Jazz great Chris Botti returns for Tucson encore

When he turned 60 last October, jazz trumpeter Chris Botti hit reset.

“I think that the whole world hit reset in so many ways,” he said. “It’s turning 60. It’s this whole thing that’s gone on the last three years.”

Botti had just finished recording his debut on the iconic jazz imprint Blue Note Records. “Chris Botti, Vol. 1,” released last week, is his first album in 10 years and it’s one that takes him full circle in his musical journey, back to the jazz that started it all before he crossed over and found pop stardom.

Botti’s longtime friend David Foster produced the album, which puts the emphasis squarely on Botti and his trumpet.

“This is maybe the most focused version of what I am kind of known for,” he said during a phone interview early this month to talk about his Fox Tucson Theatre concert on Thursday, Oct. 19.

The album mines some of jazz’s most popular standards including “Paris,” “Time On My Hands,” “My Funny Valentine” and “Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered,” with Foster arranging sometimes on the fly. That gave them the flexibility to “play something in a different key or completely different tempo” and change the character of a song. Botti cites the example of Foster’s dramatic intro to “Danny Boy,” which elevated the song from being the last on the album to the first.

“It has all this magic that David brought to it,” Botti said, ticking off the guest artists that included Joshua Bell and singer John Splithoff, who will be with Botti for the Tucson concert. “It has little surprises and gems, and yet if you put it on in your house, it’s got a really beautiful, tranquil thing. This world needs stuff like that these days. Everything is just so hyped up and this brings a really high-end version of musicians in a room to make something unapologetically beautiful.”

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“I’m very, very happy with the way the record came out,” he added. “It’s great to start this new chapter of my life and my career on this legendary record company .. and it felt right to call (the record) Vol. 1. Hopefully there will be a Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 shortly.”

Next up for Botti, who turned 61 last week: Racing cars.

“I got addicted to race cars, and only since February,” he said. “So I really switched up my life.”

Botti said he lives next to a racetrack between Los Angeles and Palm Springs and spends his off time working with coaches and racing his two Porsches and his McLaren around the track.

“This is obviously a new experience, but it is incredibly musical,” he said. “The similarities between music with the engine and the concentration and the flow is kind of similar to when the band is blazing in jazz, except the stakes are higher because, you know, you don’t want to hurt yourself. I got completely blown away at how it affected me. “

The concert, a followup to his April 2022 Tuscon show, starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Fox, 17 W. Congress St. Tickets are $20-$85 through foxtucson.com