By June 2009, Chris Botti had released 12 solo albums. His first few releases are often classified as smooth jazz, though critic Alex Henderson argues that Botti's music was a cut above much of the genre; reviewing his 1999 album, "Slowing Down the World", Henderson writes "it would be a major mistake to lump it in with... outright elevator muzak ... Botti is capable of a lot more." That same year as well as the following year, Botti appeared as a "Pennington Great Performers" series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.