CASS' CLIP

Gosh, I don't even know where to begin. Oh yeah, I hate it when I spend my hard earned money on a CD and only two or three of the 12 tracks are worth listening to. Well, that's NOT, I repeat, NOT, the case with Chris Botti's unbelievably beautiful CD, To Love Again.

My imagination runs wild when I hear the purity in an artist's music. Before I know it, my eyes are closed and I am transported to that very place in my imagination. In this instance, I imagined that I was in one of those old movies and me and my beloved are the only couple swaying on the dance floor to the music being performed by a big band orchestra.

When I opened my eyes, trumpeter Chris Botti stood up and our eyes met. He smiled, puckered up, then blew the first note of his solo rendition of George and Ira Gershwin's "Embraceable You".

The CD's title, To Love Again, perfectly conveys the care and, of course, love, Chris invested into making this CD. He absolutely captures the sound and mood of what it feels like to BE IN LOVE, TO LOSE LOVE, and to completely SURRENDER TO LOVE.

Joining this gifted instrumentalist on this LOVE-FEST are some of today's melodic and soulful vocalists -- Sting, Paula Cole, Michael Bublé , Jill Scott, Paul Buchanan, Gladys Knight, Renee Olstead, Rosa Passos, Steven Tyler. Also adding their magic are various talented musicians, with musicial arrangements by Billy Childs, Gil Goldstein, Heitor Pereira and Greg Phillinganes, along with the London Session Orchestra.

Three tracks that will surely linger with you long after the songs are over are "My One and Only Love" featuring Paula Cole, "Here's That Rainy Day," featuring Rosa Passos, and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" featuring Paul Buchanan. Oh my gawd, I cry every time I listen to these songs because they are sung with such breathless vulnerability and passionate grace.

"My One and Only Love"
Written by Robert Mellin and Guy Wood

"The very thought of you makes
My heart sing
Like an april breeze
On the wings of spring
And you appear in all your splendour
My one and only love

...You fill my eager heart with
Such desire
Every kiss you give
Sets my soul on fire
I give myself in sweet surrender
My one and only love..."

"Here's That Rainy Day"
Written by Johnny Burke & James Van Heusen

"Maybe I should have saved
those left-over dreams
funny, but here's that rainy day

...Funny how love becomes
a cold rainy day
funny, that rainy day is here!"

"Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
Written by Ron Turk and Lou Handman

"Are you lonesome tonight,
Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a brighter sunny day
When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?
Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?...."

The biggest surprise, however, was Chris' duet with Steven Tyler on "Smile". The arrangement has a lot to do with Tyler's performance, but he certainly does an admirable job and you really can't help but smile after you hear it.

"Smile"
Written by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons

"Smile though your heart is aching;
Smile even though it's breaking.
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by.
If you smile through your fear and sorrow,
Smile and maybe tomorrow,
You'll see the sun come shining through for you.

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide every trace of sadness.
Although a tear may be ever so near,

That's the time you must keep on trying,
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile,
If you just smile."

Of the 13 tracks, only four are instrumental. Not to take anything away from these vocalists, but the reason this CD is thoroughly fabulous is largely in part due to Chris Botti's engaging and eloquent interpretation of some very memorable classic and romantic ballads. He plays with such understated ease that it never overpowers the music nor the vocals. Every single note and register Botti delivers is enchanting.

[Sidebar: Truthfully folks, since Hurricane Katrina, it has been a struggle to maintain my sanity. But, since I purchased To Love Again back in October 2005, I have listened to it nearly everyday because the music centers me. [Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed about what's happening to us in New Orleans, but Chris' music somehow takes the edge off.] Recently, I played To Love Again for my new roommates, my parents (who I lovingly call, "The Old People"), while they were doing things around the house. After they heard the first track, "Embraceable You," they both stopped to reminiscence about where they were when they first heard it. [Okay, it's another long story, so I won't bore you with it.] Suffice it to say that after they heard the entire CD a couple of times, my dad said, "Thank you daughter for playing this for your mother and me. This was the best day we have had since the storm. We really needed this!" Of course, we all had a good cry after that.]

To Love Again is more than just listener-friendly, it's rooted in bewitching ballads, breathless moodiness, and velvet melodies.

Track Listing

1. Embraceable You
2. What are you doing the rest of your life (with Sting)
3. My One and Only Love (with Paula Cole)
4. Let there be love (with Michael Buble)
5. What's New
6. Good Morning Heartache (with Jill Scott)
7. To Love Again
8. Are You Lonesome tonight (with Paul Buchanan)
9. Lover man (with Gladys Knight)
10. I'll Be Seeing You
11. Pennies From Heaven (with Renee Olstead)
12. Here's that rainy day (with Rosa Passos)
13. Smile (with Steven Tyler)

CASS' CONCLUSION
Chris' hard work paid off because he won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for the song "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?" [Duet by Chris Botti and Sting, and arrangement Billy Childs, Gil Goldstein and Heitor Pereira].

Rarely have I loved a CD so much from beginning to end as I do this one. John Tarrant said, "Attention is the most basic form of love; through it we bless and are blessed." Chris Botti most certainly paid attention to every aspect of putting this CD together. And for that, anyone listening to To Love Again will feel as though they've been passionately kissed a thousand times and blessed a billizion times over.

To Love Again: