Botti plays cool jazz with style
The hair? Mussed and highlighted.
The pants? Pressed and pinstriped.
The jacket? Fitted and black velvet, of course.
Trumpeter Chris Botti is just as much about style as he is substance. He's a non-singing Chet Baker for our modern times, a dapper Ryan Seacrest doppelganger with a surplus of charm to match: On Wednesday at the Opera House, he spotted a youngster in the third row and learned that the 12-year-old played clarinet, drums, guitar, and piano. "Can I interest you in the trumpet?" Botti asked him, every bit earnest in a cool-dad kind of way.
Botti is also a terrific tease. When he opened the show with "Ave Maria," he played in profile position with just Peter Martin accompanying him on piano. Although the volume needed to be lowered, it was a perfect snapshot of the lean, cool jazz Botti has mastered since going solo in the mid-'90s. Eventually an ensemble fleshed out the lineup, but you suddenly missed Botti fixed in the lone spotlight. On "A Thousand Kisses Deep," his little bumblebee trills at the ends of his notes enticed but never overwhelmed.
In homage to his hero Miles Davis, Botti excelled on "Flamenco Sketches," from Davis's fabled "Kind of Blue," and later dedicated his silky take on "My Funny Valentine" to the legendary trumpeter.
Botti's deference to his band occasionally got the best of the show. It was a pleasure to hear Billy Kilson explore peaks and valleys on drums, but other times his fellow musicians nearly upstaged Botti. Guitarist Mark Whitfield, intentionally strutting his stuff in jest, took the lead on a breezy rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely. " The crowd loved it, but it meant less Botti for your buck.
Rounded out by bassist James Genus, the band dipped into different moods and grooves, from smooth soul to loose jam rock. That probably the unfortunate swerve into jazz-lite territory on "The Look of Love." Elevator, take me to the seventh floor, please.
From there the show went into soft focus, with guest vocals on three songs from Sy Smith, Whitfield's enthusiastic cousin. Her "American Idol"-ready singing was pleasant enough, but you could tell she had polished her emotions in the mirror an hour before the show. Her version of "Good Morning Heartache" made you miss Jill Scott's original cameo on the Grammy-nominated duet.
But along with Botti's charisma and superb playing, Whitfield buoyed the whole set, basking in the audience's adulation. "Don't encourage him," Botti warned. "We'll be here all night."
Well, if you insist.
James Reed can be reached at jreed@globe.com. 
