Slowing Down the World
Whether his trumpet is open or muted, Chris Botti is an artist of the subtlest detail, able to draw an emotion with the briefest phrase. Sometimes even a single note--a sudden high, a muffled half valve, or a burred aside in the lower register--can be telling.  OnSlowing Down the World, he's consciously invoking the quiet moments, creating limpid pools of melody and reflection. That attention to the nuance of mood is apparent in his solo on "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," when he begins with a welling, rising phrase that illuminates the mood created by vocalistSting. Botti is supported throughout by top-rank musicians like bassist Tony Levin and drummerPeter Erskine, and the London Sessions Orchestra, arranged and conducted by Anna Dudley, creates a plush carpet of sound on four tracks.Bob Jamescontributes his distinctive electric piano lines to "The Open Touch," and Botti sings on Randy Newman's "Same Girl," adding an intimate and plaintive tone that might suggestChet Baker, who Botti pays homage to onPlaying by Heart. --Adam Rains