ItaliaReviews: Italia
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0886970760621 Label: Sony Manufacturer: Sony MPN: 707606 Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Sony Release Date: September 25, 2007 Studio: Sony Rating:  - Bella!!Absolutely wonderful CD with beautiful, soulful songs. Pour a glass of wine & listen to this one all the way through. You won't be disappointed! Rating: - Chris Botti-ItaliaI heard Chris Botti say at a recent concert, that it had taken him 40 yrs to learn to play the trumpet. Well, nobody plays it better today and Italia is "delicious" to listen to. The choice of music, his playing and the vocalists are all top notch. A fabulous addition to anyone's music library! Rating: - Easy listeningPlayback «Italia» and relax. Beautiful soft music for easy listening. Chris Botti is my favorite living trumpeter. Columbia is quite right in offering Chris to record everything he wants and whenever he wants. Rating: - Bravo Chris!Excellent album. Do not hesitate to see Chris Botti perform live. It's a great show with excellent musicianship and the best drummer I've ever seen. Rating: - A beautiful album...With Italia, Chris Botti has once again delivered a lushly orchestrated album of astonishing beauty, full of memorable, breath-taking performances. He not only proves there's wisdom in the old adage, if it ain't broke, don't fix it - but instead of resting simply on his laurels, with each successive album he's succeeded in making his "formula" of richly orchestrated, romantic standards better. Where To Love Again focused on duets, Italia focuses on Botti's trumpet playing with only a handful of vocal tracks (similar to his break-out album, When I Fall In Love). The inspiration of the album is, of course, the music of Italy, and in keeping with that theme Botti interprets two compositions by master film composer Ennio Morricone - the hauntingly beautiful "Deborah's Theme" from Once Upon a Time in America and "Gabriel's Oboe" from The Mission. The lushly orchestrated, David Foster-penned "Italia" pairs Botti with one of contemporary Italy's most famous voices, Andrea Bocelli. "Estaté" is Botti's gorgeous solo version of the track that he accompanied Bocelli on for the tenor's Andrea Bocelli: Under the Desert Sky [DVD Included] project. Three of the tracks on Italia mine the realm of classic popular song, evocative of Italy because of their close association with interpretations by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. "The Very Thought of You" is a sublime duet with Paula Cole - her voice, featured on When I Fall In Love and To Love Again, once again proves to be an ideal complement to Botti's trumpet. With her whisper-soft vocal and Botti's velvety-smooth trumpet playing, it's a seductively dreamy performance. "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" pairs Botti with Dean Martin (this track also appears on the Forever Cool duets album). The arrangement is swinging and playful, and Botti's trumpet effortlessly plays off of Martin's smooth vocals. As he proved with To Love Again, Botti is an expert at complementing a vocal, and the fact that the duet with Martin sounds so real, so convincing, is a testament to his skill as a performer. The trio of up tempo numbers is rounded out with "The Way You Look Tonight," the Fields-Kern classic featuring a sparkling arrangement that I can easily imagine Sinatra swinging to in his prime. The album ends with a stunner - Botti's jaw-droppingly gorgeous rendition of "Nessun Dorma," the highlight of the instrumental tracks. As some other reviews have noted, there's not much improvisation on this disc. However in my opinion the lack of improvisation highlights Botti's skill as a trumpeter -- there's no room for error in a song like "Nessun Dorma," and he delivers a spine-tingling, spot-on accurate performance. The control he exhibits on such tracks is quite frankly awe-inspiring. Italia is another wonderfully addictive offering from Chris Botti's seemingly endless reservoir of creativity and talent. I had the thrill of seeing him perform live earlier this year - if you ever get the chance, GO. When you see him perform live and cut loose with his band, and then contrast that with the beautifully orchestrated, soaring trumpet playing he exhibits on an album like Italia, one's respect for the scope of his talent increases tenfold. Italia ReviewsMore reviews:Buy Italia Sale Reviews DealsItalia
|