Lineup

An instrumentalist who can play straight-ahead as well as smooth jazz with his own personal sound and not a small amount of charisma and stage presence, Chris Botti is truly a star in the world of jazz and beyond. The trumpeter has thoroughly established himself as one of the important, innovative figures of the contemporary music world.
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Botti’s career was not an overnight success. Nonetheless, he went on to release a slew of not only top-selling albums, but also Grammy award-winning ones. Since the release of his 2004 critically acclaimed album, When I Fall In Love, Chris Botti has become the largest-selling American instrumental artist. His success has crossed over to audiences usually reserved for pop music and his ongoing association with PBS has led to four #1 jazz albums, as well as multiple Gold, Platinum and Grammy Awards. His album, Impressions, won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental. Performing worldwide and selling more than 4 million albums, he has found a form of creative expression that begins in jazz and expands beyond the limits of any single genre.
Over the past three decades, Botti has recorded and performed with the best in music, including Sting, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Josh Groban, Yo-Yo Ma, Michael Bublé, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, John Mayer, Andrea Bocelli, Joshua Bell, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and even Frank Sinatra. The trumpeter has also performed with many of the finest symphonies and at some of the world's most prestigious venues, from Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl to the Sydney Opera House and the Real Teatro di San Carlo in Italy. His bands have always featured top-notch jazz players, many of whom are established leaders on their own – from Geoffrey Keezer to Billy Childs. The man seems to do it all and do it with style.

“I believe that everyone gets three rounds in their life,” says musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, producer, and recording artist David Foster. “For me, two are completed and I’m on to Round Three. I think you have to change it up every round. My mantra is retreat and attack in another direction, which I’ve done twice. Now I’m going to do it again.” Foster’s first round was as a studio musician, arranger, and recording artist. His second round was becoming one of the most successful songwriters and record producers in history — shepherding albums that have collectively sold in the hundreds of millions. This period of his four-decade career also found him creating The David Foster Foundation and volunteering his time and talent to over 400 charities, as well as becoming a household name as a performer throughout Asia where he tours annually. For his third round, Foster is gearing up to take on Broadway with several projects. These include writing the music for a new musical about the iconic, animated character Betty Boop, which will be directed by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell. Foster seems constitutionally incapable of resting on his laurels, and his relentless drive has propelled him throughout his career. Few other individuals can claim to have their fingerprints on more major moments in all of popular music than David Foster. He has created hit songs and award-winning gold and platinum albums for a diverse array of artists including Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Michael Bolton, Seal, Chaka Khan, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Chicago, Hall & Oates, Brandy, ’N Sync, Boz Scaggs, and Gloria Estefan. He has escorted singers who have straddled both pop and classical styles like Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban into the mainstream. He has also created culture-defining soundtracks for blockbuster films like The Bodyguard, Urban Cowboy, and St. Elmo’s Fire; and crafted timeless holiday classics, including perennial best-sellers like Josh Groban’s Noel, Michael Bublé’s Christmas, Celine Dion’s These Are Special Times, Rod Stewart’s Merry Christmas Baby, Andrea Bocelli’s My Christmas, and Mary J. Blige’s A Mary Christmas. For his remarkable work, Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards, including three for Producer of the Year, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe, and racked up three Oscar nominations for Best Original Song. He has also earned a reputation as a keen spotter of new talent, playing a key role in the discovery and career launches of Celine Dion, Josh Groban, and Michael Bublé. Recently, he has been performing with his wife—actress and singer Katharine McPhee—in a production they call The Kat and Dave Show.

