When I Fall In Love

On his sixth studio effort, Chris Botti commenced a significant career shift. He went from a first-call trumpeter and later bandleader with a hard-earned audience to “an instrumental star,” according to his former boss Sting (who here sings on a bossa nova version of his own “La Belle Dame Sans Regrets”). All but one track on this lush album features The London Session Orchestra, so it’s Botti’s first “with strings” project. Instead of recording just one or two standards, as he’d done previously, here he interprets eight, including the title track and Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do,” featuring vocals by singer/songwriter Paula Cole. He also successfully delves into classical crossover repertoire with Ennio Morricone's “Cinema Paradiso” and “Time to Say Goodbye (Con Te Partiro)." The bonus-track version features two additional numbers, including Faure’s “Pavane,” in which Botti revisits his occasional European classical pursuits.