Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Day 214 Chris Botti Jazzed it up with the Pittsburgh Symphony POPS



Chris Botti  is a  trumpeter  who fuses jazz and pop and entertains by drawing the audience in with his  crisp sound and his personality; not to mention that he was named one of "People" magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People of 2004! It was a romantic evening in February  2015 when I last saw Chris Botti with the POPS (see Day 104). In 2015, he played  several  ballads from his CD, “When I Fall in Love”  and it was a romantic “dreamy” night.  I was excited for a repeat experience. 


 Reflection
With Pittsburgh Symphony POPS you can experience various artists with the fusion and  augmentation of the symphony (see 2016-17 season).  The smooth sound of  Botti’s  trumpet  and the full sound of the orchestra is a powerful combination.  In Emmanuel you get a breath taking  duet of  Botti’s  trumpet  and  Lucia Micarelli’s violin, combined with  the symphony (listen here).

This year his show was a totally different experience than the one in 2015. It felt more like a party, relaxed, and was more jazz weighted. He invited young musicians to move to the front empty seats, he played in the audience, and even had  a little girl from the audience join his jazz band on the drums.  

He always tours with a fantastic group of musicians and guest vocalists (who in  their  own right  could  have  a solo show with the POPS). The audience was brought to their feet  when vocalist  Sy  Smith sang “Look of Love” which had a  crescendo jazz scat  with Botti’s trumpet.  The audience was up again when  Lucia Micarelli “rocked it out” on her violin with  Botti’s  band and the symphony (listen here).  The  beauty of Botti’s skillful sound was displayed in his rendition of Hallelujah with its stand alone trumpet and guitar performance.  

Chris Botti  is a POPS favorite and he sure is  worth a view anytime that he is in town or on tour.  I overheard the gentlemen next to me say, “boy that guy sure puts on a show and knows how to work the crowd"!

(There are three more POPS shows in the 2016-17 season: Neil SadakaElla and Louis: All That Jazz and the Music of John Williams and an  interesting line up for the 2017-2018 season. )

Other Sources
(SY Smith) Look of Love in Pgh 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8I6P02iZQA