James Robert Rotondi (August 28, 1962 – July 8, 2024) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator, and conductor. The youngest of five siblings, Rotondi was born in

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the 2 ...

. He played in New York City for twenty years before moving to Austria. He taught at the University for Music and Dramatic Arts in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, Austria. He has released over fifteen albums as a leader for Sharp Nine, Criss Cross, Posi-Tone, and Smoke Sessions Records. He played on over eighty albums as a sideman. He performed and recorded with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

, the

Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra Toshiko is a feminine Japanese given name. Written forms Forms in kanji can include: *敏子 "agile/clever, child" *俊子 "genius, child" *淑子 "graceful/polite, child" *寿子 "longevity, child" *年子 "year/age, child" *歳子 "age/time, ...

Lou Donaldson Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr. (November 1, 1926 – November 9, 2024) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He was best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was he ...

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, Benny Sharoni, Eric Alexander, and

George Coleman George Edward Coleman (born March 8, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master. Early life Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was ...

. Rotondi led a quintet, which featured vibraphonist Joe Locke, and an electric band with

David Hazeltine David Perry Hazeltine (born October 27, 1958) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and educator. Early life Hazeltine was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 27, 1958. He began studying the piano at the age of nine, and first pe ...

called Full House, which used electronic sound on his trumpet and a variety of other electronic instruments. He was also a member of the group One for All. In 1984, while attending North Texas State University (

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

), he won first place in the International Trumpet Guild's jazz trumpet competition. Rotondi died of a heart attack in

Le Crest Le Crest () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. It is part of the urban area of Clermont-Ferrand. Originally, it was a market village in a rural area known for viticulture and other agricult ...

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

on July 8, 2024, at the age of 61.

Discography

As leader

* ''Introducing Jim Rotondi'' ( Criss Cross, 1997) * ''Jim's Bop'' (Criss Cross, 1997) * ''Reverence'' (Criss Cross, 2000) * ''Excursions'' (Criss Cross, 2000) * ''Destination Up'' (Sharp Nine, 2001) * ''New Vistas'' (Criss Cross, 2004) * ''The Pleasure Dome'' (Sharp Nine, 2004) * ''Iron Man'' (Criss Cross, 2006) * ''Four of a Kind'' ( Posi-Tone, 2008) * ''Blues for Brother Ray'' (Posi-Tone, 2009) * ''1000 Rainbows'' (Posi-Tone, 2010) * ''The Move'' (Criss Cross, 2010) * ''Live at Smalls'' ( Smalls Live, 2010) * ''Hard Hittin' at the Bird's Eye'' (Sharp Nine, 2013) * ''Dark Blue'' ( Smoke Sessions, 2016) * ''Over Here'' (Criss Cross, 2023) * ''Finesse'' (Cellar Music Group, 2024) * ''Bluesbag'' (G2 Records, 2024)

As sideman

With One for All * ''Too Soon to Tell'' (Sharp Nine, 1997) * ''Optimism'' (Sharp Nine, 1998) * ''Upward and Onward'' (Criss Cross, 1999) * ''What's Going On'' (Venus, 2000) * ''The Long Haul'' (Criss Cross, 2000) * ''The End of a Love Affair'' (Venus, 2001) * ''Live at Smoke Volume 1'' (Criss Cross, 2001) * ''Wide Horizons'' (Criss Cross, 2002) * ''No Problem'' (Venus, 2003) * ''Blueslike'' (Criss Cross, 2004) * ''Killer Joe'' (Venus, 2005) * ''The Lineup'' (Sharp Nine, 2006) * ''What's Going On?'' (Venus, 2007) * ''Return of the Lineup'' (Sharp Nine, 2009) * ''Incorrigible'' (JLP/Jazz Legacy Productions, 2009) * ''Invades Vancouver!'' (Cellar Live, 2010) * ''The Third Decade'' (Smoke Sessions, 2016) * ''Big George'' (Smoke Sessions, 2024) With Eric Alexander * ''

Straight Up Various unique terms are used in bartending. Definitions and usage Straight, up, and straight up In bartending, the terms "straight up" and "up" ordinarily refer to an alcoholic drink that is shaken or stirred with ice and then strained and ...

'' (Delmark, 1992) * ''Man with a Horn'' (

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...

