Chris Botti is a musical alchemist who tastefully mixes genres for his own brand of fusion on this live concert recording. “In Boston” is a sequel to the trumpeter’s hit 2006 CD/DVD, “Chris Botti Live with Orchestra and Special Guests,” but on a grander scale, thanks to the rich orchestral backdrop provided by the Boston Pops under conductor Keith Lockhart.
Botti takes special delight in shaking things up by getting his musical friends to stretch outside their typical repertoire. Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler not only rocks hard on his own “Cryin’,” but touchingly sings the Charlie Chaplin ballad “Smile” to his father, seated in the front row. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma duets with Botti on Italian film composer’s Ennio Morricone’s romantic “Cinema Paradiso.” John Mayer transforms himself into a ’50s Sinatra-like crooner on the Rodgers & Hart tune “Glad To Be Unhappy,” while classical crossover vocalist Josh Groban duets with Sting on the rock legend’s soft ballad “Shape of My Heart.”
The nearly two-hour concert DVD with 19 songs recorded over two nights features eight selections that couldn’t be fit into Botti’s recently aired PBS special.
Although much of the music is available on a 13-track CD, Botti’s performance is best savored on the DVD which captures “American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee’s playful flirtiness on “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and the expressiveness of violinist Lucia Micarelli’s face on “Emmanuel.”
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Chris Botti
“Chris Botti In Boston,” Columbia
Genre: jazz
Grade: A