"chris Do"

Trumpeter Chris Botti drops the synthesizers and drum loops of his previous effort, Thousand Kisses Deep, for a more elegant and traditional sound on When I Fall in Love. While Thousand Kisses Deep maximized Botti's penchant for mixing perfect pop songs with his Miles Davis-influenced jazz style, it nonetheless featured many of the electronic and processed sounds predictable on modern smooth jazz releases. By eschewing such "go to" pop-jazz production techniques as drum machines and synthesized strings in favor of the real instruments here, Botti ironically sounds utterly groundbreaking on what is ultimately a straight-ahead orchestral jazz album. While nowhere near as improvisationally adventurous as its predecessors, When I Fall in Love is still a revelation in the tradition of Sketches of Spain, Clifford Brown With Strings, and Wynton Marsalis' Hot House Flowers. Mixing standards and contemporary pop tunes all in a straight-ahead style, Botti gives his minimalist Miles-ian horn sound a chance to breath and be enjoyed on its own.

Indeed, whatever happened to Benny Santini? The name that Magnet Records were considering using for their new solo signing but instead he went with his real name of Chris Rea, and Deltics was his second album after Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? and his first to reach the charts, althoug it didn't make much of an impact, only peaking at number 54 in the spring of 1979 – not the best time for an introspective singer/songwriter to crash the charts. Named after the British Rail class 55 of diesel locomotive trains that were built in the early '60s and were just about to be withdrawn from service, Rea showed his interest in various forms of transport that would continue throughout his recording career.

A confident and consistent album, The Blue Cafe combines Rea's atmospheric songwriting with larger doses of his slide guitar playing than usual. An overlooked talent of his, it underlies this collection of contemporary sounding songs rooted in dance beats and blues (a strange combination, but it works). Two songs from different sides of the spectrum illustrate the album well: "Sweet Summer Day" is one of the best from a master of summer anthems ("On the Beach," "All Summer Long," etc.), while "Where Do We Go From Here?" is a bitingly perceptive indictment of the emptiness of consumer culture laid against a cool, smooth backing track. All in all, this is one of Rea's most introspective albums and a strong addition to his catalog.

Blues-roots guitarist Chris Duarte releases Ain't Giving Up, his 15th studio album. Featuring a wide range of outlaw blues, Americana, roots, and even alt-country influences, Ain't Giving Up finds the Austin, Texas guitarist teaming up for the first time in 22 years with producer-guitarist Dennis Herring, also known for his work with artists like Buddy Guy, Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello, and the Hives.