Chris Botti
Blue Note131 West 3rd Street, New York 10012
Chris Botti brings his 22nd Annual Holiday Residency to Blue Note for a late-December New York date. The trumpeter has returned to the club every December since 2005, making this four-week run, spanning mid-December into early January, a long-running fixture of his calendar. The available listing bills Botti alone and does not establish the musicians or formation for this performance. Past residencies have included impromptu guests, including Sting and John Mayer in 2011, though none are announced for this night.
An American instrumental artist, Botti is a trumpeter whose work has reached listeners beyond jazz's usual audience. Blue Note credits him with four No. 1 jazz albums as well as Gold, Platinum and Grammy Awards. His collaborators have included Sting, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock and Yo-Yo Ma. Blue Note calls his trumpet a "clarion voice," while a review of Vol. 1 hears “inspiring jazz,” praising the playing's “soft touch” and nuance. The Wall Street Journal has described Botti as “a December institution in the Big Apple at the Blue Note.”
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.