The Portland, OR-raised Botti said in his online bio that he considers himself basically "homeless" due to his endless touring.

"I don't live anywhere," he said. "I have no storage locker. Every single possession I own fits in one suitcase, one carry-on and there's my trumpet. But I feel unbelievably lucky that I have an opportunity to be on the road 365 days a year."

"Italia," which hit stores last December, earned Botti a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album. The album's theme is based on the trumpeter's Italian roots.

"It really is a beautiful kind of love letter to Italy expressing the longing of someone who's not there," Botti said. "Italy has a romantic quality about it even for someone who's never been there ... the food, the fashion, the art, the landscape, the way the people live their life.

Botti went on to say that he tries to create music that touches a sensitive emotional nerve in his audience.

"To me, music that breaks your heart is the music that stays with you forever," he added. "It's one thing to be melancholy and one thing to be sophisticated, but when you get the two of them together in a way people can relate to, then I think you're on to something. You want the sophistication to lie in the purity of the sound, the beauty of the arrangements, and the quality of the performances."