GRAMMY-winning trumpeter Chris Botti has been one of the most popular instrumentalists in the world for nearly three decades; he’s collaborated with some of the biggest superstars on the planet, including Sting, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Steven Tyler, Andrea Bocelli, Herbie Hancock, Yo-Yo Ma, and others; he’s topped the jazz charts with numerous albums, earned multiple Gold and Platinum records, performed with symphony orchestras and on prestigious stages from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl to the Sydney Opera House.
In short, Chris Botti really needs no introduction. Yet with his Blue Note Records debut, he’s offering one anyway. Vol.1 is in many ways a fresh start for the trumpeter. Having successfully crossed over from jazz renown to pop stardom, Botti’s first album in more than a decade finds him crossing back, with a small group project focused on acoustic jazz and classic standards.
“I turned 60 in 2022, at a time that seemed like a restart for so many things in the world,” Botti says. “I wanted to strip away all the orchestral arrangements and special guests and focus more on my playing, the playing of my band, and these jazz classics that we always love playing on stage.”
While Botti could boast of the major names with whom he’s shared stages, this project allows him to share his enthusiasm for the jazz greats past and present that excite him – his conversation is peppered with references to everyone from Miles Davis to Keith Jarrett to Pat Metheny to Brad Mehldau. He points to landmark albums like Davis’ Kind of Blue, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, or Metheny’s duo outing with Charlie Haden, Beyond the Missouri Sky as models for the kind of “lifestyle” music he set out to make – music that is exquisite on its own but can also set the scene for a coffee shop or hotel lounge, instantly generating a sophisticated mood.
Of course, Botti couldn’t have found a more ideal home for this artistic rebirth. Blue Note has been a standard-bearer of jazz throughout its storied history, and the trumpeter found a receptive partner in label president Don Was. “Anyone that’s lucky enough to say they’re on Blue Note Records should be pinching themselves,” Botti says. “It’s a fantastic honor. I had great runs on Verve and Columbia, so it’s amazing to now arrive on the most famous traditional jazz record label.”
Not that Vol. 1 is a complete about-face – longtime fans will immediately recognize Botti’s glowing tone and regal melodicism, as well as his flair for investing the narrative of a song with high drama and vibrant emotion. “There’s a cinematic quality that I like to hear in music, and that I’ve found that audiences really love,” he says. “The essence of that remains on this album. It’s paramount to me that there is incredible beauty and elegance to all of the performances and the way they’re recorded.”
Botti has assembled a stellar group of collaborators to achieve that blend of beauty and elegance for the album. The album was produced by the legendary David Foster, whose staggering list of credits includes three Beatles, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé, Diana Krall, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton and countless others.
“David commands so much respect from the musicians that he didn’t have to say much, but he would navigate the session in a very subtle way,” says Botti of the producer, who also contributed the lush, moving piano intro to “Danny Boy” that sets the tone for the album.
Botti has enjoyed a long collaboration with pianist Taylor Eigsti, while bassist Zach Moses, keyboardist Julian Pollack, and saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown are all members of his regular touring band. Veteran drummer Vinnie Colaiuta rounds out the core band.
They’re joined by a number of excellent musicians, including Israeli guitarist Gilad Hekselman, whose atmospheric, cascading lines grace the Rodgers & Hart classic “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”; classical violinist Joshua Bell, who brings a striking passion to Botti’s stark rendition of “My Funny Valentine”; Uruguayan-born guitarist Leonardo Amuedo, whose years in Brazil are reflected in his graceful soloing on Henry Mancini’s “Two for the Road” and the bossa nova feel he brings to “Time On My Hands”; pianist Esteban Castro, whose delicate restraint belies his youth on “Old Folks”; and singer-songwriter John Splithoff, who contributes and performs his romantic song “Paris.”
Above all, it’s Botti’s clarion, heart wrenching trumpet that seizes he spotlight throughout Vol. 1. From the way he sings the yearning melody of “Danny Boy” to the keening, airy melancholy of his Harmon mute playing on Miles Davis’ “Blue In Green”; the hushed tenderness he brings to Coldplay’s “Fix You” or his shimmering flurries on “Someday My Prince Will Come;” Botti leaves no doubt of his mastery or his ability to speak directly from the soul of the instrument.
The title of Vol. 1 implies a new beginning, but perhaps even more promising is the fact that it also hints at a Vol. 2 – and beyond. “I’m so looking forward to that possibility,” Botti concludes.
“Why see a show when you can BE the show!”
Always Jovi is a Tribute Like No Other, featuring Million-Selling New Jersey Rock Legend, Steve Brown – known for his work with Trixter, Def Leppard, and Ace Frehley. With his powerhouse vocal delivery, electrifying stage presence, and deep-rooted connection to the Jersey rock scene, Brown leads this all-star lineup in delivering the timeless hits that defined a generation.
