These days, it seems like you're nobody unless you've got an all-star album on the shelves. Chris Botti [ tickets ] certainly proves to be somebody worth knowing on his celebrity-fueled new CD, "To Love Again: The Duets."

The acclaimed trumpeter triumphantly follows the path paved by Carlos Santana, Ray Charles and, most recently, Herbie Hancock with this solid record. Having spent time in both Paul Simon's and Sting's touring bands, Botti is obviously very well connected and it shows here. The A-list of entertainers who lend a hand includes Paula Cole, Michael Buble, Jill Scott and Gladys Knight.

Sting even turns up to check up on Botti and helps his former employee deliver a strong version of the romantic classic "What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" The former chief of Police, however, doesn't quite know his way around a standard to the degree that Buble does. The young crooner, as one would expect, gives a captivating performance on "Let There Be Love." At the other end of the scale--yet equally as expected--Aerosmith's Steven Tyler does near-permanent damage to the Charlie Chaplin-penned beauty "Smile."

Despite the mostly strong guest appearances, Botti is the true star on this album. His trumpet work is utterly gorgeous and warm on all the tracks. In fact, it's so good that the few pure instrumentals--notably "Embraceable You" and "I'll Be Seeing You"--are the absolute highlights of "To Love Again."