Chris Botti tours China after first new album in a decade

When asked to name a song that has had a great influence on him, Grammy Award-winning trumpet virtuoso Chris Botti usually says My Funny Valentine.

Three years after he first learned to play the trumpet, Botti committed himself to it after hearing a recording of the song by his idol, Miles Davis.

Last October, Botti released Vol. 1, his first album in more than a decade and also his first with his new record company, Blue Note Records. He recorded a version of My Funny Valentine, along with his renditions of some of his favorite standards, including Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, Someday My Prince Will Come and Blue in Green. The new album allows him to share his enthusiasm for the jazz greats.

Botti and his ensemble, including drummer Lee Pearson, pianist Julian Pollack, violinist Anastasiia Mazurok and guitarist Leonardo Amuedo, launched a tour of China in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Wednesday. They will play in Zhengzhou, Henan province, on Friday, in Beijing on Saturday and Shanghai on Sunday. The tour features songs from the new album, including My Funny Valentine.

"The idea of recording it started my tour with Joshua Bell, a great violinist. We've been touring together for about seven years and we closed every evening with the song. We always said that we should record it someday, and we did it," says Botti, adding that the reason he loves Davis' version of My Funny Valentine is because he finds it beautiful and heartbreaking and it resonates with him.