Jim Rotondi

Life & Legacy

James Robert Rotondi (August 28, 1962 – July 8, 2024) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator, and conductor.
The youngest of five siblings, Rotondi was born in Butte, Montana. 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, 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, Lionel Hampton, the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, Lou Donaldson, Curtis Fuller, Benny Sharoni, Eric Alexander, and George Coleman.
Rotondi led a quintet, which featured vibraphonist Joe Locke, and an electric band with David Hazeltine 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), he won first place in the International Trumpet Guild's jazz trumpet competition.
Rotondi died of a heart attack in Le Crest, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on July 8, 2024, at the age of 61.