Chris Botti in Boston on Blu-ray Disc Review
By Brandon A. DuHamel
The Performance
Chris Botti in Boston is the crossover Jazz musician's second appearance on Blu-ray Disc (
Chris Botti Live with Orchestra and Special Guests being the first). This second time around offers much of the same that has come to be expected from the trumpeter -- a blend of Jazz, Pop, and Classical that goes down easily with musical guests throughout from various genres.
Botti's most obvious influence is the late Jazz trumpeter and composer Miles Davis, and this performance of Botti and his ensemble in Boston Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops once again recalls one of Davis' most memorable albums,
Kind of Blue. But Botti's trumpet tone is much silkier than Davis', in keeping with his easy-to-listen-to style.
The performances on
Chris Botti in Boston not only show Botti's skill on his instrument, but the skill of his backing ensemble and their ease at performing in different styles, from Pop to Fusion to Traditional Jazz. Highlight instrumentals from the performance are the show opener "Ave Maria," one of Botti's signature pieces "When I Fall in Love," the Leonard Cohen penned "Hallelujah," made popular more recently by the late Jeff Buckley, and their tip-of-the-hat to Miles Davis, the
Kind of Blue number "Flamenco Sketches," which is also granted an appropriately moody black and white video presentation to go along with it.
Of course, there are the guest performances by Botti's numerous musical acquaintances that really shake things up. Most unusual would be Steven Tyler's appearance for the Aerosmith power ballad "Cryin'," which was certainly more on target than his attempt at the Jazz tune "Smile" -- a definite miss.
Highlight guest performances were cellist Yo-Yo Ma's duet with Botti on Andrea Morricone's "Cinema Paradiso", violinist Lucia Micarelli coming out for a performance of "Emmanuel," and Sting singing his song from his album
Ten Summoner's Tales, "Seven Days."
The Picture
Unlike Botti's previous Blu-ray release, nothing bad can be said about this 1080p/24 AVC/MPEG-4 transfer from Sony-BMG. The look is sharp, contrast is set perfectly and never blooms, blacks are deep, and flesh tones are natural. There is very little video noise, but DNR (Digital Noise Reduction) is not an issue. There is a lot of detail in clothing and skin and even strings on violins and guitars can be made out clearly.
The Sound
Chris Botti in Boston comes with a beautifully recorded and mixed 96kHz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack in addition to a LPCM (48kHz/24-bit) 2.0 option.
The 7.1 mix is perfectly balanced, with deep and musical low frequencies that aren't bloated, smooth high frequencies and a solid midrange. There is detailed instrumental separation across the front soundstage, nice "air" around each instrument and a nice amount of ambience mixed into the surround channels.
The 2.0 mix loses some smoothness in the high frequencies, sounding a bit more grungy, but it still retains the good dynamics, balance and separation of the 7.1 channel TrueHD mix. The ambient information sounds a little less natural and open, but it still provides a good aural presentation.
The Extras
There's one supplement provided here and it's a behind-the-scenes featurette (1.78:1/1080i) that shows the musicians rehearsing and preparing for the show as well as some sit-down interview segments.
Well, actually, there's a bit of a "hidden" extra on here as well. During the behind-the-scenes featurette, it is revealed that during one of the performances, a man took ill and went into convulsions at the beginning of John Mayer's appearance. The show had to be stopped for several minutes as the fan was tended to and rushed to the hospital. Thankfully, the fan was fine, and even made an appearance at the end of the featurette to say as much. When the show started back up, Botti, at the suggestion of Sting, came out with a small ensemble of musicians including Sting and Yo-Yo Ma, and performed the Sting song "Fragile," (1080p/24; Dolby TrueHD 7.1 96/24) which is included within this the featurette.
Final Thoughts
Botti knows how to play and his easy listening Jazz certainly appeals to a wide array of people, from soccer moms to well-respected musicians. This Blu-ray release of
Chris Botti in Boston is more evidence of why the man is so popular and the folks at Sony-BMG have done a marvelous job on this release. This is reference material all around and highly recommended for any true music fan.
Where to Buy
Product Details
- Performers: Chris Botti
- Directors: Jim Gable
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Audio/Languages: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (96kHz/24-bit), English LPCM 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit)
- Region: A
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rating: Not Rated
- Studio: Sony-BMG
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: March 31, 2009
- Run Time: 160 minutes
- List Price: $29.98
- Extras:
- Behind-the Scenes: Chris Botti in Boston
