BY GARY BUDZAK
Trumpeter Chris Botti gave an excellent, virtuosic performance that featured both jazz and classical music at last night's Picnic with the Pops concert with the Columbus Symphony.
Wearing a suit and tie, Botti impressed from the outset, holding a note for more than a minute on Ave Maria. And unlike many pops concerts where the featured act comes out only for the second half, Botti played both halves.
In fact, this might be the first time this reviewer has seen conductor Albert-George Schram speechless in concert - although his multicolored vest was loud enough.
Amusingly, Botti called Schram George-Albert a couple times, but it might have been the only misstep the trumpeter made last night. For example, on Time to Say Goodbye, he played in harmony with the symphony.
Equally outstanding was Botti's jazz quartet of seven years ("now we're a dysfunctional family," he joked), and he featured each musician on extended solos. For example, in between piercing blasts of When I Fall in Love, Grammy-winning and Guggenheim Fellow pianist Billy Childs played a fiery one.
Botti, 48, started playing the trumpet at 9, and decided to make a career of it at 12 after hearing Miles Davis play My Funny Valentine. Early in the show, he played a dizzying version of Flamenco Sketches from the Davis album Kind of Blue.
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