Delivered with a level of passion and soul equal to the legendary singer-guitarist, Madrigal, The Ultimate Carlos Santana Experience, pays tribute to an artist and band that has transcended five decades of chart-topping success and developed one of the largest die-hard fan bases in the world. With such a tough act to follow, Madrigal has pulled out all the stops. Their sincere devotion to replicating the musicianship, sound and full Santana concert experience, is filling venues and rocking people’s socks off!  Madrigal’s attention to that signature blend of Latin-infused rock, jazz, blues, salsa, African rhythms, and the sonic charge of Santana’s guitar has led to sold out concerts.

The band’s frontman, renowned guitarist Jose Madrigal, is often mistaken for Carlos himself. The experience doesn’t stop there. Madrigal, The Ultimate Carlos Santana Experience is a complete festive package. Creating one of the world’s best-known musical signatures, Madrigal has over a half dozen professional musicians and vocalists that more than complete a show for the senses, each with their own distinctive talent. Every show provides a unique and high energy live music experience, featuring melodic blues-based guitar lines set against Latin percussion of timbales and congas, always leaving audiences wanting more!

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Playing with his uniquely expressive sound and soaring musical imagination, trumpeter Chris Botti is joined by featured artists Andrea Bocelli, Vince Gill, Herbie Hancock, Mark Knopfler, David Foster and Caroline Campbell in a warm, intimate celebration of melodic balladry.

Impressions, trumpeter Chris Botti’s new Sony CD, is the latest in a stellar parade of albums — starting with 2004’s When I Fall In Love and continuing with To Love Again, Italia and the CD/DVD Chris Botti In Boston — that have firmly established him as the world’s largest selling jazz instrumentalist. Add to that a cluster of Grammy nominations and three #1 albums on Billboard’s Jazz Albums listings.

As Botti began his planning for the new album, he was determined to do some “familiar songs” for Impressions, songs that reached back to his fascination with the melody and balladry that have been essential to his music since he first picked up a trumpet.

Songs such as “What A Wonderful World,’ “Summertime” and “Over the Rainbow” certainly fulfill that desire. But the album’s far-ranging program also encompasses many other areas, deeply influenced by conversations Botti had with fans during the busy, world-wide touring that keeps him on the road as much as 300 days a year.

“People kept mentioning Chris Botti In Boston,” he recalls. “They loved the music in that program. But they talked a lot about the variety among the performers, too – Yo Yo Ma, Steven Tyler, Sting, John Mayer, Josh Groban.”

Unlike the Boston album, however, Impressions was planned as a studio recording rather than a concert performance. So Botti and his manager/producer Bobby Colomby, put together a wish list of possible guest artists. The game plan: to match the variety in music and performers present in Chris Botti In Boston. But to do so in a very different way. At the top of the wish list, the legendary rocker from the band Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler.

“We had the idea,” says Botti, “of asking Mark to sing ‘What A Wonderful World.’ How much more different could we get than that?”

When Knopfler, who rarely sings songs by other writers, agreed to do the tune, the first important piece of the album was in place. Others quickly followed, some from unlikely sources.

Botti had been commissioned to do his version of Chopin’s Prelude No. 20 in C minor, and perform it in Warsaw for the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Always intrigued by the opportunity to take a classical work and, as he explains it, “play with the time, move things around,” Botti accepted the commission. “And I immediately realized,” he adds, “that Prelude could be the starting point for Impressions, as well.

Another serendipitous event – a concert at the White House – added a completely unexpected composition to the program. After Botti performed with pianist Herbie Hancock at the event, a state dinner for the President of China, Colomby suggested they compose a piece together. An afternoon of free improvising at Hancock’s house resulted in Tango Suite. And Hancock’s presence as a guest on the album.

A similar afternoon of creative compatibility – this time between Botti and pianist/composer/producer David Foster, with lyrics by Tiziano Ferro – produced “Per Te.” Sung by the incomparable tenor of Andrea Bocelli, it already sounds like a classic.
Country star Vince Gill, doing Randy Newman’s “Losing You,” was another of the album’s featured artists, his conversational, story-telling style adding more of the variety that Botti and Colomby were slowly accumulating for the album.

