Bay Area Chris Botti fans will have plenty of chances to see him perform at the start of the new year.
That’s because the immensely talented trumpeter — who is billed as the “world’s top-selling jazz instrumentalist” — is setting up shop at SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco for nine shows in just seven days during the first full week of January.
Botti plays one show per night — at 7:30 p.m. — Jan. 5-9. He then pulls double duty the next two days, with gigs at 3 and 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 and 3 and 7 p.m. on Jan. 11.
That’s a ton of options. So, in other words, if you end up missing Chris Botti this time around then we’re just going to assume that you don’t really like Chris Botti.
But, really, what’s not to like?
He’s a wonderful player — especially on those beautiful ballad numbers — with a tone that can melt hearts, bring tears to eyes and cause pulses to race.
And he’s certainly got an amazing resume, having honed his art backing such legends as Frank Sinatra, Buddy Rich, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell and Sting before becoming an A-lister in his own right.
Botti is known for such acclaimed albums as 2009’s “Live in Boston” and 2012’s “Impressions,” the latter of which went on to win the Grammy for best pop instrumental album. In 2023, he made his Blue Note Records debut with “Vol. 1,” which was his first new album in over a decade.
Botti is accompanied on this run with a great cast of musicians: saxophonist Chris Potter saxophones (Jan 5-8), violinist Anastasiia Mazurok, pianist Julian Pollack, bassist Daniel Chmielinski, drummer Lee Pearson and vocalists Sy Smith and John Splithoff.
Tickets start $64.50-$194.50, sfjazz.org.
