Chris Botti

Trumpeter Chris Botti is a gifted instrumentalist, a talented composer, and a charismatic performer who, since the release of his first solo album in 1995, has created a series of recordings which have made him a virtual genre-of-one in the realm of contemporary jazz, while at the same time capturing the attention of the pop music world. Through his singular combination of lush atmospheres and thoughtful improvisations, Botti has earned both critical acclaim and mainstream appreciation for a succession of best-selling albums, including When I Fall In Love (2004, #1 Top Jazz Album, #37 Billboard Top 200), To Love Again: The Duets (2005, #1 Top Jazz Album, #18 Billboard Top 200), and Chris Botti Live with Orchestra & Special Guests (2006, #2 Top Jazz Album).

Botti is a native of Oregon, who was born in Portland, raised in Corvallis, and spent two years of his childhood growing up in Italy. His earliest musical influence was his mother, a classically trained pianist and part-time piano teacher. He began playing trumpet at age 9 and, after hearing a recording of Miles Davis playing "My Funny Valentine," realized the instrument was his key to "doing something meaningful with my life."

He pursued his music studies with a succession of outstanding teachers including Professor Bill Adam and Dave Baker in Indiana, and, following a move to New York City in 1986, with the late trumpet master Woody Shaw.

"My music is more reined-in, because it's in a pop format," Chris has said. "But this atmospheric quality is what I really loved about jazz, and on my earlier CDs, I've tried to marry that feel to the textures and melodies you might hear on a record by Peter Gabriel or Bryan Ferry."

In the studio and on stage, Chris Botti has worked with such leading singer/songwriter/composers as Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Sting, and renowned film composer John Barry, among others; as a sideman, he has appeared on dozens of albums, compilations, and soundtracks. Botti's association with Sting, who appeared on Botti's To Love Again and When I Fall In Love, dates back to 1999 when the trumpeter joined the pop legend's band as featured soloist on the "Brand New Day" tour, which lasted two years.

"What is unique about him is that he has jazz chops and he comes from the world of jazz," Sting has said of Chris Botti. "He also has a very refined pop sensibility. He looks great and he presents himself well. He works hard, and you know, you see a star a mile off. So he was in my band for four years. He took the light. I'm very happy when people in my band take the spotlight and say, 'Let me run with this ball,' because I'll just stand back and I'll look good."

In addition to receiving an RIAA gold-certification for When I Fall in Love in 2004 and To Love Again in 2005 (both produced by Bobby Colomby), "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" (with vocals by Sting) earned a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals. Since then, Chris Botti has toured constantly, stopping only to tape his own PBS Special and DVD in Los Angeles in December of 2005.

"CHRIS BOTTI LIVE with Orchestra & Special Guests," shot December 1 and 2, 2005, over a Thursday - Friday run at LA's fabled Wilshire Theatre, inspired the Los Angeles Times music critic Don Heckman to write, "It was apparent, from the first notes Chris Botti played at the Wilshire Theatre on Friday, that the sold-out house was in for a special evening...Botti's virtuosic trumpet work, his inventive melody-making, his engaging onstage presence, and his powerful band, ruled the evening."

One of the world's most popular concert attractions, Chris Botti toured with Diana Krall in 2007 and will be one of the featured guests in Andrea Bocelli's upcoming live concert special slated to air on PBS in the late fall of 2007. He currently maintains one of the busiest touring schedules monitored by the industry, and the requests for television appearances, film scoring, and other projects are on the rise as the sound of his trumpet is heard by more and more listeners around the world.

Read more about Chris's new album Italia.


Contact Information

www.chrisbotti.com