Chris Botti
Blue Note131 West 3rd Street, New York 10012
Chris Botti brings his 22nd Annual Holiday Residency to Blue Note on Christmas night. The trumpeter’s four-week December-to-early-January run has made the club a yearly home since 2005, with this date part of a tradition that also includes Christmas and New Year’s Eve performances. No accompanying performers are announced for this show. Past editions have included impromptu guests, including Sting and John Mayer in 2011, though no guest is listed for this evening.
Botti is a world-renowned trumpeter whose annual Blue Note appearances have become a defining New York holiday engagement. The Wall Street Journal called him “a December institution in the Big Apple at the Blue Note,” and Botti has described returning to the room each year as “like coming home.” His long-standing association with the club has drawn artists including Sting and John Mayer as unannounced musical guests, as well as audiences that have included Mary J. Blige and Paul Haggis.
Blue Note Jazz Club is a dedicated listening room in the heart of Manhattan's jazz district, where the music is the focus and the space is designed to let the sound fill the room. The club features a stage with a small audience area, and the atmosphere is one of quiet concentration on the music. Shows typically begin at 8:00 PM with a second set at 10:30 PM, and the audience sits on chairs close to the stage. The club has a bar, and drinks are available. The experience is primarily about listening to live jazz, with occasional gospel and soul performances, and the audience often stays to talk and enjoy the music after the sets.