Known for his warm baritone vocals, Gregory Porter rose to acclaim in the 2010s with his earthy, cross-pollinated brand of jazz, soul, and gospel. A gifted singer of standards as well as more contemporary soul material, Porter has earned favorable comparisons to his idols Nat King Cole, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder. Born in Los Angeles in 1971, Porter grew up in Bakersfield, California, where his mother was a minister. It was through his mother’s record collection that he fell under the spell of Cole, learning early on how to imitate him. Along with singing, he was also a gifted athlete, and left high school with a football scholarship to San Diego State University. However, after an injury to his shoulder derailed his sports career, he moved to Brooklyn where he worked days as a chef while performing in local jazz clubs. It was during this period that he met saxophonist, composer, and pianist Kamau Kenyatta, who became a mentor to Porter, introducing him to flutist Hubert Laws. Laws then featured Porter on a track on his 1998 album, Hubert Laws Remembers the Unforgettable Nat King Cole. Laws’ sister, Eloise Laws, also heard Porter during the sessions and cast him as one of the leads in the Tony-nominated musical It Ain’t Nothing But the Blues. In 2010, Porter released his debut album, Water, on Motéma Music. Well-received, it picked up a Grammy nod for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Be Good followed two years later and further showcased Porter’s remarkable vocal gifts. In September of 2013, Porter issued his third album and his Blue Note debut, Liquid Spirit. Produced by Brian Bacchus, the album landed at number two on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart, and scooped up the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. His second effort for Blue Note, Take Me to the Alley, released in early 2016, also won a Grammy. He’d go on to release Live in Berlin and the Grammy-nominated Nat King Cole & Me, featuring Porter’s versions of some of Cole’s most treasured classics, including “Smile” and “Mona Lisa.” The concert album One Night Only: Live at the Royal Albert Hall followed in 2018. His latest album, All Rise, was released in 2020 and was also nominated for a Grammy. Since his arrival on the international jazz scene, Porter has become an in-demand headliner at clubs, theaters and festivals all over the world. In past years, he has sailed on both The Jazz Cruise and Blue Note at Sea

An accomplished actress and singer, Katharine McPhee, first burst onto the scene during a storied run on Season 5 of American Idol (2006), finishing in second place. As an actress, she is well-known to television audiences for starring in the CBS drama series Scorpion (2014-2018), and also as one of the leads in the NBC musical drama Smash (2012-2013), executive produced by Steven Spielberg. She also starred in the Netflix comedy series, Country Comfort (2021). McPhee’s feature film credits include The House Bunny, Shark Night 3D, You May Not Kiss the Bride, and Bayou Caviar. Born in Los Angeles to a father who was a television producer and a mother who became a noted vocal coach, McPhee showed early musical talent and she was encouraged and even trained by her mother. She attended Boston Conservatory for three semesters, majoring in musical theatre, but left college before graduation and returned to Los Angeles to try out for television pilots. In March 2005, McPhee starred as Annie Oakley in a Cabrillo Music Theater production of the musical Annie Get Your Gun. But it was her successful audition and appearance on American Idol in 2006 that initially introduced her to a worldwide audience. As a singer, Katharine is renowned for her powerhouse presence and show-stopping performances. In 2006, her first single, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny,” debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales chart. Propelled by the gold-certified single, “Over It,” her 2007 self-titled album debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200. 2010 saw the release of two records, Unbroken and Christmas is the Time To Say I Love You. That year, her rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” also climbed the charts as a top-five holiday hit. She went on to independently release 2015’s Hysteria to much fan praise. In 2017, McPhee reimagined, recharged, and reinvigorated a host of timeless standards on her fifth full-length album, I Fall In Love Too Easily, produced by Don Was. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. A sought-after performer, Katharine has taken the stage for various PBS broadcasts throughout the years, including Foster and Friends, Chris Botti In Boston, and headlining her own SoundStage special. In Spring 2018, McPhee made her Broadway debut starring as Jenna in the hit musical Waitress, featuring music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. She then moved on to originate the leading role in the West End production of the show in London from February through June 2019. She later returned to star in the show one last time during the final weeks of its original run on Broadway from November 2019 through its closing on January 5, 2020. In addition to her acting and singing career, McPhee is a passionate philanthropist, having served as an ambassador for organizations such as BuildOn, Malaria No More, and Feeding America. In recent years, she has been performing with her husband—the keyboardist, composer and producer David Foster—in a production they call The Kat and Dave Show.

