Impressions

I cannot say enough about this artist, my girlfriend, and I listen to his incredible artistry almost nightly for a year. Great purchase I recommend all of his music.

I have been a fan of Chris Botti for years. I recently had the opportunity to see him live. He and his band are amazing! Anyways this album us so enjoyable. The music is enriching and soul searching, especially the Chopin piece! If you want to be alone with your thoughts and experience true bliss, listen to this album. Thank you Chris Botti for a true sound experience.

Liked it very much but several of his other albums are even better,

I was all about Chris Botti in the 00's and somewhere along the line got off track. While listening to a Spotify playlist that included Chris it hit me that I'd been slacking in terms of collecting his work. I'm old school and although I listen to streaming music services, I'm a person that likes having the 'album' in hand whenever possible. This disc is superb, as is most anything this gentleman releases. 'You Are Not Alone' hasn't aged too well given the artists originally associated with the song have enough serious scandal tied to their names that it's hard to listen to the song without thinking of them, but it's a beautiful adaptation that was done with the best intentions, so I'll give it a pass. Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World are almost obligatory standards nowadays, but Chris' classy touch gives them renewed relevance. I won't give a track by track, but if you've enjoyed 'When I Fall In Love' and 'Italia', you'll probably enjoy this collection as well.

I have been listening to Chris Botti since his first recording. It's been cool to watch (or listen to) him grow and mature as an artist. His last few albums have been masterpieces and "Impressions" is no different.This is a slower album for sure. It's relaxing, which means it may not be for everybody, I, however, love it.My favorite tracks are:#1. Prelude No. 20 in C Minor (Chopin)#2. Per Te (For You), with Andrea Bocelli on vocals.#3. En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor - I remember this one from Miles Davis' "Sketches of Spain"#8. OblivionThere were two tracks I didn't really care for:#5. Losing You with Vince Gill on vocals. Not sure why this one didn't work for me but I didn't care for it.#13. What a Wonderful World with Mark Knopfler on vocals and guitar. I'm a huge fan of Mark Knopfler but this particular track didn't work for me.All that said...I have only listened to the album all the way through about two times. It's possible that the two tracks I didn't care for will grow on me with time. Regardless, this is a great album for Botti fans. For the rest of you: if you're not a Botti fan, you're missing out.

