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Jim Rotondi

Trumpeter Jim Rotondi began his musical studies at a very early age. His mother, a piano teacher, encouraged Jim to begin playing the piano at age eight. He took up the trumpet at age twelve.

In 1980 Jim graduated from Butte High School in Butte,Montana. He then attended North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas), where he graduated with a degree in trumpet performance. While in Texas, Jim was awarded first place in the International Trumpet Guild's jazz trumpet competition for the year 1984. After college Jim began recording and touring internationally with the Ray Charles Orchestra . Immediately following this he commenced a six year tenure with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. During this time Jim also became a member of organist Charles Earland's quintet. He currently tours with his own group, as well as with Grammy-winner Toshiko Akiyoshi and the collective known as One For All, which features a front line of Eric Alexander and Steve Davis.

Jim's extensive recording experience most recently includes the release of his second date as a leader for the Sharp Nine Label,titled "The Pleasure Dome", following a successful previous release on the same label as well as four CD's on the Criss Cross Jazz label. He can also be heard on several of Charles Earland's Highnote Records releases, alongside saxophonist Eric Alexander, with whom Jim made his recording debut on Eric's Delmark release "Straight Up." Other recordings include saxophonist George Coleman's Octet, featuring Harold Mabern, as well as drummer Ray Appleton's Sextet, which features Slide Hampton, Charles McPherson, and John Hicks. Jim is also a member of the aforementioned One For All, whose Sharp Nine Records releases "Too Soon To Tell" and "Optimism" received critical acclaim from Cadence, JazzTimes, and The Detroit Free Press.

Jim currently lives and works in the New York City area, where he maintains a vigorous performing, recording, composing and teaching schedule.He has recently given clinics at Emory University in Atlanta, the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Camp and served on the faculty of the Stanford Jazz Workshop in Palo Alto, California, as well as being an affiliate faculty member at the State University of New York in Purchase.

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Liner Notes

One For All: Blueslike

Read "One For All: Blueslike" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


As the timeworn adage goes, sometimes the best things come from situations where one is asked to function in less than ideal circumstances. When you have little time to analyze things and go with pure instincts, there's an air of veracity and spontaneity to the results that is seldom arrived at by any other means. Although the hard bop collective One For Allhas forged a shared identity through regular gigs and a growing catalog of recordings for several labels, including ...

5
Liner Notes

One For All: Live at Smoke Vol.1

Read "One For All: Live at Smoke Vol.1" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Aside from the musical fireworks that make the enclosed sides noteworthy, there are additional factors that mark Live at Smoke as a major event. For one thing, this “on location" recording is one of the rare live dates to grace the Criss Cross catalog. Furthermore, it serves as a perfect summation up to this point of One For All's musical fortunes as heard in the same venue that fostered the ensemble's very formation. Back in the mid-'80s, drummer Joe Farnsworth, ...

6
Liner Notes

Mike DiRubbo: Human Spirit

Read "Mike DiRubbo: Human Spirit" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


In an era that seems to more fully embrace the idea of the 'tough young tenor,' alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo puts forth a singular voice that stands apart from the crowd. With exceptions such as Kenny Garrett, Steve Wilson, and Vincent Herring, DiRubbo is one of the few musicians of this generation to choose the alto horn as his main axe, although his sound and approach seems heavily rooted in the conventions of the tenor and its many historic practitioners. ...

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Album Review

Jim Rotondi: Dark Blue

Read "Dark Blue" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Back in 1997 when Introducing Jim Rotondi announced that a major new trumpeter star was on the ascent, few could have predicted how important and prolific Rotondi would become to the mainstream landscape. A foremost stylist in the lineage of Freddie Hubbard and Wood Shaw, Rotondi quickly proved he had absorbed the legacy, only to jettison imitation in favor of innovation. Working regularly with his own groups and the hard bop ensemble One For All, Rotondi was a major force ...

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Album Review

Jim Rotondi: 1000 Rainbows

Read "1000 Rainbows" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay


1000 Rainbows swings beautifully, drawing together a few original tunes from trumpeter Jim Rotondi and some out-of-the-ordinary classics that are delivered in real style by a classy quintet. The New York-based Rotondi has been in the jazz scene for more than 20 years and has an extensive back catalog of recordings as a leader. This is his third Posi-tone release as leader, following Four Of A Kind (2008) and Blues For Brother Ray (2009). The musicians on ...

