LIVE with Orchestra and Special Guests

Two words to describe Chris Botti's latest release: ear candy. Or maybe auditory bliss would be a more accurate description? Either way, you get my point - I love this DVD. There are no gimmicks here - this is a beautiful, slickly produced concert that first and foremost showcases Botti's virtuosic trumpet playing (which is heavenly!). Most of the musical selections are culled from his latest studio album, the duets-heavy disc To Love Again (read my review of that album on Amazon). The duets are truly duets in every sense of the word - Botti's playing partners with each vocalist perfectly, and the two work to compliment each other, resulting in first-class performances. My favorite duets performances are Paul Cole singing "My One and Only Love," Renee Olstead singing "Pennies from Heaven" (amazing vocalist!), and Gladys Knight singing "Lover Man" (a fantastic performance, very classy). The weakest vocal is Jill Scott's on "Good Morning Heartache" - I love the studio version, but her vocal improvisation here is somewhat jarring, to say the least - but the song is still a great vehicle for Botti's playing and I love the lyric. Sting also appears for two songs - "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" and "My Funny Valentine" (it's a nice touch when Botti serenades Sting's wife sitting in the audience during the latter number). The program also features some swoon-worthy solos from Botti, especially "Someone to Watch Over Me," "When I Fall In Love," and "One For My Baby." His improvisation on these tracks is absolutely stunning, and the songs provide the perfect showcase for Botti's tremendous talent. The arrangements for all of the tracks sparkle, and it's fun to see and hear Botti and the band cut loose and have some fun with the music. This DVD comes packaged with a bonus CD featuring all the songs from the concert. This is an excellent live recording and a great document of Botti's skill with the trumpet. Now...not to sound (too) impatient or anything, but I am so ready for a new studio album!

I happened to catch most of this special on PBS the other night. What a lovely concert! Not at all boring. The chemistry between Chris and his guests is so apparent during their duets. You can totally feel that Chris' trumpet is an extension of him; it's his voice and, coupled with a talented singer, is truly a treat for the eyes and ears. I was a little disappointed with Paula Cole's rendition of The Look of Love; she sounded kind of like she was sick and was a little off-key. Other than that, she has a beautiful voice. But the best performance that I saw, the one that brought me to my feet, was JILL SCOTT. I have no words for how stunning her performance was. It was not a sad, slow song but it brought tears to my eyes because she was so phenomenal. She brought down the house! Sting was so-so and Paul Buchanan was so-so. I am sorry that I missed Gladys Knight. Renee Olstead has an incredible voice (esp. for someone so young) but the song she sang did not do her much justice. All in all, the concert was great- I wish I had been there. I can not wait for the DVD to come out!

This is a go to Blu-ray when I am showing off the sound on my system. As some have said since I believe it was shot in 2005 the video is not a "10" but IMHO that in no way distracted from the enjoyment of listening to and watching superb musicians on a special nightIf you enjoy it then get the Boston show too. Some very special moments on that one!!!

Too often, there are great concerts that get missed, because of a limited crowd or engagement. This is not one of them. My wife and I attended this concert, and lived through the flaws that were edited out. Nothing wrong with the performances, all the issues were accoustic or technical in nature.What you see here in the edited version is easily the best of the best... I saw this on HD TV several months ago, and have a copy saved. I am looking forward to replacing it with a DVD with behind the scenes footage.THIS IS A GREAT CONCERT, that deserves special recognition. A must for any Jazz collection! The incredible warmth of the performances is perfectly documented, and seem to come alive in your living/media room. Don't miss it!

I was never a big fan of Chris Botti. I’m skeptical of popular jazz musicians. I recently bought a new Blu-ray player but I have no blu-Ray CDs. The reviews claimed this to be one of the best engineered music Blu-Ray disks available so I thought it would be perfect to demo my new hardware. The music was great as was the sound engineering. This is a keeper.

I picked up this disc because: 1) I have "When I Fall in Love" (from Botti) and enjoy the content, and 2) it was recommended as a good "reference" disk for HD audio and video.The content is fairly entertaining - the "friends"/guests varied from ho-hum to quite entertaining. I especially enjoyed Gladys Knight, Jill Scott, and Renee Olstead. Botti is a fairly skilled musician, but doesn't really offer too much very "special" in the jazz arena. He does have an excellent band that he plays with, and each have good opportunity to spotlight their skills.As for audio and video quality, it really is current state-of-the-art. The video portion is recorded in its original format of 1080i (originally broadcast on PBS), and is really quite superb. But there is an 96KHz/24bit 5.1 audio track, something quite different entirely than the typical Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The audio quality is as good as I've heard - the equal to SACD and DVD-A.The price is right, so if you enjoy some "mainstream jazz" and some new arrangements of old "standards", and want the best audio and video that the current state-of-the-art can deliver, it's a great disc to put in your library.

Great recording , in excellent condition and arrived ahead of schedule. What's not to like?

Un excelente concierto qué no puede faltar en la colección

Il trombettista non ha bisogno di presentazioni, è uno dei migliori al mondo. Il concerto è bello, con ospiti importanti (tra gli altri Sting!). La traccia audio multicanale è ottima.

I am a relatively recent fan, courtesy of my wife who has followed him for at least a decade, and am a total convert. In fact he came to New Zealand in mid Feb this year for the first time ever and we had to fly back to Auckland for one night just to see him and then I (who was working down country) flew back down to work the next day. Boy was that a show. The drummer, guitarist, base player and the pianist were world class but the diminutive violist (who looked someone from the Game of Thrones) was something else altogether. Brilliant night, come back soon Chris!!Anyway, when we saw this BR show recorded live in LA was for sale we bought it and we both loved it. Again he has talent all around him AND a huge orchestra too this time (it was just his band in NZ) plus some fantastic guest singers etc. Have watched it a number of times and love the extras that come on the BR. If you're already a fan of CB then buy it, if you aren't then buy it and you soon will be!!

厳しい評価をされている方もいますが、どうしても気になる商品だったので購入しました。○画質、音質はさすがにブルーレイ、満足いくものでした。○かなり雰囲気のいいライブです。私の大好きなRenee Olsteadも出てくれて、これも満足。○ジャケットのタイトルにあるようにGuestsが何人が出てるので時間を割かれ、彼自身（ボッティ）の場面がちょっと少ないのが残念。結論から言わせていただくと・・・ボッティのファンなら「in Boston」をお勧めします。勿論、私も持っていますが。普通にジャズファンであればこちらを購入しても絶対損はないですよ。評価の厳しい方もいらっしゃるので購入せずにいましたが（かなり悩んだ）、私には大満足でしたよ。購入して良かったと思います。「in Boston」があまりにも素晴らしいので、比べてしまうとさすがに評価は下がると思いますが・・・・私もかなり悩んでの購入でしたが他にも悩んでる方がいましたら、私は購入をお勧めしますね。但し、「in Boston」と比べちゃダメですよ（笑）