First of all, I am an unabashed Botti fan and have seen him live 6 times. Anyone who's seen his show knows there is an unbelievable energy and passion about the music from the band, but this CD has NONE. And it PAINS me to say that. His unrelenting touring for the past 9 years, playing the same songs night after night after night, is taking a heavy toll in the creativity department - these performances were phoned in, including the banal arrangements and dreadful orchestration. To me, this CD is one, big Sominex, lazy, massively self-indulgent and highly depressing! What in blue-blazes has happened to the lush, romantic Botti-sound, tinged and sprinkled with classic-Miles seasoning???? Definitely not happening here.I've seen Leonardo play with Ivan Lins in concert twice and he is an AMAZING jazz-guitarist, but he might as well not even have showed up for this. Leo is one of the best jazz-guitarists on the scene today, why not let him loose??? This could have been a great showcase of his talents for the world to see, there's nothing here to do that.Really disappointed, like another reviewer, I also wasn't expecting torrid trumpet runs, but this collection is an absolute mess, great music to fall asleep to, though. Knopfler and Gill are horrendous and totally unlistenable (is this even remotely jazz, no it's mish-mash), and we get multiple David Foster entries. Again???? WHY??? And this is the best Chris and Herbie can come up with????? OK, it's very nice, smooth and mellow, but - BIG YAWN!!!!! Makes me break out my "Maiden Voyage" and "ESP" CDs. Did anyone catch V. Gill on Sting's AXS special? I tell you, a real treat hearing him warble "Every Breath You Take". What the heck is this HYBRID smoothjazz/rockabilly/pop nonsense? It's like - "Boy, he's such a nice guy I think I'll invite him to duet." Hey Sting and Chris - it's a TOTAL MESS!!!Do not like the direction Chris is going in, let's call the duets Schmooze-Jazz, or better yet, "Oblivion". What bothers me the most about this CD is that there is nothing new with plenty of the same trumpet riffs heard MANY times before (exhaustion/burn-out possibly?). Another reviewer hit the nail on the head - there's nothing here that any first-chair trumpet couldn't duplicate or improve on.Again we're subjected to "pop-mucus" guest artists. ENOUGH, ENOUGH, EEEE-NUFF with the "duets" already; there have been a couple successes (Yoyo Ma, Paula Cole, Jill Scott) but the majority have been disasters, total embarrassments (John Mayer, Paul Buchanan, Steven Tyler, all on this CD). Answer - apparently Chris would rather try to appeal to his guest's fanbase than concentrate on what he does best (or used to do best) - lush, sensual jazz, tender (not boring) jazz standards in time, cool as Sinatra, scorching hot as you-know-who. His live "Someone To Watch Over Me" and "When I Fall In Love" probably hit ALL of these points and crystalize the definitive Botti-sound (for me at least). When I listen to Eric Clapton, I hear his "John Lee Hooker"/southern blues roots. What drew me to Chris in the first place was that I could hear specific jazz artists' influences clearly; I don't hear them anymore, wait a minute, yes I do, why, it's David Foster and R Kelly - Shizzam :(In music you've got to keep moving or you'll stagnate; Chris is not only stuck in neutral, he may actually be in reverse. Chris' tone is gorgeous, but there's got to be more than just that (enter self-indulgence here) to be interesting and entertaining and mesmerizing (not happening here). The whole CD seems like you're sitting in the driver's seat of a Ferrari but you're stuck in first gear! You know full well what these musicians are capable of but you're left with the feeling you've just listened to (I can't believe I'm going to say this) a Kenny G. or Michael Buble album - BIG GAPING YAWN!!! And just like Kenny G., Chris and Bobby Columby are evidently targeting a mass-appeal audience and I'm afraid he's going to lose his core "jazz" fans with this pile of dung, I know he's lost me. In the past, I used to get very upset when I read reviews saying he's sold out his jazz roots, but, boy, this CD proves those critiques were ominously foreboding - he's obviously thrown those roots under the bus with this "effort". WARNING: There is NO jazz on this CD. Sad to say, it's not even close. If you love Kenny G. and Michael Buble and Vince Gill and watching grass grow, you'll love this CD. What a shame.Look, it's obvious Chris is going for the "broad appeal" in the adult contemporary genre. Same thing happened in the 50's with Chet Baker, his jazz-oriented fans said "blow that horn, man", but he just wanted to sing and we know how that worked out. But with all of his professional friends like Herbie, Wynton and Billy Childs and Sting, hasn't one of them ever put his arm around Chris and said "Dude, you can't keep playin' the same songs every night and stay fresh and grow as a musician, it's literally impossible. Heck, your solos are probably note-for-note identical from one gig to the next." Pick up "Bootleg Miles-Live in Concert 1967" and each version of the same song was remarkably different each night - a live, breathing organism if you will. When big-name pop stars go out on tour, what are they playing, maybe 20, 30 or 40 shows? Chris plays about 250 to 300 dates a year and his brain must be numb for it.But the adulation out there must be highly intoxicating and addictive as must be the elite circle of friends he's gathered. And this CD just won Grammy Award? If I were Chris I would be embarrassed because it's not due to the caliber of the music, it's solely due to his status in the music business. Sadly, the Grammy will probably encourage him to keep making simlar CDs.EDIT 3/30/15 - The first time we saw Chris was in Durham, NC in January 2006. If you really want to see Chris and his band at their apex, go to YouTube and watch his concert in Newport, August 2006. And then listen to this CD again. The musicianship and creativity at that point in time was incredibly fresh and brilliant, the very pinnacle of Chris' embrace of "jazz". Chris, Jeremy and Bobby, if you're reading this, please watch that concert again, and especially note the genius of Chris, Billy Childs, Mark Whitfield, James Genus and Billy Kilson and how it all added up to the "Botti" sound. Chris had evolved from "Slowing Down the World" to "Cinema Paradiso" and would soon merge into "Flamenco Sketches"; seems like the creative juices stopped flowing (see Knopfler, Gill and Tyler again) and an addiction to non-stop touring completely took over. In my honest opinion, quality was replaced with quantity, what a shame. PLEASE watch the Newport concert - it is amazing.