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Album Review

Jim Rotondi: 1000 Rainbows

Read "1000 Rainbows" reviewed by John Barron


On his third release as a leader for Posi-Tone Records, acclaimed trumpeter Jim Rotondi leads a stellar quintet of New York heavy-hitters on a straight-ahead presentation of original compositions and standard fare. Featuring the unremitting vibraphone work of Joe Locke, 1000 Rainbows swings hard through up-tempo burners, ballads and laid-back funk grooves. Rotondi and Locke are as like-minded as they come, unraveling shapely bebop- style lines full of vigor and surprise. The two, plus pianist Danny Grissett, ...

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Album Review

Jim Rotondi: 1000 Rainbows

Read "1000 Rainbows" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Trumpeter Jim Rotondi's steady stream of solo albums and work with the collective supergroup One For All--along with his role as a jazz educator and Selmer clinician--have put him at the epicenter of the jazz world. For this, his third album on Posi-Tone Records, Rotondi rounded up some fellow Big Apple-based heavy hitters to join him, including vibraphonist Joe Locke and drummer Bill Stewart. Rotondi tackles everything from The Beatles to Buddy Montgomery on 1000 Rainbows and, ...

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Recording

Jim Rotondi: Finesse

Jim Rotondi: Finesse

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

One of the first pairings of a jazz soloist with a big band and strings dates back to December 1947, and the event was largely an accident. At the time, Clef Records owner and producer Norman Granz was on a recording tear, trying to wax as much jazz as possible in advance of a threatened January 1, 1948 recording ban by the musicians union. Granz rented out an empty Carnegie Hall to record a batch of top artists, including alto ...

Recording

Jim Rotondi: 'At the Bird's Eye'

Jim Rotondi: 'At the Bird's Eye'

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Back in the '70s, soul-jazz albums featuring a tight trumpeter and saxophonist backed by a deep groove organist and persistent drummer. Prestige Records probably turned out more recording of that genre than most other lables—with organists like Don Patterson, Charles Earland, Richard “Groove" Holmes, Brother Jack McDuff and Leon Spencer Jr. The front line often featured saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. and trumpter Virgil Jones, with Idris Muhammad behind them on drums. [Pictured at top: Jim Rotondi] On trumpeter and flugelhornist ...

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Performance / Tour

Jim Rotondi at Tula's This Wednesday

Jim Rotondi at Tula's This Wednesday

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 TULA'S JAZZ CLUB 2214 2nd Ave Seattle 206-443-4221 2 sets starting at 7:30pm, $12.00, All Ages Former New York City trumpeter Jim Rotondi, who recently moved to Graz, Austria, is passing through town on Wednesday, February 2, to perform at Tula's before heading up to The Cellar in Vancouver. The band features Mark Taylor (saxophone), John Hansen (piano), Phil Sparks (bass) and Matt Jorgensen (drums). Reservations are suggested (206-443-4221). ...

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Performance / Tour

Jim Rotondi at Tula's Next Wednesday

Jim Rotondi at Tula's Next Wednesday

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 TULA'S JAZZ CLUB 2214 2nd Ave Seattle 206-443-4221 2 sets starting at 7:30pm, $12.00, All Ages

Former New York City trumpeter Jim Rotondi, who recently moved to Graz, Austria, is passing through town on Wednesday, February 2, to perform at Tula's before heading up to The Cellar in Vancouver.

The band features Mark Taylor (saxophone), John Hansen (piano), Phil Sparks (bass) and Matt Jorgensen (drums). Reservations are ...

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Recording

Jim Rotondi - 1000 Rainbows (Posi-Tone, 2010)

Jim Rotondi - 1000 Rainbows (Posi-Tone, 2010)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland

Trumpeter Jim Rotondi is a commanding presence on the mainstream jazz scene, both as a leader and a member of the collective One for All. On this album he leads a hard hitting ensemble consisting of Joe Locke on vibraphone, Danny Grissett on piano, Barak Mori on bass and Bill Stewart on drums. Being the only horn in the lineup gives Rotondi plenty of room to stretch out and using vibes gives the music a nice full sound. The evocatively ...