, 1997) * ''Solid!'' (Milestone, 1998) * '' Mode for Mabes'' (Delmark, 1999) * ''

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

'' ( HighNote, 2000) * '' The Second Milestone'' (Milestone, 2001) * '' Temple of Olympic Zeus'' (HighNote, 2007) With

Charles Earland Charles Earland (May 24, 1941 – December 11, 1999) was an American jazz organist. Biography Earland was born in Philadelphia and learned to play the saxophone in high school. He played tenor with Jimmy McGriff at the age of 17 and in 1960 fo ...

* ''Blowing the Blues Away'' (HighNote, 1997) * ''Cookin' with the Mighty Burner'' (HighNote, 1999) * ''Live'' (Cannonball, 1999) * ''Stomp!'' (HighNote, 2000) * ''Charles Earland Tribute Band - Keepers of the Flame'' (HighNote, 2002) With

Irene Reid Irene Reid (September 23, 1930 – January 5, 2008) was an American jazz singer. Early life Reid was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia. She sang in church and in high school in Georgia, and moved to New York City in 1947 after her mother d ...

* ''Million Dollar Secret'' (Savant, 1997) * ''I Ain't Doing Too Bad'' (Savant, 1999) * ''The Uptown Lowdown'' (Savant, 2000) * ''One Monkey Don't Stop No Show'' (Savant, 2002) With others * One O'Clock Lab Band, ''Lab 85'' (North Texas Lab, 1985) * Ray Appleton, ''Killer Ray Rides Again'' (Sharp Nine, 1996) * Ann Hampton Callaway, ''To Ella with Love'' (After 9, 1996) *

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, DJ, electronic musician and author. He dominated professional snooker in the 1980s, when he reached eight ...

, ''Dig Deep'' (Criss Cross, 1997) * Bill Mobley, ''Live at Small's Vol. 1'' (Space Time, 1997) * Various Artists, ''45 years of Jazz and Blues'' (Delmark, 1997) * Various Artists, ''Funky Organ B-3 Jazz Grooves'' (HighNote, 1997) * Susan Tobocman, ''Watercolor Dream'' (C.A.P./Mike Longo Productions,1998) * Bill Mobley, ''Live at Small's Vol. 2'' (Space Time, 1998) *

, ''How It Is'' (Criss Cross, 1998) *

Giacomo Gates Giacomo Gates (born September 14, 1950) is an American jazz vocalist. Career Gates was born and raised in Connecticut. His father was a classical violinist. He made his public debut as a vocalist at the age of six. Soon after, he picked up guita ...

, ''Fly Rite'' (Sharp Nine, 1998) * Mike LeDonne, ''Then & Now'' (Double-Time, 1999) *

, ''90th Birthday Celebration'' (Sound Hills, 1999) *

Paul Bollenback Paul Norris Bollenback (born June 6, 1959) is a jazz guitarist who has appeared on ''Entertainment Tonight'', ''The Tonight Show'', ''The Today Show'', ''Joan Rivers'', and ''Good Morning America''. He has performed with Scott Ambush, Charlie ...

, ''Soul Grooves'' (Challenge, 1999) * Various Artists, ''Essential Young Lions, Vol. 2'' (Hip-O/UMe, 1999) * Various Artists, ''Jazz That Cooks'' (HighNote, 1999) * Various Artists, ''Jazz That's Easy'' (HighNote, 1999) * Dena DeRose, ''I Can See Clearly Now'' (Sharp Nine, 2000) *

, ''Danger High Voltage'' (Two and Four, 2000) * Randy Johnston, ''Homage'' (J Curve, 2000) * Various Artists, ''Jazz for a Summer Night'' (HighNote, 2000) * Various Artists, ''That Lonely Feeling Called the Blues'' (HighNote, 2000) * Mike LeDonne, ''Then and Now'' (Double-Time, 2000) * Mike LeDonne, ''Bag's Groove a Tribute to Milt Jackson'' (Double-Time, 2001) * Cecil Payne, ''Chic Boom, Live at the Jazz Showcase'' (Delmark, 2001) * Mike DiRubbo, ''Keep Steppin (Criss Cross, 2001) * Jazz Faculty @ Purchase College, ''10th Anniversary Celebration'' (Purchase Records, 2002) * Various Artists, ''Jazz for Singers and Dreamers'' (HighNote, 2002) * Dena DeRose, ''Love's Holiday'' (Sharp Nine, 2002) * Ned Otter, ''Secrets Inside'' (Two and Four, 2002) *

Toshiko Akiyoshi is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in ''Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. In 1984, sh ...

