Chris Botti at Brisbane Powerhouse: A Night That Leaves the Room Wanting More

Chris Botti's 2026 world tour has been a substantial undertaking. Before arriving in Australia, the Grammy Award-winning trumpeter had already worked his way through Asia and a month across Europe, touching down in Sydney for the first of three dates: Sydney Opera House on 15 June, Brisbane Powerhouse on 16 June, and Melbourne's Palais Theatre on 17 June. A strictly limited Australian run, and a rare opportunity for local audiences to see one of contemporary jazz's most celebrated figures in an intimate setting.

The Artist and His Moment

Botti has been one of the most popular instrumentalists in the world for nearly three decades. His collaborators form an almost implausible list — Sting, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Steven Tyler, Andrea Bocelli, Yo-Yo Ma, and Herbie Hancock among them. He has topped jazz charts, earned multiple Gold and Platinum records, and performed on stages from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl. When he began touring with Sting as a featured soloist in 1999, his profile crossed from jazz credibility into something genuinely global.

Yet the 2026 tour arrives at a particular moment in Botti's career. In October 2023, he released Vol. 1, his debut for the storied Blue Note Records and his first studio album in over a decade. Produced by the legendary David Foster, whose credits span three Beatles, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey, and Madonna, the album represented a deliberate artistic reset. Having spent years successfully crossing jazz into pop territory, Botti used Vol. 1 to cross back, stripping away orchestral arrangements and special guests in favour of a small group acoustic jazz project built around standards. "I turned 60 in 2022, at a time that seemed like a restart for so many things in the world," he said of the record. "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."

Botti has spoken of Kind of Blue, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, and Pat Metheny's Beyond the Missouri Sky as the "lifestyle music" models he had in mind — music that is exquisite on its own terms but can also set a scene, instantly generating a sophisticated mood. The album's studio band brought in classical violinist Joshua Bell for a striking rendition of My Funny Valentine, and singer-songwriter John Splithoff, who wrote and performs the romantic Paris on the record, joined Botti on tour.

The album's title implies a sequel, and Vol. 2 is now anticipated. In the meantime, the 2026 world tour has become the live expression of that artistic recalibration: a touring show that balances the cinematic, melodic Botti that audiences know with the more intimate, jazz-focused sensibility of his Blue Note era.

The Stage and the Band

The production made a considered choice: no theatrical lighting, no elaborate staging. Musicians spread thoughtfully across a wide stage — pianist Julius Rodriguez to the left, drummer Lee Pearson anchoring the centre, lead guitarist Mark Whitfield to the right, with bassist Barry Stephenson completing the rhythm section. The layout gave each musician visual and sonic breathing room, and it showed in how they performed.

Botti opened with a selection of classics delivered in his signature style — softly blown, melodic, with a tone that is immediately recognisable. The trumpet lines were sweet without being sentimental, and slightly haunting in the way they filled the Powerhouse auditorium without ever seeming to push.

As the set moved into jazz standards, Botti shifted into what he does best: the role of bandleader who actually lets his band lead. He stepped back, gave his musicians the spotlight, and made a point of acknowledging each one individually. He spoke about Rodriguez with a mix of reverence and mock-exasperation, joking that the young pianist's staggering nuance and talent had given him genuine nightmares. It was clearly a sincere compliment.

Mark Whitfield's guitar solos were precise and unhurried, his decades of jazz experience evident in every phrase. A long-time Botti collaborator and one of the most respected jazz guitarists of his generation, he was a consistent pleasure throughout. Lee Pearson on drums and Barry Stephenson on bass provided the kind of rhythmic foundation that only gets noticed when you're paying attention, which is exactly how it should be.

The Guest Artists

A Chris Botti concert is as much about the curation of guest artists as it is about Botti himself, and the Powerhouse lineup delivered on all three counts.

Violinist Caroline Campbell was the first guest to join him on stage. An American violinist who has performed as a featured soloist with some of the world's most prestigious orchestras and a regular collaborator with both Botti and Andrea Bocelli, Campbell brought technical precision and genuine warmth to the classical section of the programme. Their reading of Ennio Morricone's Cinema Paradiso was the most musically cohesive passage of the evening — two instruments in genuine dialogue, neither competing for space.

John Splithoff followed. The Chicago-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is not a name widely known in Australia yet, but that may change. His voice sits in a soul-influenced register — clean, precise, melodically direct — and his performance drew one of the stronger crowd responses of the night. Splithoff wrote and performs Paris on Vol. 1, making his appearance on this tour something more than a hired guest slot. He and Botti have a genuine creative relationship, and it showed.

Fernando Varela closed the guest arc. The Puerto Rican classical crossover tenor is one of the most recognisable voices in Botti's touring orbit, a long-time collaborator whose operatic power provides a reliable counterpoint to Botti's understated trumpet style. His two-song set — Puccini's Nessun Dorma followed by Time to Say Goodbye — was delivered with full voice and considerable authority. Nessun Dorma in particular, one of opera's most demanding and most exposed moments, landed with the impact it deserves.

The Moment That Defined the Night

Late in the evening, while the main band took a brief break, Botti invited Campbell back to the stage for what appeared to be an impromptu additional set, teasing her out with the kind of easy stage chemistry that comes from years of touring together. Whether it was planned or spontaneous is largely beside the point; it played with warmth and conviction either way.

Then Botti asked if her parents were in the audience. She said yes, and pointed them out — midway back in the hall. He had them moved to the front. He then led Campbell off the stage and into the aisle, the two of them sharing the venue's single spotlight, to play directly to her parents across two musical numbers.

It is the kind of moment that a concert review struggles to accurately capture. Quietly done, quietly received, and quietly devastating in the best sense. The barrier between stage and audience dissolved entirely, and the room was very still.

The Encore and the Evening's Shape

The final stretch brought the energy back — more playful banter between Botti and his musicians, a looseness that had built naturally across the night. They left the stage, were pulled back, and the two-song encore that followed was delivered with the same care as the opening.

The Powerhouse was the right room for this. Its scale — intimate enough to feel every dynamic shift, formal enough to command the attention — suited Botti's aesthetic precisely. The result was an evening built on musicianship, generosity, and a rare ability to make a full room feel genuinely present.

For anyone still on the fence: if he comes back, go.

Chris Botti performed at Brisbane Powerhouse on 16 June 2026 as part of his 2026 world tour, which included dates across Asia and Europe before arriving in Australia. His most recent album, Vol. 1, produced by David Foster, is available now on Blue Note Records.

Photos: Randall Slavin