Customer Reviews

Chris Botti in Boston (CD/DVD)

5 star:		(133)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A front row seat to the best concert of the year. I love that artists are putting out CD/DVDs!!! Listening to Chris Botti's music is divine but watching him play is divin-est--I know thats not a real word but you get the idea :). Chris is a commanding presence on stage even when surrounded by stellar-stars like Sting, Steven Tyler, Yo-yo Ma, John Mayer and the sexy Katherine McPhee. He's confident and funny, and like all great performers, he takes your hand and navigates you seamlessly through the show. He remained calm even when, mid-song, a guy in the second row had a heart attack!! Apparently he lived (watch his hilarious intv. in the behind the scenes material)!

Then, of course, there is the music. Chris' version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is so hauntingly beautiful I cry every time I hear it. I had tons of favorites but his duet with Steven Tyler singing "Smile" is so fun to watch, maybe because the two-shot of them playing together is fantastically incongruous. His band kills on When I Fall in Love, which is another favorite. And as many times as I've heard Miles Davis' Flamenco Sketches I never tire of hearing Chris play it; or Time to Say Goodbye, or Caruso; or Seven Days, his duet with the sublime Sting (it's not possible that that man is nearly 60). I guess I love all the songs.

Spend the extra few $ for the DVD it's worth getting a peek of the rehearsal (with all the funny screw-ups and authenticity of unguarded stars) and the behind the scenes interviews with Chris and Sting and Yo yo Ma and Josh Groban....and then there's John Mayer's sweet Kodak moment. Priceless.

I'm not certain that Chris Botti could release anything that I wouldn't rate a 5 so understand my bias. I have most of his audio CDs and I would rate this one near the top. Botti, in his own icy-cool signature, soulful and soothing sound - draws from jazz, pop and classical musical in his line-up. This CD was recorded at an event which took place on September 18th 2008 at Boston's famous Symphony Hall where Botti is joined by the Boston Pops Orchestra. In addition to new and seemingly even more compelling spins on his classic instrumental trumpet solos ("When I fall in Love"; "Time to Say Goodbye"; "Ave Maria"), Botti invites a unique cast of artists to join him on stage including Sting, Josh Groban, Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Yo-Yo Ma, John Mayer and Katherine McPhee (American Idol) - with my favorites being "I've Got You Under My Skin" with Botti/McPhee and "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" with Botti/Sting and John Mayer's rendition of Sinatra's "Glad to Be Unhappy." Botti is at the top of his game in this performance - crisp, warm and soothing - and the man can hit and stick the high notes. Sit back, relax and be prepared to be entertained - - Botti has the magical ability to take you away to a happy place.

I agree with all the positive comments ... won't repeat here. BUT ... be SURE to pay the extra $3.00 to get the CD/DVD option ... three bucks! It is a wonderful DVD ... very well done. Almost two hours on stage ... plus extras ... a LOT of stuff on this DVD!

There are not many times in one's life where pure perfection is experienced but the "Chris Botti in Boston" DVD and music CD is one of them. Before you even listen to the music or see the DVD, you experience a mastery of package design and photography; the inside and outside black and white triptych is a creative visual feast as is the content booklet which is hidden in the center section.

From the first note, you know that something special is unfolding because of a tremendous sense of staging and audio space as created by the virtuoso master audio recordist, Al Schmitt, who should be considered the sixth member of Chris Botti's group.The other virtuoso artists in Chris' group include: Billy Childs-piano, Mark Whitfield-guitar, Robert Hurst-bass, and Billy Kilson-drums; masters all, each one bringing a unique talent to the event. Their synergy and energy synthesize into something unimaginable! All of this overlaid upon Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra whose very name invokes its well known excellence.

As if all this wasn't enough, there are the guest appearances by Sting, Josh Groban, Steven Tyler, YoYo Ma, John Mayer, Katherine McPhee, Lucia Micarelli, Sy Smith, Dominic Miller, Russ Irwin. What treasures and a splendid gift to the audience!

I won't even try to describe the performances in this work which are all beyond mere words so they must be heard.

I must also recognize the amazing multi-camera video work: the flying camera boom shots, the Steadicams, and every other implementation and process of the videomaker's art which left me breathless.

My personal experience? I am left with tears streaming down my face from the sight and sound of this magnificent work.

Live in Boston is a wonderfully filmed and recorded record of Chris Botti's recent performance with a host of guest artists and the Boston Pops orchestra late in 2008.

As always the band are tight and there are a number of spine tingling moments when the performances reach another level.

Chris is certainly not a Miles Davies - but his instrument control is superb and the tone he gets from the Trumpet is as good as anyone else playing out there at the moment.

Listening to this type of music in CD isolation can sometimes lose the sheer class of the actual performance, therefore having the DVD is without doubt a must.