, Jazz Orchestra Featuring Lew Tabackin, ''Hiroshima Rising from the Abyss'' (Video Arts, 2002) * Mike DiRubbo, ''Human Spirit (Criss Cross, 2003) * Joe Farnsworth, ''It's Prime Time'' (441 Records, 2003) * Various Artists, ''Jazz with Gentle Rhythms'' (HighNote, 2003) * Eric Starr, ''She'' (Bronx Bound Records, 2003) * Seleno Clarke, ''Diversity #2 - Live at Smoke'' (Self-produced, 2003) *

, Jazz Orchestra Featuring Lew Tabackin, ''Last Live in Blue Note Tokyo'' (Warner Music Japan, 2004) * Full House, ''Champagne Taste'' – Nagel Heyer, 2005) * Kyle Eastwood, ''Paris Blue'' (Candid, 2005) * Westchester Jazz Orchestra, ''All In'' (WJO, 2007) * Peter Lerner, ''Cry For Peace'' (Blujazz Records, 2007) * Dimitri Kolesnik, ''Five Corners'' (Challenge, 2007) * Various Artists, ''Funky Pieces of Silver - The Horace Silver Songbook'' (HighNote, 2007) * Darren Solomon, ''Science for Girls'' (Self-produced, 2007) * Alex Graham, ''Brand New'' (Origin, 2008) * James Silberstein, ''Express Lane'' (Self-produced, 2008) * Ofer Assaf, ''Tangible Reality'' (Summit, 2008) *

Bob Mintzer Robert Alan Mintzer (born January 27, 1953) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. Early life Mintzer was born and raised in a Jewish family in New Rochelle, New York, on January 27, 1953. He attended the Inte ...

, ''Swing Out'' (MCG, 2008) *

Meeting Point Meeting Point ( Chinese: 匯點) was a liberal and moderate Chinese nationalist political organisation and party in Hong Kong formed by a group of former student activists in the 1970s and intellectuals for the discussion for the Sino-British ...

, ''Quintessence'' (Challenge, 2008) * Peter Hand, ''The Wizard of Jazz'' (Savant, 2009) * Jeff Lashway, ''Reunion'' (Random Act, 2009) * Cory Weeds, ''Everything's Coming Up Weeds'' (Cellar Live, 2009) * Westchester Jazz Orchestra, ''Maiden Voyage'' (WJO, 2010) * Alexis Cole, ''You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to'' (Venus, 2010) * John Regen, ''Revolution'' (Ropeadope, 2011) * Jared Gold, ''All Wrapped Up'' (Posi-Tone, 2011) * Craig Wuepper, ''Leaps and Bounds'' (Cellar Live, 2013) * Benny Sharoni: ''Slant Signature'' (Papaya, 2014) * Ed Neumeister, ''Suite Ellington '' (PAO Records, 2015) * Neil Slater, ''Legacy - Division of Jazz Studies North Texas'' (North Texas Jazz, 2017) * John Regen, ''Higher Ground'' (Ropeadope, 2019) * Win Pongsakorn, '' Yes, It Is! Introducing Win Pongsakorn'' (Cellar Music Group, 2020) * Jakob Helling, ''Nerds & Sweeties (featuring Fay Claassen)'' (Quinton Records, 2023) * Win Pongsakorn, ''Time Has Changed'' (Cellar Music Group, 2024)

References

General references * Jim Rotondi at allmusic.com* Jim Rotondi a
allaboutjazz.com
* Article on Jim Rotondi i
JazzTimes
Inline citations

External links

jimrotondi.com
* * *Eric Siereveld (Author), Brandon Coleman (Series Editor), A Modern Approach to Improvisation, Volume 2: The Improvisational Style of Jim Rotondi, 2014 (ISBN 978-1499662108) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rotondi, Jim 1962 births 2024 deaths 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American trumpeters American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Criss Cross Jazz artists American male jazz musicians One for All (band) members People from Butte, Montana Posi-Tone Records artists University of North Texas College of Music alumni Smoke Sessions Records artists