At the suggestion of arranger Mendoza, Colomby brought Brazilian guitarist Leonardo Amuedo to the studio, a further vital element was added. “We’d heard a lot of other guitar players, and liked everything they did,” says Botti. “But as soon as we heard Leo, we just started replacing all the guitar parts we’d already recorded. His beautiful, nylon classic Spanish guitar sound is all over this record.” And especially present in Brazilian songwriter Ivan Lins’ lovely “Setembro,” the soaring lines of Rodrigo’s “En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor,” “Over the Rainbow” and the contemplative Botti/Amuedo duet interpretation of R. Kelly’s “You Are Not Alone,” a hit for Michael Jackson.

Three other pieces brought more of the variety Botti was seeking. “Oblivion” is an Astor Piazolla tango, originally written for a chamber ensemble, here a romantic vehicle for Botti’s trumpet. “Sevdah,” with its cinematic Eastern European qualities and dramatic choral climax offers yet another hue to Impressions’ many musical colors. And “Contigo en La Distancia” adds the rich sensuality of a Cuban bolero.
As the songs began to accumulate, producer Colomby insisted on maintaining an open-minded receptivity, eager to allow the creative process leeway to produce the best possible results.. ‘His attitude,” says Botti, “was that it would be okay to record 19 songs even if we only used 13. That’s the way it turned out, and it was the right way to do it.”

Botti seemed destined to become a musician — and even to become the kind of musician he is today — almost from the very beginning. Born in Portland, Oregon, he was encouraged to pursue music by his mother, a concert pianist. He also had an early taste of the international world that would become his primary territory as a successful performing artist. His father, who is Italian, taught English and Italian languages, and he took the family to live in Italy for several years, beginning when Botti was in the first grade.

“I was speaking fluent Italian before we came back,” he recalls. “But, sadly, I’ve forgotten most of it.” That he still feels a firm connection with his Italian roots, however, was fully manifest in the title song he composed, with David Foster, for the album, Italia.

A different, but equally significant connection took place when Botti was twelve, and he heard Miles Davis play “My Funny Valentine.” The impact it had not only persuaded him to make a life time commitment to the trumpet, it also launched the affection for melody, space and balance that have been intrinsic aspects of Botti’s musical vision.

After attending Indiana University, and studying with the highly regarded jazz educator David Baker, the great trumpet teacher Bill Adam, jazz trumpeter Woody Shaw and jazz saxophonist George Coleman, he moved to New York in the mid-‘80s.

His early career was spent crafting his skills in settings reaching from the Buddy Rich Big Band and Frank Sinatra to Natalie Cole and Joni Mitchell. Throughout the ‘90s and into the new century, Botti played extensively with Paul Simon, and had an especially creative association with Sting.

Those gigs – and those relationships – were, he says, powerful learning experiences.
“Watching artists like Sting and Paul and Joni Mitchell,” explains Botti, “how they get in and out of songs, how they introduce people, whether they would do this or that sort of thing, what they would say about one of their players. All that was a huge asset for me. I wouldn’t be the performer I am today without that background.”

Now a major artist in his own right, performing worldwide, selling more than three million albums, he has found a form of creative expression that begins in jazz and expands beyond the limits of any single genre. With Impressions and the albums that preceded it, Chris Botti has thoroughly established himself as one of the important, innovative figures of the contemporary music world.

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The intensity of the Calloway project helped the band further hone it’s ability to honor the great musicians and music of the past while pushing the genre forward through interpretation and vision. Leader Scotty Morris has called that experience “The greatest musical education possible, and one that again solidified the brotherhood of the band.” While by design the musical focus of that session was Callowayʼs heyday of the 30s and 40s, Rattle Them Bones is a more expansive, ultimately liberating work that began with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s singer and chief songwriter drawing from some unexpected cultural wells.

