This Valentine’s Day, it seems appropriate that jazz trumpeter Chris Botti would perform live in the District for the myriad fans that will fill the Kennedy Center. Botti, whose 2004 CD, “When I Fall In Love” skyrocketed him to fame as the largest-selling American instrumental artist, is as candid as his talent is genuine.
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| Editor’s note: Botti’s Kennedy Center performance, presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society, is sold out as of press time. Please contact the Kennedy Center for updates. Kennedy-center.org or 202-467-4600. |
“I would not be playing the trumpet had it not been for Miles Davis playing ‘My Funny Valentine,'” he said.
Botti was 12 years old at the time and living with his parents in Corvalis, Ore. While not the most glamorous of places, Botti views it from a different perspective today.
“In hindsight, it was kind of cool,” he remembered. “There was nothing to do there except practice my trumpet so I’m grateful for that.”
To this day, Botti maintains that practice not only makes perfect, but that it is essential to staying on top of the game.
“Ninety-nine percent of success is based on two things, determination and your appetite for repetition. One percent is talent,” he said. And as though punctuating that conviction, he added. “I love going into the practice room every day and practicing my scales. This is what I do, every day. [It’s] a real workman’s attitude.”
Yeoman’s work ethic aside, Botti’s love affair is decidedly with the trumpet and not necessarily with the fame it has brought him. The 48-year-old artist, whose dozen albums include “Italia” and “Chris Botti in Boston,” said emphatically, “You have to give yourself to the horn every day.”
Botti will not share every little detail of this Valentine’s Day show but rather turns the spotlight away from himself momentarily, and onto the artists he has brought with him.
“First, I am very proud of the musicians I share the stage with; they are one of the great hand-picked groups in any genre from classical to jazz. I also carry with me probably one of the greatest singers, Lisa Fischer, who sings with the Rolling Stones. They are on tour so she is on the road with me. There are six of us on the stage plus Lisa and Caroline Campbell, the violinist who’s fantastic.”
Asking about his favorite song may give a clue to the performance, however.
“I love playing [the theme from] ‘Cinema Paradiso.’ That has become a signature tune for me.”
From here, it’s impossible not to ask about the personal life of this man who says he is “a romantic from afar.”
“I am in a good relationship right now,” he said. “For me, to be romantic is to just spend time with someone, because I never get to do it — I’m always working. The romantic days for me are always the odd days that no one pays attention to. They are my Valentine’s Days.”
Still Botti is pragmatic. His career is a choice he has made and one he is most grateful for, saying “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
