When the 46-year-old modern-day jazz heartthrob closes his eyes and leans back for a solo of his old standbys, My Funny Valentine and Ennio Morricone's theme from Cinema Paradiso, the romance is complete.

Since the release of his first solo album in 1995, Chris Botti has built up an image of brooding romance, achieving stardom in contemporary pop. His jazz-inflected style, heavily influenced by Miles Davis, overflows with melody and mood.

But he doesn't want to be classified as just a jazz artist or as just an instrumentalist. Instead, he wants to take his music to as many listeners as possible. "Jazz and pop are like two roads running parallel," he says. "My music style has them crossing and blending."

This tour, his first in China, (today at Shanghai and tomorrow at the Forbidden City Concert Hall of Beijing), comes on the heels of his latest album, Italia, joined by stars such as Andrea Bocelli and Paula Cole. The new album is a love letter to the home of his ancestors (he's an Italian-American who frequently visits the country) with such songs as Ave Maria, Venice, Estat, and the title track Italia.

Born in Portland, Botti was musically influenced by his mother, a classically trained pianist. He pursued his music studies with a succession of outstanding teachers. He arrived at New York City in 1986 to pursue a music career following late trumpet master Woody Shaw. It was not long before Paul Simon caught wind of the upcoming trumpeter and selected him to join a 15-month world tour.

His representative albums include When I Fall in Love, To Love Again. Talking about his performance in China, he says it will be nothing like his albums.

Asked if there would be

any special nods to Chinese music, Botti smiled slyly. "We're going to have some surprise elements. But I'm not going to say what it is yet, because I don't want to blow it."

(China Daily 05/17/2008 page10)