That’s how film critic Rex Reed described Chris Botti, 43, further described by other music critics as "a gifted instrumentalist, a talented composer and a charismatic performer who has created a series of recordings that made him a virtual genre-of-one in the realm of contemporary jazz."
You have to listen to Chris’ album, especially his latest, When I Fall In Love (released by SonyBMG Records), in the privacy of your room, with the lights dimmed a bit and preferably sipping a glass of wine, for you to understand what Rex Reed meant. The highest note of his trumpet hits the innermost strings of your heart until your whole being is enveloped by it, a feeling akin to the few seconds leading to the climax of intimacy. Very sexy.
"I’m grateful I’ve been given the opportunity to reach into that peaceful, transcendent moment and share it with others," said Chris in a 20-minute free-wheeling overseas interview with Funfare (he was coming from New York where he maintains an apartment).
"After I came to New York," said Chris (a native of Oregon but born in Portland) in a magazine interview, "I realized I didn’t want to be a jazz musician. I love improvising, but you really need to live the bebop tradition in order to play it. That kind of music just moves a little too quickly for me. The music that really inspired me as a teenager was more like Miles Davis playing ballads with the second Quintet – you know that spacey thing when they broke down all the chords in the song? My music is more reined-in because it’s in a pop format..."
The When I Fall In Love album features guest vocal performances from Paula Cole (What’ll I Do and How Love Should Be) and Sting (La Belle Dame Sans Regrets) whom he befriended in 1999 when Chris joined Sting’s band as soloist on the Brand New Day tour. The other selections are No Ordinary Love, Let’s Fall In Love, Cinema Paradiso, Someone To Watch Over Me, Nearness Of You, Make Someone Happy, One For My Baby, My Romance and Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partiro).
Chris is performing at the Ayala Malls on Oct. 27, Friday, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Ayala Center Cebu Lagoon (call Concierge Hotline at 032-231-5342 local 324); and on Oct. 28, Saturday, 7 to 8 p.m. at the Greenbelt 3 Park, Makati City (call also Concierge Hotline 757-4853 for inquiries).
Here are excerpts from our interview:
Are the songs in your When I Fall In Love album your personal choices?
"They’re my favorites. Each song has some sort of history, has an interesting story to it. What’ll I Do, for example. That’s the very first song played years ago. I got to play One For My Baby with Frank Sinatra when I played in his band. My favorite movie is Cinema Paradiso so I just have to include its theme song in the album. My Romance has a very beautiful melody and the string arrangement is just as beautiful."
What do you like about Cinema Paradiso (the movie, also one of my favorites)?
"Well, the simplicity of the story about a boy growing up. That movie spoke to me and it still does. The music, written by Ennio Morricone, is just something else that makes me love that film so much."
But what’s one song that touches your heart to the core?
"Probably My Funny Valentine, the very first song I ever heard as a young man so many years ago."
If you were to serenade a woman, with what song would it be?
"It would be a sad song and I will do that when I go to the Philippines. When I sing that sad song, I will walk down the aisle and find that woman somewhere in the audience."
Your performance with Sting has been memorable to you. It marked a turning point in your career, didn’t it?
"Yes, it certainly did. That relationship is responsible for giving me a big international career. Sting has been my staunch supporter."
What were some of the memorable moments you had with Sting?
"Touring the world with him and his band in 1999 and 2000 was an incredible platform for me. Having him guest on my CDs and my DVDs has been memorable. He has been a great friend to me."
("Chris is like something from the Renaissance, sort of like a Botticelli," Sting was quoted in an old People magazine which also revealed that like Sting, Chris is devoted to yoga. "We’d do Ashtanga before we walked on stage," said Chris in that same story. "It erases all the no sleep, strange hours and suspect food you get on the road.")
They’re saying that this is the era of vocal jazz artists like Diana Krall and Norah Jones. Where do jazz instrumentalists like you come in?
"Well, we jazz instrumentalists have been very fortunate in the last couple of years to sell a lot of records and then be able to tour the world and walk on stage with this great band that I have and play music. If it’s a challenge, then we jazz instrumentalists are rising beautifully to the occasion."
You were called by film critic Rex Reed "the sexiest trumpeter since Chet Baker." Do you consider yourself sexy?
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! That’s funny! You know, I think that there is indeed an element of sexiness to the music when we transport the listeners to a level of either melancholy or romance or intimacy or something like that."
How much do you think does the sexiness or the good looks of a singer/performer contribute to the magic and beauty of a song, especially when he’s performing live?
"Hmmmm. I think that if you look historically at any instrumentalist, Chet Baker and Miles Davis being two of the examples, there’s always some sort of physicality to it. It’s also true in the case of Diana Krall and Norah Jones, you know."
In 2004, you were chosen by People magazine as one of The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. How did you feel about it?
"That was a very nice thing but I think it was... insane, actually. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! You know, I was teased by my friends but that was a very nice thing that (the magazine) did."
Come to think of it, what makes Chris Botti beautiful?
"You know, that’s... pop culture... part of my career. I don’t really deal with any of that stuff or look for it. The important thing is to keep my band working and to play music and to keep it on a high level."
Why trumpet and not any other instrument?
"The trumpet is the kind of instrument that keeps you honest. Most great instrumentalists play the trumpet; they don’t play multiple instruments. I can’t sit down and play a song on the piano even if my mother, who has been my early musical influence, is a classically-trained pianist and a part-time piano teacher. So I just stick with the trumpet. My trumpet is the only thing I take with me when I take a break and all my Ole Henriksen skin products."
At what age did you realize that you could play the trumpet?
"At 40. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! I’m kidding. I knew that I was good at playing the trumpet when I was a teenager, that I could do it a lot better than a lot of my other friends."
Besides your mother, who do you consider great influences in your style?
"Miles Davis is one of them. I first heard him when I was 11. He was playing My Funny Valentine."
Judging from your songs, you must be a very romantic person. Are you?
"Well, I hope I am. I mean, I sure love the idea. I’m never around to really be that romantic but I should love the notion of it."
Anyway, what can we expect from you during your performances here in Manila?
"A great, great band and a lot of great jazz music, and a very entertaining evening."
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)