In the time leading up to the pandemic, American trumpeter and composer Chris Botti wasn’t sure if he’d add any albums to the 10 studio releases that had made up his catalog through 2012. 

Obviously, album sales had begun to tank as streaming and downloading took hold, and with Botti’s touring business being robust, he began to think there was really no need for more of his music. He even was entertaining the thought of leaving Columbia Records, the label that signed him before his fourth album, 2001’s Night Sessions, and had helped elevate him to a place where his albums consistently hit the top of the jazz chart.

“They did such a great job for me,” Botti said about Columbia in a phone interview. “But as 2015, ’16, ’17, ’18, right in there, I could kind of tell that Columbia Records was basically kind of in the Adele business, which I don’t fault them for. I think it’s a fine business. And so I kind of spent those years just touring and letting our touring do the talking.”

Coming out of the pandemic, two things surfaced that changed Botti’s thinking. 

“This opportunity came up to go to Blue Note, and that was thrilling because it’s such an iconic label,” Botti said. “And (label President) Don Was has been lovely to me, letting me kind of do whatever I want. 

“Then, obviously, having David Foster produce was the kind of kick in the butt. I felt if I could get him to come out of retirement and produce me, it would be super special and we should do this.”

Foster has had a storied career as a producer, songwriter, recording artist, keyboardist, and record executive, working with Chicago, Boz Scaggs, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, and Michael Bublé, among many others. Along the way, Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards.

What Foster produced for Botti was Vol. 1, which was released in 2023. Botti continues to tour in support of the album, with a local stop coming Sunday, March 9, at Honeywell Center in Wabash.

Stripped down

In approaching Vol. 1, Botti and Foster decided it would be a small group project featuring acoustic instrumentation and a selection of romantic standards such as “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” “My Funny Valentine,” and “Someday My Prince Will Come,” along with a couple of more contemporary tunes, including a cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You” — all centered around Botti’s trumpet. 

While Botti has frequently used full orchestras on previous albums, he knew this album called for a leaner treatment for the material.

“Part of the problem when you do one of those big orchestra records, you Google for an arranger and you turn over like everything to the arranger,” he said. “Then you fly all the way to London and you stand before the orchestra and if it doesn’t work, it’s toast. But when you’re doing something that is more stripped back like this, you can change songs, change (arrangements).

“This was so much more immediate, and we wanted to do a lifestyle record that was definitely stripped back, that was central to the sound of my horn and do kind of a more jazz record, but still make it lifestyle and approachable for people to listen to.”

Building his brand

Botti and Foster got the album they wanted. Vol. 1 is an elegant, highly melodic ballad-focused work. 

Elegance and sophistication have been constants for Botti throughout a career that began in the mid 1980s. He first began gaining notice when he joined Paul Simon’s touring band in 1990, a touring relationship that would continue through the decade.

Botti began his solo career in 1995 with First Wish, but it was in 2000 that his career got a pivotal boost when Sting hired him to join his band for his Brand New Day tour. In the midst of that tour, Botti was signed by Columbia Records and released Night Sessions. 

His profile and reputation have only grown with albums like 2004’s When I Fall in Love, 2007’s Italia, and his biggest release, the 2009 concert album Chris Botti in Boston, topping the jazz charts, with the latter crossing into pop territory.

His current shows include several selections from Vol. 1, but don’t expect an evening filled only with ballads from across Botti’s career. 

“In order to get an audience to feel music in their seats, so to speak, in their core, you can’t just play necessarily all of the beautiful stuff,” he said. “You’ve got to hit them with some visceral, kind of flashy and musical chop-oriented stuff that makes them go, ‘Oh my God!’ you know, like ‘Boom!’ ”

Botti considers the Vol. 1 title very much signaling a new phase in his career. Looking ahead, he sees himself picking up the pace on making albums while maintaining his heavy touring regimen.

“I’ll hopefully be on board with Blue Note for at least Vol. 1, 2, and 3. And we can knock them out pretty (quickly), like every year or year and a half,” Botti said. “That’s kind of what my thought process is, maybe do three things for Blue Note.”