Chris Botti Talks Bob Dylan Encounters from “Hearts of Fire” to Paul Simon Duets by Ray Padgett
Do you remember anything else about the Joni tour?
She was just incredible. It’s funny, when you drive to the airport with her in the morning, she loves to talk. She also loves to smoke. She’s smoking and talking, and then the way she talks and the way she observes things, it’s like her songs. It’s just so visual.
How do you mean?
So if we were playing in the middle of Saskatchewan or something like that, and we’re driving to the airport, she would just be commenting on the way the lights reflected off the hills this early in the morning. It’s just so her. You can just see like when she does “Both Sides Now” or whatever, how the visuals just come rolling off her tongue.
It was also one of the few times where a singer really put me in my place. She got cross with me early on in the rehearsals. She was like, “Chris, I’m the batter. Quit knocking me out of the fucking box.” It was something that stuck with me to this day.
You mean if you’re doing a solo or a line, get out of the way when she starts singing again?
Yeah. When you’re on stage, to not allow the tail of the trumpet to interfere with the vocalist. Whether it’s Bocelli or Sting or Streisand or whomever. You want them to have space. And I got a nice little backhand on that from Joni. She wanted me to add texture to the stuff, but in certain areas, obviously I was adding it too close to her voice.
I’m forever grateful she did that. I fucking learned a lot from that experience. Because most of the time, if you’re working with someone, they won’t have the balls to come down on you like that. But Joni doesn’t play.
Woody Shaw: A Jazz Virtuoso's Journey Through Innovation and Legacy
Introduction:
Woody Shaw, born Woody Herman Shaw Jr. seventy-nine years ago today on December 24, 1944, in Laurinburg, North Carolina, emerged as a transformative force in the world of jazz. A trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator, Shaw left an indelible mark on the genre. Widely regarded as one of the most influential jazz trumpeters and composers of…
"Dopo l'istante magico in cui i miei occhi si sono aperti nel mare, non mi è stato più possibile vedere, pensare, vivere come prima." Ci vorrebbe il mare... perdermi nella sua bellezza con le note di questa meraviglia potrei rinascere..❤