I caught Chris last year at Ronnie Scotts in London and without doubt he is a class act AND a nice guy as well - He has time for his fans and must be one of the hardest working guys in the music business. (I think he has been on tour permanently for the last 3 years) therefore this CD/DVD deserves your support.

Buy it - You won't be disappointed

I was very disappointed when I unwrapped the package to find that this was just a single CD. There was no DVD included. Disc 2 was missing! The name of this product is "Chris Botti in Boston (CD/DVD)." The page on Amazon lists Disc 1 with 13 track and Disc 2 with 39 tracks. However, this is NOT CORRECT. If you order this item, you will only receive Disc 1. Lots of the other reviews here also describe the video. This all suggests that Amazon a different product into this slot on the web site and only made minimal changes (I see now in some places there's a reference to this being 'Audio CD'). But those references are not consistent with all the other content describing this product.

This is a big mistake Amazon.

Oh, and Chris Botti's music (especially this performance) is very good. I bought it after watching part of the DVD at a friend's house. Very compelling. This is why this review got at least 2 stars. Otherwise, the packaging and the incorrect description would have merited 1 star.

Well, there are lots of places to go if you have a time machine, but I'd probably start with Boston in the late summer of 2009. There, over a period of two days, the Boston Pops Orchestra held concerts featuring the inimitably smooth trumpeter, Chris Botti, accompanied by a cast of high-profile, high-talent musicians. I won't bother to list who sings what because you can look that up, but while you're back in Boston in 2009, what you want to keep your eyes and ears open for are Katharine McPhee's impeccable jazz phrasing (she's not a jazz singer, by the way), Yo-yo Ma's passionate and powerful cello, Sting's lively performance of his own songs with accompaniment from performers from the original recording, Lucia Micarelli's sweet violin (and her even sweeter plunge-to-the-waist evening dress), Josh Groban being Josh Groban, John Mayer doing a fairly impressive take on Frank Sinatra, Steven Tyler sounding like Aerosmith ("Cryin'") and not sounding like Aerosmith (Charlie Chaplin's "Smile"), and Sy Smith transporting us back to the `70's without a time machine with her funky rendition of The Look of Love. Pound for pound, Chris Botti has one of the clearest, resonant, and mellow sounding trumpets in the business, and he can blow it like nobody's business, too. High, low, muted, hand-cupped, all sound crisp and clear. He plays classics, jazz, funk, and pop, all with verve and confidence or reservation and serenity, whatever is called for by the song. His rhythm section is arguably one of the best jazz bands around and you won't find them slacking anywhere during the concert, but you will find them shockingly determined to outdo each other on Miles Davis' Flamenco Sketches, with Chris playing one of the three best solos you will ever hear played over this song. The winner, however, in my opinion, was guitarist Mark Whitfield, who takes you so far away from the song, you forget where you are, but when he brings you back into it, instead of transporting you to Spain, he just drops you in the middle of a bullfighting ring instead. Truly inspired playing and musicianship all around. While you're at the concert, pick up a T-shirt for me, please. What? You don't really have a time machine? Then I guess you'd better pick up this DVD/CD set, because without a time machine, this is the only way you're going to be able to experience this magical, unbelievable, stunning night of pure music performed the way music is meant to be performed: with soul, determination, and heartfelt gladness and appreciation that comes from sharing the music with an enthusiastic audience. I honestly don't think any fan of any music could be disappointed in any way by this CD and DVD. It will be many years before anyone is able to match the beauty and impressiveness of the wonderful musical performances in this collection. And you don't really think 115 5-star reviews out of 132 (before this writing) are wrong, do you? Just buy it.

This concert, this music, the sound of Chris' trumpet hits you right between the eyes. I used to compare him with my other favorites Miles and Chet, but Chris is beyond any comparison. My favorite CD is still A Thousand Kisses Deep. Italia is not, but enjoying this incredible concert I changed my mind. I'm glad he didn't renounce his jazz roots in this concert. And I must say the 3-star reviewer is right. This super DVD/CD deserves a better casing, this one is very cheap, but more ecological of course. There are four ways to get happy: have a nice wife, nice kid(s), a nice job and Chris Botti Live In Boston.
Dear Chris, come to Holland soon, and take Sting as your support act if you want to.

This and his other recent dvd are collectors gems. what a mood he can create and what great musicians he brings together. Great dvd performance.

I saw most of this concert on PBS, assuming they edited it to be the best parts for fund-raising purposes. Not so, there is more and it is all brilliant. I'm old enough to put it up there with Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall and Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall. The only difference is you can WATCH it! I can't pick favorite parts, it's all too good. It's time capsule material. I had the same satisfaction as I do watching a great M-G-M musical. Same caliber. Also a special nod to Lockhart and the "Pops", great job. Buy it and enjoy, or sit still and let them bury you!