“The goal with every album is to take the listener on a unique journey and the process this time involved choosing from my originals and a handful of covers we thought would fit the spirit of where the project seemed headed. Often as we start making sense of the material, the record tells us what itʼs going to be, and it was clear this time that we weren’t going to be limited to a single decade or vibe. We feel like we left Cab and started thinking about Don Draper and Mark Twain and along the way some fascinating ideas emerged that turned Rattle Them Bones into a real celebration of the landscape of American music we love so much.”

“After all these years,” Morris says, “I still enjoy writing in a vintage style. Iʼm always looking for ways to challenge myself as a writer, so for this record I wanted to do something I had never done before and that was to write a duet.” Not only was Morris able to rise to the challenge, but “It Only Took A Kiss” is one of the album’s real standouts. With its irresistible charm and timeless bounce it’s hard to believe itʼs not an 80 year-old standard. “We were looking for the classic, simple yet timeless kind of love song that Gershwin did so well. So influence from this particular era is foundational, but on the new album, the tune falls right in the middle of a grand sweep of musical Americana.”

That sweeping BBVD vision begins with “The Adventures Of…” a 35 second introduction that starts with the sound of an old film projector and transitions into a classic take on 20′s silent film music. “We wanted the listener to know that they were in for something wild!” says Morris.

“Diga Diga Do” is the album’s first full-length track and is a wild journey through the speakeasies of prohibition America. “We wanted to take one of the most popular songs of its time and breathe new life to it.” And breath new life they did — Diga Diga Do is a roller coaster ride of 20′s imagery; big horns, jungle drums, and dancing flapper girls. Think “The Great Gatsby” meets “Boardwalk Empire” meets Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
Next up is the fiery “The Jitters.” Morris sees the spirited tune as “A straight up, old school big band instrumental, like a 30ʼs horn section on steroids.” This one really draws the listener in and when the trumpet duel comes to a climax in middle of the tune, you really can’t deny that BBVD means business! With the rock and roll / swing hybrid “Let It Roll Again,” BBVD jumps ahead to the 40′s and early 50′s when big band and early R&B were making cozier bedfellows than we might remember.

Next is the easy swaying charm of the aforementioned duet, “It Only Took A Kiss,” which features the beautiful voice of Canadian singer / songwriter Meaghan Smith. “The second I finished writing that tune I heard only her singing it!” says Morris. The band then dives into the dance—dance— dance of “Sheʼs Always Right (Iʼm Never Wrong)” — a toe tapping jump blues that playfully reflects on the wordplay, misunderstandings, and conflict that can arise between lovers.

Morris has a great anecdote for the whimsical banjo driven “Why Me?” “An artist from Florida created a poster for one of our shows illustrated in the style of the old black and white Disney cartoons. We all loved the artwork and thought it would be fun to do a song that would sound like those guys playing.” “Why Me?” might be the most dangerous tune on the record — once you hear that hooky chorus, you’ll be singing it for a week.

“Devil’s Dance (featuring a lyric that gives the album it’s title) is a bright and brassy number full of New Orleans flavor and lively call and response that was initially inspired by Morris’ reading of Mark Twain’s “Puddinʼhead Wilson,” the 1894 satirical novel about life on the Mississippi.

BBVDʼs choice to cover Randy Newmanʼs mournful, sarcastically self loathing ballad, “Itʼs Lonely at the Top” is interesting in that the song, originally offered to Frank Sinatra, was turned down as Sinatra felt it portrayed him as too egotistical. “I love Randy Newmanʼs directness and the irony of this song felt like a perfect match for us. His take is more angry than ours – ours is a little more woe is me.” Ultimately it captures the idea that success is a double-edged sword.

Romance beckons on the lush and gently swinging, “Still In The Mood,” a tune harking back to the great ballads of the 50′s and the tender side of Count Basie. The band roars into the 60′s with the challenging and brilliant storytelling of Jon Hendricks,’ “Gimme That Wine” and then brings things full circle with fast and furious swagger of album closer, “5-10-15 Times.” Featuring a full big band, this is the sound of 18 musicians going all out, pedal to the metal in a take no prisoners approach that brings Rattle Them Bones to a close with excitement, passion, and energy as the band pulls into the station at the end of another wild ride.

