Viaggio italiano

Chris Botti explores his ethnic heritage on Italia, an artful, orchestrally infused collection of originals, classical vocal/operatic works, film-score excerpts, and jazz standards. The trumpeter’s love of movie legend Ennio Morricone is revisited on two tracks: the tragically beautiful “Deborah’s Theme” from Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America and the heroic “Gabriel’s Oboe” from The Mission. The soaring Botti-penned title track marks his first non-concert pairing with superstar tenor Andrea Bocelli, while he utilizes studio technology to duet with the late crooner (and Italian-American icon) Dean Martin on the chestnut “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” Botti shines as soloist on a pair of vocal pieces—the adult pop song “Caruso” (previously sung by Bocelli, among others) and Puccini’s “Nessum Dorma.”