Shanghai Ballet presents The Butterfly Lovers, a beloved classic often described as China’s Romeo and Juliet. This sweeping tale of love and sacrifice combines classical ballet with elements of Chinese aesthetics and storytelling. With sumptuous design, expressive choreography, and an impeccably unified ensemble, the production showcases the company’s technical strength and emotional depth.
Join pianist Margarita Rovenskaya for a program of solo piano works spanning a range of characters and countries. The music will include Schubert’s winding melodies, Schumann’s imaginative character contrasts, Beethoven and Prokofiev’s fiery energy. The program will end with Ukrainian composer Ilya Aizberg’s Hebrew Rhapsody, a piece that pays tribute to his Jewish heritage.
Suzanne Vega will perform a career-spanning show including favorites like “Tom’s Diner”, “Luka”, “Marlene On The Wall”, and many more, plus songs from her latest album, Flying with Angels, which was released in May 2025 to critical acclaim. She will be joined on stage by her longtime guitarist, Gerry Leonard (of David Bowie fame), and cellist Stephanie Winters.
Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk revival of the early 1980s. Accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, Vega sang what has been called contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world’s best-known venues. Known for performances that convey deep emotion, Vega’s distinctive, “clear, unwavering voice” (Rolling Stone) has been described as “a cool, dry sandpaper-brushed near-whisper” by The Washington Post, with NPR Music noting that she “has been making vital, inventive music” throughout the course of her decades-long career. Bearing the stamp of a masterful storyteller who “observes the world with a clinically poetic eye” (The New York Times), Vega’s songs have tended to focus on city life, ordinary people and real-world subjects. Notably succinct and understated, her work is immediately recognizable—as utterly distinct and thoughtful as it was when her voice was first heard on the radio over 40 years ago.
RENTAL EVENT - Join acclaimed vocalist Chris Pinnella and the 14- Piece Big Band Project for an extraordinary evening of music benefiting The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Trenton Diocesan Council—an unforgettable concert that helps support the important work of serving individuals and families throughout our community.
A battle is being waged for your soul from an office in hell! Witness a fast-paced, tour-de-force performance in this acclaimed adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ satiric masterpiece. This international hit offers a faithful stage adaptation of Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, following Screwtape, a senior tempter in Hell, as he schemes to capture the soul of an unsuspecting human on earth and reveals spiritual warfare in vivid, humorous and powerful ways.
Shemekia Copeland possesses one of the most instantly recognizable and deeply soulful roots music voices of our time. The multi-GRAMMY nominee is beloved and honored worldwide for the fearlessness, honesty and humor of her revelatory songs, as well as for her winning, engaging personality. The Chicago Tribune says, “Copeland is the greatest female blues vocalist working today. There’s no mistaking the majesty of her instrument, nor the ferocity of her delivery.”
Join us this November on Friday, Nov 6, for an outstanding lineup of singer-songwriters: Barbara Paskin, Dan Ravaglia, Ralph Rassa and The Amboys (Joel D. Brodsky + Michael Balog).
When They’re Gone - After an abrupt encounter at a graveyard, two elderly men form an unexpected bond over the grief and love of their late wives.
(HADDON HEIGHTS, NJ) -- The Village Playbox presents The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry across three weekends from November 6-21, 2026 at the First Presbyterian Church of Haddon Heights. This smash Broadway comedy, about an eventful wedding weekend at the estate of a wealthy American family, inspired an Oscar-winning film and the hit musical High Society.
(VINELAND, NJ) -- Cumberland Players presents The Pillowman across two weekends from November 6-15, 2026. With echoes of Stoppard, Kafka and the Brothers Grimm, The Pillowman centers on a writer in an unnamed totalitarian state who is being interrogated about his gruesome short stories and their similarities to a series of child murders.
(EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Playhouse 22 presents Working weekends from November 6-22, 2026. Based on Studs Terkel's best-selling book of interviews with American workers, Working paints a vivid portrait of the workers that the world so often takes for granted: the schoolteacher, the phone operator, the waitress, the millworker, the mason, and the housewife, just to name a few.
(RED BANK, NJ) -- Phoenix Productions presents Parade at Count Basie Center for the Arts from November 6-8, 2026. The tragic, true story of the trial and lynching of a man wrongly accused of murder is brought to theatrical life.
(SPRING LAKE, NJ) -- South Street Players presents the 16th Annual Tri-State Theatre Festival from November 6-8, 2026. Produced by Rob Sullivan, the festival showcases the best new short plays written by local writers from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
