Midnight Without You

Performer: Chris Botti
Artist: Jonatha Brooke; Paul Buchanan; Andy Snitzer; Tony Levin; Paul Joseph Moore
Engineer: Chris Botti; Keith Shortreed; Aron Keene; Kristen Koerner; Kevin Killen; Paul Joseph Moore
Producer: Chris Botti; Kevin Killen; Paul Joseph Moore; Andy Snitzer
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Chris Botti (trumpet, piano, keyboards); Paul Buchanan, Jonathan Brooke (vocals); Andy Snitzer (piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, programming); John Leventhal (organ); Harvey Jones (keyboards); Marc Shulman, Shane Fontayne, Gerry Leonard, Vincent Nguini, Larry Saltzman (guitar); Tony Levin, Jeff Allen, Bakithi Kumalo (bass); Shawn Pelton (drums, programming); Jerry Marotta (Native American drums, brushed cymbal, tom toms); Joe Bonadio (Native American drums, sordu, tambourine). The Blue Nile includes: Paul Buchanan (vocals); Paul Joseph Moore (piano, keyboards, programming). Recorded at Beartracks Studios, Suffern, New York; Shelter Island Studios and Truck Sound Studios, New York, New York. Personnel: Chris Botti (trumpet, piano, keyboards); Jonatha Brooke, Paul Buchanan (vocals); Gerry Leonard , Marc Shulman, Shane Fontayne, Vincent Nguini, Larry Saltzman (guitar); Andy Snitzer (piano, electric piano, Wurlitzer organ, programming, drum programming); Paul Joseph Moore (piano, keyboards, programming); John Levanthal (organ); Harvey Jones (keyboards); Shawn Pelton (drums, snare drum, drum programming); Jerry Marotta (cymbals); Joe Bonadio (tambourine). Audio Mixer: Kevin Killen. Recording information: Beartrack Studios, Suffern, NY; Beartracks Studios, Suffern, NY; Shelter Island Studios, New York, NY; Truck Sound Studios, New York, NY. Photographer: Frank Ockenfels. Unknown Contributor Roles: Jerry Marotta; Joe Bonadio. The trumpeter makes apologies for making albums whose very straightforward melodies owe more to his pop session work with Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, and Scritti Politti than the Chet Baker jazz vocabulary he grew up learning. If Botti was aiming for such a seemingly paradoxical blend of open spaces and smoky intimacy on Midnight Without You, he's definitely on the mark. A few of the tracks here -- most notably the snappy blues-based pop tunes "Regroovable" and "The Way Home" -- have seductive rhythm schemes and hypnotic gut-sticking hooks, but the rest just sort of hang back and play aloof, daring listeners to find them anything more than steamy, romantic background music for slow dancing and whatever comes next. The Blue Nile's Paul Buchanan infuses a folky vocal personality into the title track, and "Mr. Wah" uses those synth textures as a springboard for some more intensive improvisational funk exercises, but on tunes like "The Steps of Positano," "Never Gone," and "When Rain Falls" Botti's warm tones are in service of what amounts to a melancholy soundtrack to a rainy day. Which seems to be Botti's very intention. ~ Jonathan Widran

JazzTimes (10/97, p.75) - "...Botti's compositions have an elegant lushness which is tuneful and purposeful....he explores a [Bryan] Ferry-like landscape of textures..."

Chris Botti rose to fame as a crackerjack session and touring trumpeter for the likes of Sting, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, and Natalie Merchant. A trained jazz musician, Botti's solo albums evoke a cool-jazz persona similar to Chet Baker, while his use of superstar guest-vocalists ensures Botti a place in the pop charts. Botti released TO LOVE AGAIN in 2005, a sequel to his popular 2004 duets album WHEN I FALL IN LOVE.

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