It only takes a few sounds to recognize the "silky-smooth singing" of Chris Botti's famous trumpet.
In a career spanning over 30 years, he has toured, recorded and performed with top musicians and performers such as Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli and Joshua Bell, as well as Sting (tour "Brand New Day"
In 2012, thanks to the ninth album Impressions, Chris received a Grammy Award.
Childhood and early career of Chris Botti
The famous musician Christopher Botti was born on October 12, 1962 in Portland (Oregon, USA).
The boy started playing music at the age of 10 and made his first big stage performance before graduating from high school. Chris took lessons from renowned jazz instructor David Baker at Indiana University.
After graduating, Botti moved to New York, where he played with saxophonist George Coleman and master trumpeter Woody Shaw.
Being a virtuoso performer, Chris began to build a successful career as a session musician, playing on the records of famous pop artists such as Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and others.
In 1990, Botti began his five-year activity in the Paul Simon group, and also began to produce the work of other musicians in parallel. One of his tracks appeared on the Brecker Brothers album (1994), which won a Grammy Award.
Solo work of the musician
After collaborating with Paul Simon in 1995, Chris recorded his own album First Wish, in which he combined several styles - jazz, pop and rock music.
During this same period, Botti wrote the musical score for the feature film Caught, which was released in 1996.
In 1997, the trumpeter released his second solo album, Midnight Without You, and in 1999, the album Slowing Down the World, inspired by yoga, was released.
In a biography published on the Verve record label website, Botti said:
“This record is the result of a combination of my study of yoga and the music I play. It's more meditative and more organic than what I've done before."
Collaboration with Sting
The musician continued to play trumpet as a session player on recordings for other musicians, including Natalie Merchant.
He toured with Joni Mitchell and the experimental rock band Upper Extremities. The artist also performed a trumpet solo in the film Playing by Heart.
By 2001, Botti was playing trumpet as lead singer with Sting's band on the Brand New Day world tour.
“My collaboration with Sting brought my trumpet playing to a new state, our interaction made me very confident and elevated me to the peak of my performance…”, said Botti.
Botti then released his fourth album, Night Sessions (in a break from touring with Sting). The recording of the album marked a turning point in his development as an artist, and he gained worldwide fame.
To the question: “How is this album different from other records?” the musician replied, "I think he's more mature." In this album, the trumpeter established himself as a versatile musician.
From jazz to pop music thanks to its ability to combine both styles.
Miles Davis and Chris Botti's playing style
In addition to Sting, Botti's work was also influenced by the legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis.
As he said in an interview:
“I am fascinated by the fact that Miles understands that he cannot be a famous b-bopper and does not give it a global meaning, I am captivated by how Davis was able to focus on what is unique to him - creating the legendary sound of his incredible performance tones. My goal is to do the same. I also understand that I am not a b-bopper and do not strive to play as fast, although with a lot of experience and practice I could. But my task is different - I develop my signature sound.
To strike a balance between his tours with Sting, other musicians and his own solo work, Botti has always focused on "textural" performance and did not allow himself to be distracted by experimenting with other playing styles.
"My greatest weapon," in an interview with the Jazz Review, "is to always understand what I'm doing."
His main focus is to create a signature trumpet sound that will become his hallmark and belong only to him, making him unique and instantly recognizable.
“The trumpet,” he said, “is a very nasal instrument, and my goal in playing is to soften it so that I can sing through it to people. Once Miles did it for me, and I want to do it for the listener, I want the trumpet to sing.
Advice to Followers
To a frequent question from journalists: “What would you recommend to young musicians?” the famous trumpeter advised novice performers to be original and selflessly do their job.
It is important to maintain your uniqueness no matter what others say.
Chris Botti today
Today, Chris Botti is a world-famous jazz performer in the smoth style. Christopher is popular not only as a trumpeter, but also as a composer.
He has released 13 albums.
Playing around the world and selling over 4 million CDs of his recordings, he found a form of creative expression. It starts in jazz and spreads beyond any one genre.