By now the world knows the essential story of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy—the band co-founded by Morris and drummer Kurt Sodergren made their debut in their hometown of Ventura, California in April of 1993 helping to usher in the swing revival founded on a colorful fusion of classic American sounds including jazz, swing, and dixieland mixed with the energy and spirit of contemporary culture. They proved to be among the standout groups that launched the new swing era in the 90′s. The group, whose core lineup has been in place since 1995, includes Scotty Morris (lead vocals and guitar), Kurt Sodergren (drums and percussion), Dirk Shumaker (double bass and vocals), Andy Rowley (baritone saxophone and vocals), Glen “The Kid” Marhevka (trumpet), Karl Hunter (saxophones and clarinet) and Joshua Levy (piano and arranger.) Joining them on the road are Anthony Bonsera Jr. (lead trumpet) and Alex Henderson (trombone.)

Although music by other composers have been featured on each of the band’s albums, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has always focused on original music, producing an impressively diverse songbook, while embracing the past and today’s times with current perspective and new stories to tell. The band’s originals rocketed the group into its first phase of stardom when “You & Me and the Bottle Makes Three (Tonight)” and “Go Daddy-O” were featured in the 1996 indie film landmark Swingers. The film launched the careers of Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau and established BBVD as a cultural force beyond their home base of L.A.

The band has built a career through relentless touring and an impressive discography that includes the platinum selling, Americana Deluxe and follow-ups This Beautiful Life, Save My Soul, and Everything You Want For Christmas. Their music has appeared in countless films, television shows, and trailers including Swingers, The Wild, Despicable Me, Family Guy, Phineas and Ferb, Malcolm In The Middle, Ally McBeal, as well as multiple uses of songs for dance routines on Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance. The band’s songs have also been featured in multiple Olympic gymnastic and figure skating routines (including Carly Patterson’s 2004 gold medal win) and have been widely used for years as part of television broadcasts of high profile sporting events including the NFL, NBA, MLB, and PGA.

The band’s numerous television appearances include Dancing With The Stars, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan OʼBrian, Last Call with Carson Daley (the last of which the band wrote and recorded the show’s theme song.) The band has shown true bipartisanship having played private events for the three of the last four presidents as well as events at both the
Democratic and Republican National Conventions on multiple occasions.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy hit pop music superstardom with their appearance in front of millions during the halftime show of the 1999 Super Bowl, while their 2003 New Orleans inspired album, Save My Soul, shifted focus to playing theaters, performing arts centers, and large outdoor venues to selling out shows at the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Lincoln Center, Chastain Park and Constitution Hall, to name just a few. The band often plays more than 150 shows a year and has appeared as special guests with many of the great American symphony orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and U.S. Air Force Band.

While Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has sold millions of albums, the stage has always been the bandʼs first home. “We make records because we have to, but play live because we love to,” says Morris. Americana Deluxe was really the first album to capture what we were doing live and we strive to capture the energy and excitement of the live show in all our recordings. Itʼs amazing how the chemistry in this band still works after so many years. Whether on stage or traveling down the road on the bus, everyone is hanging out together, laughing and enjoying being part of such a remarkable enterprise and enduring friendship — one that is so rare in this business.”

“Weʼve never tried to put on airs or make people think weʼre something weʼre not,” he adds. “Thereʼs an integrity that comes from writing and playing songs the way folks did in the old days, when they did it to capture the audienceʼs imagination; not simply to click with a specific demographic. Our fans always know theyʼre getting the real thing from us and true emotion that comes from the heart. We have no interest in being pop stars, but we have an absolute love of American music and a strong desire to share that with people.”

As Big Bad Voodoo Daddy approaches their twenty-year anniversary, Rattle Them Bones clearly demonstrates that the nine-piece band is very much like a fine wine or spirit that gets better with age. “We’re far from finished making music,” claims Morris. “We have big plans for the next 20 years!”

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