Smooth jazz trumpeter Chris Botti has made being on the road his preferred lifestyle over the last few years. But while relentless touring may wear some musicians down, Botti says that his buddy Sting taught him a valuable lesson for not burning out: "never leave the bubble." In a radio interview, Botti recently revealed that "the bubble" is that controlled cocoon of hotel, tour venue, practice, yoga and the actual show.

Botti has perfected "the bubble," rarely venturing more than a few blocks from his hotel and sticking to a short list of favorite restaurants near where he's staying. He also relies on two or so hours of daily trumpet practice and a daily dose of yoga to keep him sane. Botti adds that he was especially impressed by Sting's discipline after a particularly raucous New Year's Eve gig: the rest of the band was still asleep, but Sting made his regular 8 a.m. yoga session.

Botti's "tour bubble" continues now that his new album, Italia, has been released. His next gig is this Friday (October 5th) in Buffalo, New York. For more tourdates, visit chrisbotti.com.

Botti shared one of his daily must-do's, his trumpet practice: "I studied with one of the foremost trumpet teachers at Indiana University, when I went to college there. He's taught many a great trumpet player, and he instilled in me not only a practice work ethic -- quote -- it's like a way of life and it's based around a series of exercises which he calls 'The Routine,' which I do pretty much religiously every day. "




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