Chris Botti
Blue Note131 West 3rd Street, New York 10012
Chris Botti brings his 22nd Annual Holiday Residency to Blue Note for a December date in the four-week run that stretches from mid-December into early January, including Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The bill names Botti alone, with no accompanying performers announced, and presents the engagement as his long-running annual return to the club. This is a trumpet-led set from an artist who has made the Blue Note part of his holiday calendar for more than two decades. Past editions have also made room for impromptu guests, though none are announced for this night.
A world-renowned trumpeter, Botti has called Blue Note home every December since 2005. The Wall Street Journal has described him as “a December institution in the Big Apple at the Blue Note,” a line that fits the scale and continuity of this residency. Its history includes surprise musical appearances by Sting and John Mayer in 2011, while attendees over the years have included Mary J. Blige and Paul Haggis. Botti himself frames the annual engagement as a return: “Coming to the Blue Note for as many years as I’ve been is like coming home,” he says, calling it “the best city, the best club, the greatest people.”
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.