Chris Botti's Slowing Down the World: great start but falters towards the end

Having been introduced to the musical works of Chris Botti last year, I've discovered that I can't quite get enough. It's smooth, haunting jazz that invites you in for an extended stay, and is perfect for the romantic periods of the day, or when you just want to chill out and let the world go by.

Starting his career as a trumpeter in backups for more famous stars such as Sting, Botti has been working at carving out a career for himself as a soloist, and compared to most jazz artists, he's pretty good.

Botti in this collection from 1999 takes several different routes in this one. Some of the tracks are of the classic, improvisational style, others include vocals, and some take an orchestral backing to get to where they are going. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Irresistable Bliss
The opening track is strong, and sets a perfect tone of mellow and cool all in one. What really struck me about this track -- and the rest of the cd, for that matter -- was that Botti has taken to layering complex riffs down for both himself and his backups, so that with every listen, I get to hear something new and different.

The Look
When I hear this one, I keep thinking that I'm listening to I'm Not In Love, but of course I'm wrong. It's still a good track.

Drive Time
This is bouncy, filled with short, sharp toots from Botti, and a strong percussion line. Think of the West Side Highway on a clear summer day, you're off to the Catskills, and the road is empty. Ok, I know that's impossible, but still, it makes a great image.

In the Wee Small Hours
This is my favorite cut, but then I tend to be biased whenever I hear anything by Sting. It's a lovely, smooth romantic ballad, and it just works. Beautifully.

The Open Touch
Taking a more muted tone than the previous track, this one sounds fairly similar to the other cuts. That's one of the problems that I do have with this cd, that most of the music sounds pretty much the same. That's fine for some occansions, but it's also a bit rough at times.

Under a Painted Sky
Another mellow, end of the day selection. It works, though.

Why Not
The Place Between Us
These two tracks are so similar as to be indentical.

Same Girl
This one, Botti decides to take the vocal route and the poor listener suffers through some pretty bad singing. It's the worst cut on the cd, and it simply stinks. Skip it, and hastily.

Where I'm Calling From
This is one of the better cuts, with a faster pace, and a more upbeat style to it. It still has a reflective tone to it, but the complexity of balance between the trumpet and the backup musicians is what makes it work.

Letting Go
This one has the London Sessions Orchestra to back it up. It's a slow, rather sentimental piece that goes on and wallows until everything is covered with a sticky, rather unpleasant feeling, and borders on the edge of what I call sappy movie music. I do not like this track.

While most of the songs do sound alike, Botti does try hard, and does grow on you. The liner notes are nicely laid out, and gives all sorts of proper credit to everyone involved, as well as some nice and moody pictures of Botti.

So, to sum up, this is a cd for when you want some quiet and tranquility to enter your soul. Happily, while there are a few clunkers on this cd, the good stuff certainly makes this a worthwhile purchase for anyone who wants to add to their collection of jazz, or happens to be a fan of Botti's. It's not quite a five-star cd, but it does get close in spots. Recommended.

Slowing Down the World
Chris Botti
1999; GRP Records Inc.
314 547 301-2