Trumpeter Chris Botti had already played in Frank Sinatra's and Paul Simon’s bands when he released his debut album in 1995. First Wish showcases both his fluid playing and his compositional prowess. The Oregon native wrote all but one track, which he cowrote. Its late-night metropolitan sound comes courtesy, in large part, of the contributions throughout of keyboardist Paul Joseph Moore from The Blue Nile. Here, “Worlds Outside” opens with an urbane funkiness driven by ex–Average White Band drummer Steve Ferrone. Two numbers have a Simon connection. The moody ”Like I Do” features Simon’s wife, former New Bohemian vocalist Edie Brickell, while the catchy “Cubism” boasts the late saxophone great Michael Brecker, with whom Botti toured in Simon's horn section.