A captivating singer-songwriter who combines jazz, Brazilian, folk and other influences to create a wholly unique sound, Melody Gardot had to overcome remarkable physical and emotional challenges to become the successful and creative artist she is today. Born in New Jersey, Gardot started music lessons at the age of nine and spent her formative years in Philadelphia playing piano in Philadelphia bars at the age of 16 on Fridays and Saturdays for four hours a night. In November 2003 while riding her bicycle in the Old City neighborhood of that city, Gardot was struck by a jeep and sustained severe head, spinal, and pelvic injuries. Confined to a hospital bed for a year, she needed to relearn simple tasks and was left oversensitive to light and sound. Suffering from short- and long-term memory loss, she struggled with her sense of time. Encouraged by a physician who believed music would help heal her brain, Gardot learned to hum, then to sing into a tape recorder, and eventually to write songs. Given her oversensitivity to sound, she chose quieter music. On the treadmill, she listened to bossa nova by Stan Getz, specifically "The Girl from Ipanema." Unable to sit comfortably at the piano, she learned to play guitar on her back. During her recovery, she wrote songs that became part of the self-produced EP Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions. Gardot was reluctant to record her songs at first, stating that they were too private for the public to hear, but relented and sent a tape to WXPN, a Philadelphia public radio station, who put it on the air. Not long after, the tape found its way to the Universal Music Group. She released her first album, Worrisome Heart on Verve in 2006, then My One and Only Thrill on Verve in 2009, produced by Larry Klein, known for his work with Joni Mitchell and other notable singer-songwriters. Although beset with various long-term sensory effects of the accident, Gardot would go on to record four more albums for Decca, including The Absence, Currency of Man, Sunset in the Blue, and most recently Entre et Deux, an exquisite duet recording with pianist and composer Philippe Powell, son of the renowned Baden Powell. Blessed with a beautiful alto voice and grand insight as a songwriter, Gardot possesses a sultry, jazz-oriented style with a dusky persona that reflects not only her afflictions, but also the hope and joy of making her truly original music.

With five Grammy Awards, 14 Blues Foundation Awards, and a groundbreaking career spanning nearly 50 years under his belt, Keb’ Mo’ has established himself as one of the greatest blues musicians of his generation. Born and raised in Compton, Mo’ began his remarkable journey at the age of 21, when he landed his first major gig playing with Jefferson Airplane violinist Papa John Creach. For the next 20 years, Mo’ would work primarily behind the scenes under his birth name of Kevin Moore, establishing himself as a respected guitarist, songwriter, and arranger with a unique gift for linking the past and present in his evocative playing and singing. It wasn’t until 1994 that he would introduce the world to Keb’ Mo’ with the release of his widely acclaimed self-titled debut. Critics were quick to take note of Keb’s modern, genre-bending take on old school sounds, and two years later, he garnered his first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album with Just Like You. In the decades to come, Mo’ would take home four more Grammy Awards; top the Billboard Blues Chart seven times; perform everywhere from Carnegie Hall to The White House; collaborate with many including Taj Mahal, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, The Chicks, and Lyle Lovett; have compositions recorded and sampled by artists as diverse as B.B. King, Zac Brown, and BTS; release signature guitars with both Gibson and Martin; compose music for television series like Mike and Molly, Memphis Beat, B Positive, and Martha Stewart Living; and earn the Americana Music Association’s 2021 award for Lifetime Achievement in Performance. In addition to his extraordinary musical output, Mo’ also established himself as a captivating onscreen presence over the years, appearing as himself in Martin Scorcese’s The Blues, Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing, and even the iconic children’s series Sesame Street. He flexed his acting chops in a wide variety of projects, as well, portraying Robert Johnson in the 1998 documentary Can’t You Hear The Wind Howl, Howlin’ Wolf on CMT’s Sun Records, and the ghostly bluesman Possum in John Sayles’ 2007 film Honeydripper. A fixture on late night TV and award show stages, Mo’ has also performed on Letterman, Leno, Conan, Colbert, and Austin City Limits I,n addition to appearing on nationally televised broadcasts from The Kennedy Center, The Ryman Auditorium, and Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival. His latest album, Good to Be, artfully links the grit and groove of his Compton roots with strum and twang of his more recently adopted hometown of Nashville, TN, where Mo’ has lived and worked for the last eleven years.