When I first listened to Chris Botti's "Impressions" album, I wasn't sure what to think of it. There was an opera song, a country song (Randy Newman composer and Vince Gill singer and, of course, Chris Botti trumpeter) and a variety of other musical genres on this album. Quite different from the other Botti albums I have and love a lot.But after listening to this CD a few times, I seriously fell in love with it. "Losing You" stayed in my head for days. "Per Te" (For You) featuring Andrea Bocelli then captured my mind; I couldn't wait to hear it again. Then "Sevdah" started to be part of my everyday existence. And Mark Knopfler singing "What A Wonderful World" was just sheer happiness.Wow! Everything on this CD is truly beautiful.Impressions it is. Yes.It's all about Chris Botti, his trumpet and his judgment in choosing the magnificent artists with whom he collaborated on this album.He is an artist.

I have many CDs by Chris Botti and enjoy all of them.

Gran artista y deliciosas canciones

Ein Garant für musikalische Stilsicherheit, ein vollkommenes Klangerlebnis und das Erzeugen eines Stimmungsgemischs aus Melancholie, unkonkreter Nachdenklichkeit und subtiler Erotik, war Chris Botti vom ersten Album an. "First wish" ist mittlerweile 17 Jahre her und bis zum nun neuen Album "Impressions" wich er von diesem ihn prägenden Konzept niemals ab. Warum auch?Er ist der Ästet unter den großen Jazz-Trompetern unserer Zeit, absolut Meisterhaft sowohl an seinem Instrument als auch in der Auswahl der Stücke, um einem Album einen dramaturgischen Bogen zu geben. Auf "Impressions" nun einmal mehr, zum insgesamt zwölften Mal bisher (zehn Studio- und zwei Live-Alben).Was er spielt, ist nicht von der Struktur her kompliziert, keine verrückten Sessions in gut verqualmten Jazz-Kellern, sondern feingliedrige Melodiebögen, die verführen wollen, die die Sinne behutsam aus der Rationalität der Wirklichkeit locken. Und es ist immer wieder faszinierend, welch unendlich sanfte Klänge er diesem Instrument entlockt - das ist die Kunst! Der immer wieder in Kritiken aufkommende Vergleich mit Miles Davis in den 1950er und frühen 1960er Jahren ist geradezu zwingend. Wie auch Davis und der nicht minder legendäre Chet Baker spielt auch Botti eine "Martin Committee" Trompete und sein Spiel hält den Vergleich zu den beiden Jahrhundert-Trompetern mühelos stand.Auf "Impressions" verneigt sich Botti mit dem ewig schönen "Concierto de Aranjuez" vor Miles Davis, der dieses bereits 1939 von Joaquin Rodrigo komponierte Stück 1960 zum zentralen Thema seines legendären "Sketches of Spain" Albums und damit weltberühmt machte.Eine weitere Querverbindung zu Miles Davis auf diesem Album ist das Gastspiel von Herbie Hancock (von 1963-1968 bei Davis am Piano), der für das von ihm komponierte Stück "Tango suite" zu Botti ins Studio kam, um den Klavierpart selbst einzuspielen.Auch auf seinem neuen Album schlendert Chris Botti gelassen über Genre-Grenzen hinweg und fügt zusammen was zum Teil Jahrhunderte auseinander liegt. Das Album beginnt mit Chopins "Prelude No. 20 in c-minor" aus 1838 und ist nur drei Stücke weiter in der Zeit schon fast 160 Jahre später im Jahr 1995 bei Michael Jacksons "You are not alone" angekommen. Es funktioniert und fügt sich aneinander, ohne bemüht oder erzwungen zu klingen.Neben einigen anderen Gästen, Instrumentalisten wie Sänger, ist der Abschluss des Albums wahrlich dann der überraschende Höhepunkt der Platte. Überraschend, weil "What a wonderful world" sicherlich schon weit öfter aufgenommen wurde als dem Lied gut tut, und ein skeptisches Hochziehen einer Augenbraue, bei erstmaligem Überfliegen der Titelliste, ist auch völlig verständlich. Die Augenbraue beruhigt sich aber sobald man das Stück gehört und genossen hat. Mark Knopfler kam als Gast nebst Gitarre und spielte gemeinsam mit Botti und seinen Musikern eine Version dieses überstrapazierten Klassikers ein, die jeden der es hört das Lied neu entdecken lässt. Die Wechselwirkung von silbrig funkelnden Trompeten-Tönen, Knopflers weinender Gitarre und vor allem die Art, wie Knopfler den Text mehr spricht als singt, befreit die Nummer von jedem Kitsch - eine magische Aufnahme.Und auch insgesamt bleibt nur zu resümieren: "Impressions"? What a wonderful record!

