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World class trumpet artist, vocalist and dynamic entertainer, Chris “Hotlips” Lawson stays constantly on the go, performing on cruise ships all over the world, soloing with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra, (CSPO) doing clinician and guest-soloist work – or getting’ down and dirty in a jazz club.
In addition to playing lead trumpet with nearly 100 different cruise ship show-bands, Chris performs his own “headliner” show regularly on land and sea. Inspired personally by Doc Severinsen when he was a boy, Lawson’s professional career began touring/soloing all over Europe with the 33rd U.S. Army Band out of Heidelberg, Germany. He has been performing and soloing with the CSPO and freelancing ever since from his home in Colorado Springs. Chris has enjoyed the privilege of performing and soloing with some of the biggest names in entertainment, including: Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, Doc Severinsen, Arturo Sandoval, The Temptations, The 4 Tops, The Colorado (Denver) Symphony, The Glenn Miller Orchestra and many, many more. Please see a more complete list below. An accomplished improviser, Chris has been very fortunate to perform with many jazz bands and jazz festivals over the years. Again, please check below for a list of “jazzers” he has performed & soloed with. Highlights of Chris’ career include soloing twice with Arturo Sandoval and the CSPO, plus performing with Arturo’s band at the Aspen Jazz Festival. Lawson has been a featured soloist with the Sun River Music Festival Orchestra in Oregon, served as principal trumpet with Central City Opera and has performed and soloed numerous times with the CSPO. Freelance work has included many musicals, numerous big bands (usually lead), jazz combos, many different rock, funk & Latin dance bands in clubs & private functions, numerous military funerals, lots of church work and solo/clinician work in schools & universities, as well as keeping his calendar full with short cruise ship contracts. Chris is especially well known for his high-note mastery of the trumpet but is as comfortable playing for a religious service as he is screamin’ with a Big Band. Artists & Entertainers Chris Lawson Has Performed With:
Bob Hope Tony Bennett Doc Severinsen Arturo Sandoval Mel Torme Natalie Cole Frankie Valli Ray Charles Lou Rawls BB King John Denver Wayne Newton Linda Ronstadt Sarah Vaughan John Tesh Roy Clark Martha & The Vandella’s Mary Wilson Rita Moreno Maureen McGovern Judy Collins Nell Carter Manhattan Transfer The Temptations The 4 Tops The Four Freshmen The Platters The OJ’s The Smothers Brothers Yes War Heatwave Symphony Orchestras: The Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra The Colorado Springs Chamber Orchestra The Colorado (Denver) Symphony The Boulder Symphony Orchestra The Sun River Music Festival Orchestra The Central City Opera Orchestra The Cuchara Music Festival Orchestra Jazz artists & Bands: James Morrison Bobby Shew Bill Watrous Carl Fontana Clark Terry Slide Hampton Chuck Findlay Frank Mantooth The Glenn Miller Orchestra The Woody Herman Orchestra The Jimmy & Tommy Dorsey Bands Arturo Sandoval’s Big Band The Neophonic Jazz Orchestra (Joel Kay’s) The Colorado Springs Contemporary Jazz Big Band |
