My main squeeze surprised me with tickets to see Chris Botti for my birthday back in August. The concert was this past Saturday night at the historic Bardavon theater, a hop, skip and a jump from our house. It was one of the most special concerts I have been witness to.
Botti is a native of Oregon who was born in Portland, raised in
Corvallis, and spent two years of his childhood growing up in Italy.
His earliest musical influence was his mother, a classically trained
pianist and part-time piano teacher. He began playing trumpet at age 9
and, after hearing a recording of Miles Davis playing "My Funny
Valentine," realized the instrument was his key to "doing something
meaningful with my life."
"What is unique about him is that he has jazz chops and he comes from the world of jazz," Sting has said of Chris Botti.
"He also has a very refined pop sensibility. He looks great and he presents himself well. He works hard, and you know, you
see a star a mile off. So he was in my band for four years. He took the light. I'm very happy when people in my band take
the spotlight and say, "Let me run with this ball," because I'll just stand back and I'll look good."