proves he doesn’t need a sidekick to make a song worth listening to. He lets his horn do the talking.
“I’ll Be Seeing You” – Another instrumental track that moves along with such easy that you can’t help but be swept up in the moment.
“To Love Again” – This original composition is a perfect song for a slow dance or some another romantic affair. This song is pure bliss.
“Let There Be Love” Featuring Michael Bublé – Bublé puts together a superb vocal. His voice, although already golden, really brings it home and carries the weight.
“Pennies From Heaven” Featuring Renee Olstead – I had no idea who Renee Olstead was but you can bet I do know.
“Good Morning, Heartache” Featuring Jill Scott – It takes a while for the introduction to end but once Jill Scott lets blow it’s worth the wait.

THE AVERAGE:
“My One And Only Love” Featuring Paula Cole – Cole spends too much time in the wrong octave. She sings at such a high pitch that it doesn’t sound natural. Only occasionally does she ever let her voice loose.
“What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?” Featuring Sting – Honestly, this is one of the tracks I wanted to love. Sting’s voice is nice but Botti’s horn is better.
“Smile” Featuring Steven Tyler – This is an odd pairing. Tyler can sing he just can’t sing smooth jazz.

THE BAD:
Nothing.

FRANKLY: Chris Botti owns his horn. He is the master of his domain. Too bad the classy vocalists couldn’t keep up.

+ Rae Gun