After four decades of featured background singing with icons like Luther Vandross, The Rolling Stones, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, and Nine Inch Nails, Lisa Fischer set out to take center stage with her own humble, heartfelt song. The 2013 Best Documentary Oscar winning film Twenty Feet from Stardom altered the course of Fischer’s musical journey, telling her story, with clips of her legendary duets with Sting or with Mick Jagger on “Gimme Shelter,” left audiences eager to see and hear more, so Fischer took the chance to set out on her own reinventing classic songs with her co-conspirators JC Maillard and Grand Baton. Their organic fusion of Caribbean psychedelic soul and jazzy progressive rock ignited Fischer’s flexibility and freedom of expression, awakening her lifelong desire to make music that heals but still rocks the house. While Fischer’s range is legendary, her greatest gift is the ability to connect, to reach the hearts of her listeners. Raised in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, she emerged from New York’s fervent studio scene in the early 1980s, sang for two decades with legendary vocalist Luther Vandross, and released So Intense, earning her first Best R&B Performance Grammy with “How Can I Ease the Pain.” She joined the Rolling Stones for their 1989 Steel Wheels tour, and continued to grace their stage for the next 26 years. Her almost constant touring with Grand Baton began in 2014 and the group has been an in-demand act at clubs, theaters and festivals ever since. Fischer’s passion for constant growth and experimentation with different styles invited recent collaborations with jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Michael McDonald, Eric Krasno, Talib Kweli, Billy Childs and YoYo Ma, the BBC Proms/Jules Buckley and the Metropole Orkest, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Anna Deavere Smith’s Notes from the Field for HBO, and especially her full evening program The Classic Lisa Fischer with Grand Baton and Seattle Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and the National Philharmonic. She’s also toured with Charleston-based gospel/soul/blues group Ranky Tanky.

A regular panel member on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, Blue Note at Sea comic and event host Alonzo Bodden has been making audiences around the country laugh for more than 20 years. Bodden’s first big comedy break came when he was on the “New Faces of Comedy” showcase at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. However, it was as the Season Three winner of NBCʼs Last Comic Standing, where Bodden was first introduced to America. Since then, he has starred in two comedy specials for Showtime: Historically Incorrect and Who’s Paying Attention. His television appearances include ABC’s Dr. Ken and Fresh Off the Boat, Dr. Phil, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and Californication. A car and motorcycle aficionado, Bodden hosted Speed Channel’s 101 Cars You Must Drive and America’s Worst Driver on the Travel Channel. He’s also joined Jay Leno for several off-road trips on his CNBC series Jay Leno’s Garage. Bodden was a field correspondent on Animal Nation with Anthony Anderson, and a contributor on the Science Channel’s How to Build Everything. Bodden released his fifth comedy CD titled Man Overboard in 2018. He currently hosts the podcast Who’s Paying Attention? in which he gives his unique take on what’s going on in the world. In August 2019, Bodden starred in his fourth stand-up special, Alonzo Bodden: Heavy Lightweight, which premiered exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. In the special, he touches upon a range of topics from slavery, cell phones and the #MeToo movement, to millennials, Kanye West and Taco Bell. Bodden’s latest comedy special, Alonzo Bodden: Stupid Don’t Get Tired, was released in 2022 on YouTube by Helium Comedy Studios.

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