Ich habe vorher noch nie etwas von Chris Botti gehört, habe ein Stück von seiner neuen CD "December" im Fernsehen gesehen und fand es einfach nur gut. Da ich aber nicht noch eine Weihnachts CD - denn darauf werden natürlich auch Weihnachts-Klassiker gespielt - sicher ganz hervorragend - wollte aber keine weitere weihnachtliche Musik-CD. Daraufhin habe ich mich erst mal schlau gemacht: Wer ist überhaupt Chris Botti, da ich kein Kenner der Jazz - oder Blues-Szene bin, da ich sie nicht so oft höre, wenn , wenn aber, dann gerne. Ich höre gern Jazz und Blues und auch Soulmusik, aber eben nicht so oft. Dann habe ich mich hier informiert, welche CDs er herausgebracht hat und mir einzelne angehört. Daraufhin war ich sofort von "Impressions" sehr begeistert. Wie gesagt , ich bin kein Kenner der Trompeter- und Jazz-Szene, aber sie interessiert mich schon. Til Brönner, Nils Wülker, sind die neuesten , die ich kenne und von denen ich auch eine CD besitze. Ich habe diese CDs gekauft, weil sie mir gefallen und kann auch keine grossen Abhandlungen darüber schreiben. aber natürlich schaue ich mir zusätzlich auch vor einem Kauf die Rezensionen an. Aber wenn ich voll überzeugt bin, dann auch schon mal nicht. Und diese hier habe ich auch voll aus dem Bauch heraus gekauft, nachdem ich etwas über den Hintergrund von Chris Botti erfahren habe. Sie ist sehr schön, wenn man einfach nur eine bestimmte Stimmung hat und auch mal allein sein möchte . Ist sehr schön bei Kerzenschein zu hören . Ein Teil der Titel war mir bekannt in anderen Versionen. Aber er spielt die Trompete so wunderbar, dass es eine ganz andere Version ist und auch kaum auffällt. das man diesen Titel schon zigmal gehört hat. Daneben auch mir unbekannte Titel, die er aber mit so viel Einfühlsamkeit spielt, Eine ganz tolle CD. Da ich die anderen CDs nicht kenne, habe ich keine Vergleichsmöglichkeit. Aber diese hier ist etwas für Abende, an denen man vielleicht auch mal allein sein möchte oder ist. Wunderbar ruhige Musik. Und as hat mir am meisten gefallen. Die Ruhe, mit der er seine Trompete spielt Die Stücke gehen auch angenehm ineinander über - sehr stimmig. Oder eben für eine Abend zu Zweit. Aus dieser Musik kann man viel machen. Oder seinen Weltschmerz verarbeiten. Fazit: zu dieser Musik gehört einfach Kerzenlicht und ein guter Espresso eventuell auch noch, ob allein oder zu Zweit . Sie ist wunderschön. Das ist für mich Trompete in ihrer schönsten Form. Und zum Schluss auch noch eines meiner frühen Lieblingslieder : What a wonderful world. .

I bought this cd for my dad dor Fathers Day having introduced him to the wonder that is Chris Botti through previous cds and dvds. I played it to check it out and every track is a delight. Have you ever thought what music you would like to be played at your funeral service-I want a mixture of evocative, uplifting and happy pieces, and almost certainly one of the tracks on this cd will be included.The Chopin prelude no 20 in C minor and Per Te featuring Andrea Bocelli were so beautiful I was in floods of tears. I'm not a jazz expert but I can't agree with the two reviewers who found this cd self indulgent or a mess. If anyone was indulged it was me. I've played it through twice now and if dad is to get it in June as a present, I'm going to have to get my own copy pretty damned quick because this will be something that I will never tire of hearing.If you've never tried Chris Botti before but you love luscious sounds and serene trumpetry- buy this cd now!!! I can also highly recommend the dvd Chris Botti-Live with orchestra and special guests which features Sting, Burt Bacharach, Gladys Knight and other talented musicians. I buy quite a few imports from USA and again this is one of my favourites. Chris Botti - Live With Orchestra and Special Guests [Blu-ray] [2007 ] Chris Botti - Live With Orchestra and Special Guests [Blu-ray] [2007