Chris Botti

GRAMMY-winning trumpeter Chris Botti has been one of the most popular instrumentalists in the world for nearly three decades. He’s collaborated with Sting, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Steven Tyler, Andrea Bocelli, Herbie Hancock, Yo-Yo Ma, and others; he’s topped the jazz charts with numerous albums, earned multiple Gold and Platinum records, and performed with symphony orchestras on stages from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl to the Sydney Opera House.

In short, Chris Botti really needs no introduction. Yet with his Blue Note Records debut, he’s offering one anyway. Vol. 1 is a fresh start: after crossing over from jazz renown to pop stardom, Botti’s first album in more than a decade finds him crossing back with a small-group project focused on acoustic jazz and classic standards.

"I turned 60 in 2022, at a time that seemed like a restart for so many things in the world," Botti says. "I wanted to strip away all the orchestral arrangements and special guests and focus more on my playing, the playing of my band, and these jazz classics that we always love playing on stage."

His conversation is peppered with references to everyone from Miles Davis to Keith Jarrett to Pat Metheny to Brad Mehldau. He cites landmark albums like Davis’ Kind of Blue, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, and Metheny’s Beyond the Missouri Sky as models for the kind of "lifestyle" music he set out to make—music that is exquisite on its own but can also set the scene for a coffee shop or hotel lounge.

Blue Note proved an ideal home for this artistic rebirth. "Anyone that's lucky enough to say they're on Blue Note Records should be pinching themselves," Botti says. "It's a fantastic honor. I had great runs on Verve and Columbia, so it’s amazing to now arrive on the most famous traditional jazz record label."

Not that Vol. 1 is a complete about-face—longtime fans will immediately recognize Botti’s glowing tone and regal melodicism, as well as his flair for investing a song's narrative with drama and emotion. "There’s a cinematic quality that I like to hear in music, and that I’ve found that audiences really love," he says. "The essence of that remains on this album. It’s paramount to me that there is incredible beauty and elegance to all of the performances and the way they’re recorded."

The album was produced by David Foster, whose credits include the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé, Diana Krall, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, and many others. "David commands so much respect from the musicians that he didn’t have to say much, but he would navigate the session in a very subtle way," Botti says. Foster also contributed the piano intro to "Danny Boy" that sets the tone for the album.

Botti's core band on Vol. 1 includes pianist Taylor Eigsti, bassist Zach Moses, keyboardist Julian Pollack, saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta.

They’re joined by additional musicians whose contributions include:
- Gilad Hekselman: atmospheric guitar lines on "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"
- Joshua Bell: violin on "My Funny Valentine"
- Leonardo Amuedo: guitar solos on "Two for the Road" and a bossa nova feel on "Time On My Hands"
- Esteban Castro: piano on "Old Folks"
- John Splithoff: songwriter and performer of "Paris"

Above all, it’s Botti’s clarion, heart‑wrenching trumpet that seizes the spotlight throughout Vol. 1—from the yearning melody of "Danny Boy" to the keening, airy melancholy of his Harmon mute on Miles Davis’ "Blue In Green," the hushed tenderness on Coldplay’s "Fix You," and the shimmering flurries on "Someday My Prince Will Come." He leaves no doubt of his mastery and his ability to speak from the soul of the instrument.

The title Vol. 1 implies a new beginning and hints at a Vol. 2 — "I'm so looking forward to that possibility," Botti concludes.