110

Recording

Jim Rotondi - 1000 Rainbows (Positone)

Jim Rotondi - 1000 Rainbows (Positone)

Source: Master of a Small House

Contextual questions of excessive repertory fealty are largely moot in the music of Jim Rotondi. A trumpeter who's canny style blends Hubbard-like velocity and clarity with a persuasive lyricism, his fixation on a stripes of hard bop steeped in 60s Blue Note decorum is hardly worth getting bent about, though there are those who would likely fault him for it just the same. This set couples his lubricious brass with Joe Locke's vibes and a standard rhythm section for a ...

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Recording

Jim Rotondi - 1000 Rainbows (2010)

Jim Rotondi - 1000 Rainbows (2010)

Source: Something Else!

By PicoIt must have been quite a journey for a life that started out in the wide open ranges of Montana and ended up in the hustle and bustle of the New York jazz scene, but trumpet player Jim Rotondi got there with an assist from the late, great trumpet player Clifford Brown. Playing at first the piano at age eight and then the trumpet at age twelve, when Rotondi got his first taste of the sweet sounds ...

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Performance / Tour

Jim Rotondi at Egan's - Thur, Feb 18

Jim Rotondi at Egan's - Thur, Feb 18

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene

New York trumpeter is passing through town on his way to Vancouver and will be performing at Egans Ballard Jam House on Thursday, February 18 at 9:00pm. The the intimate space of Egans, this promises to be an amazing show.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18 EGANS BALLARD JAM HOUSE 1707 NW Market Street Seattle, WA 98107

Tickets: $10 / All Ages Reservations: 206-789-1621

featuring: JIM ROTONDI - trumpet JOHN HANSEN ...

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Performance / Tour

Trumpeter Jim Rotondi's Tribute to Ray Charles at Smoke on June 5th & 6th, 2009

Trumpeter Jim Rotondi's Tribute to Ray Charles at Smoke on June 5th & 6th, 2009

Source: Two for the Show Media

Trumpeter Jim Rotondi will be performing with his Quintet in “Tribute to Ray Charles”- these performances are a celebration for his new Posi-Tone CD release titled Blues for Brother Ray “Rotondi has the passion and focus to find a place for the music in the new millennium.” --The New Yorker “Clearly, Rotondi emerges as one of the best of the post-Hubbard generation" --Chris Hovan, All About Jazz Jim Rotondi's Tribute to Ray Charles Eric Alexander (tenor saxophone) • Jim Rotondi ...

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Recording

Trumpeter Jim Rotondi Releases "Four of a Kind" on Posi-Tone

Trumpeter Jim Rotondi Releases "Four of a Kind" on Posi-Tone

Source: All About Jazz

The new release, Four of a Kind, on the Posi-Tone label, is a quartet date featuring Jim Rotundi - trumpet, David Hazeltine - piano & rhodes, John Webber - bass, and Joe Farnsworth - drums.

The disc features three Rotundi originals, one original each from Farnsworth and Hazeltine, along with a rendition of Cedar Walton's arrangement of “Manteca", and three standards, two of them arranged by Hazeltine ("What Kind Of Fool Am I?" and “Love For Sale").

The music on ...

"Clearly,(Rotondi) emerges as one of the best of the post-Hubbard generation" --Chris Hovan, All About Jazz

"(His) solos are a near-perfect amalgam of power, finesse and logic." - David A. Orthmann, All About Jazz

"One of the unsung heros of the trumpet." --Bret Primack

"Rotondi has the passion and focus to find a place for the music in the new millennium." --The New Yorker, Jan. 2003

"There isn't a better trumpet player in New York City than Jim Rotondi, for whom the word versatile is inadequate." --Bob Belden

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Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Finesse

Cellar Records
2024

buy

Dark Blue

Smoke Sessions Records
2016

buy

1000 Rainbows

Posi-Tone Records
2010

buy

Iron Man

Criss Cross
2006

buy

The Pleasure Dome

Sharp Nine Records
2004

buy

New Vistas

Criss Cross
2004

buy

Videos

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