Impressions [Import]

Chris Botti follows up his 2007 classical-themed album Italia and his smash 2009 concert album Chris Botti Live In Boston CD + DVD with 2012's "Impressions".
In many ways, "Impressions" combines the best of those two earlier albums by featuring more of the classical crossover and Latin-inflected style of Italia with a few pop reinterpretations and a handful of guest vocalists as in much of his previous work.
Produced by famed fusion drummer and longtime Botti associate Bobby Colomby, the album is a languid and expertly crafted album in which Botti's burnished, lyrical trumpet tone is often framed against lush orchestrations via arrangers including Vince Mendoza, Gil Goldstein, and others.
To these ends, we get a gorgeous take on Frédéric Chopin's Prelude No. 20 in C Minor, a duet with popopera Andrea Bocelli on the track "Per Te (in Italian for For You - featuring guitarist Leonardo Amuedo).
Also intriguing are such cuts as Botti's brooding and sultry collaboration with jazz piano legend Herbie Hancock on "Tango Suite", his yearning, cinematic take on Astor Piazzolla's "Oblivion" with violinist Caroline Campbell, and his stark duet on the Gershwin standard "Summertime".
Elsewhere, we get a Broadway-inspired rendition of Randy Newman's "Losing You" featuring country singer Vince Gill, a re-pairing with guitarist Amuedo on the classic "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", and an inspired interpretation of the Louis Armstrong number "What a Wonderful World" featuring guitarist/singer Mark Knopfler. As with most of Botti's oeuvre, "Impressions" is a lyrical, romantic, and impeccably produced album that makes the most of the trumpeter's generous skills. M. Collar

Chris Botti has been so good in the past, making great stuff I am still enjoying a lot.
His last excellent record, maybe, was "When I Fall In Love".
And probably that one marks the start of the slow descent of Chris towards the so called "MOR Jazz - Jazz of Mass Destruction - Snooze Jazz".
There is an element which may have been the catalyst in Botti's tranformation: his meeting with Sting, who has been immensely influential.
Sting's first guest appearance was on 1999's album "Slowing Down The World". Botti started touring with Sting promoting the British artist's album "Brand New Day"
The two talented musicians got a strong mutual impact, even in personal life.
Everybody knows that Sting loves Italy and lives in Italy.
Voilà!!
Chris visits Italy, falls in love with the country's culture, classical and pop music and lifestyle.
Chris keeps following advise from ex-Police leader, and a new album "Italia" follows.
Pictures of beautiful Tuscany are taken, and the Italian fashion photographer Fabrizio Ferri - who has taken all Sting's latest portraits - is hired to make - from then on - all records' front and back covers. Check this out.
Botti's immersion in Italian culture is deep and passionate, he listens to Italian music, operas, popular songs, Pavarotti, Bocelli, with usual suspects Celine Dion, David Foster...and lately the ubiquitous Tony Bennett (in the wake of that cheesy duets' caravanseai fashion, do not forget 2011 Bocelli's Concerto: One Night In Central Park, where Italian popopera star sings the same, same "En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor").
He gets accustomed to that syle of making music, TV friendly, kind of cheesy, very fashionable at that time, like all CDs by Pavarotti, Pavarotti & friends..mixing classical and pop into a questionable hybrid.
Paradoxally, almost at the same time, Sting and Botti make, each on his own, two 'live' records, which are, in many ways, specular or at least very similar: "Live In Boston" (on it Sting is appearing guest) and "Live In Berlin", both released with a Video DVD.
NOW, this is "the Chris Botti" that we find on his latest "Impressions".
Exactly the same formulaic mess : classical music, Spanish/Italian/French, classics, Italian and Brazilian pop, tango, Bocelli, David Foster & CO.
Only the venerable Benedetto is not present...don't understand why.
Personally I am not that crazy about this record and the fashion started by Pavarotti, the Three Tenors, David Foster, Bocelli, Tony Bennett...Very commercial, crowd pleaser, "as seen on TV"...
There was a time a great artist,Mark Isham, excellent jazz/new age 'solo' trumpeter, in a way a lttle similar to Chris. Now he is composing music for films..... He made good stuff like Pure Mark Isham [Us Import] and Blue Sun...
Then, slowly, he became a little too obvious and snoozy and less engaging.
If Chris keeps going the current way, he will end up composing for the movies' soundtracks just like Mark Isham is doing now.
What a pity. Now it seems he's falling easily into the dangerously pretentious 'duets' trap, just like Bocelli, Foster and T. Bennett...
The CD, at times, is self indugent, too boring and depressing.
It's time for him to stop collaborations with 'saccharine' mass producers like David Foster and A. Bocelli. And eventually to move on with a new producer, and eventually without Sting as well.
Please, do not call this music JAZZ.

P.S. Fabrizio Ferri has been Sting's photographer for years. Since Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner settled in Tuscany. Read above.

I have seven previous albums by Chris Botti and I love them all; a joyous mix of eclectic musical class and sheer musicality, the guy is a real talent. Unfortunately Impressions is a break with tradition; the talent is there and with Over the Rainbow, the musicality, but elsewhere this one is a bit of a mess. It feels like experimentation, maybe a little boredom, a desire to try something different? It's not awful but this clashing mix of classical, classics and something else just doesn't work, not for me.