Arturo Sandoval
(born November 6, 1949) is a jazz trumpeter and pianist. He was born in Artemisa, in Havana Province, Cuba.
Sandoval, while still in Cuba, was influenced by jazz legends Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie, finally meeting Dizzy later in 1977. Gillespie promptly became a mentor and colleague, playing with Arturo in concerts in Europe and Cuba and later featuring him in The United Nations Orchestra. Sandoval defected to the United States of America while touring with Gillespie in 1990, and became a naturalized citizen in 1999.
Sandoval's life was the subject of the 2000 TV film For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story
, starring Andy Garcia.
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ARTURO SANDOVAL QUARTET TICKETS
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Background
Arturo Sandoval began to play music at age 12 in the village band, where he learned the basics of music theory and percussion. After playing many instruments, he fell in love with the
trumpet. In 1964, he began three years of serious classical trumpet studies at the
Cuban National School of Arts. By the age of 16 he had earned a place in Cuba’s all-star national band. By this time, he was totally immersed in
jazz, with
Dizzy Gillespie as his idol.
In 1971 he was drafted into the military. Luckily, Sandoval was still able to play with the
Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna. Because of this he was able to continue his daily practice regimen. His greatest skill is what
Garcia Lorca refers to as "The Duende".
In Cuba, Sandoval co-founded the band
Irakere with
Chucho Valdes and
Paquito D'Rivera. They quickly became a worldwide sensation. Their appearance at the 1978
Newport Jazz Festival introduced them to American audiences and garnered them a recording contract with Columbia Records.
Sandoval was still exploring his musical possibilities and left the group in 1981 to form his own band. He continued to tour worldwide with his new group, playing a unique blend of jazz and Latin music. In addition to playing Latin jazz, he performed classical music with the
BBC Symphony Orchestra in
London and the
Leningrad Symphony in the former
Soviet Union.
He enjoys a successful recording career that extends outside of mainstream jazz. He has recorded as a sideman with
Johnny Mathis,
Gloria Estefan,
Kenny G,
Paul Anka,
Frank Sinatra, and
Dave Grusin. He has also played in concerts with
Woody Herman,
Herbie Hancock,
Woody Shaw,
Stan Getz,
Céline Dion,
Tito Puente, and recently with
Alicia Keys and Justin TimberLake. In January 1995, Sandoval performed at the
Super Bowl XXIX halftime show, with
Patti LaBelle,
Tony Bennett and the
Miami Sound Machine, in a program entitled "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye", to promote the upcoming Disney theme park attraction.
In 2001, Arturo was featured on the album "
Swingin' For The Fences" by
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. He played solos in
Sing, Sang, Sung and
Muevos los Huesos (Move Your Bones ), the latter of which let him flex his Latin jazz muscles.
Arturo was also a judge for the 2nd annual
Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
[1]
Stylistic influences
Sandoval's raw talent has led him to associate with many musicians, but the most important is
Dizzy Gillespie. Dizzy, who was a longtime proponent of
Afro-Cuban music, has been referred to as a type of "spiritual father" by Sandoval. When the two great
trumpet players met in
Cuba in 1977, Dizzy was playing impromptu gigs in the
Caribbean with
Stan Getz. Sandoval later said, "I went to the boat to find him. I've never had a complex about meeting famous people. If I respect somebody, I go there and try to meet them."
Because of Cuba’s political situation, the country had been isolated from American musicians for nearly 20 years when Dizzy visited. Gillespie wanted to hear the music of the black neighborhoods where musicians play
guaguanco (a popular style of rumba) in the street. Sandoval offered to take Dizzy around and, only later that evening when he got up on stage, did Sandoval reveal himself as a musician.
In April 2006, Arturo Sandoval opened a jazz venue in
Miami Beach,
The Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club
. Since opening its doors, the club has had both top-notch headlining jazz acts as well as local talent on stage. Open six nights a week for live music, past acts have included
Joshua Redman,
Roberta Flack,
Roy Haynes,
Omar Sosa,
The Bad Plus, Moe Goldstein,
Michael Lington and
Danilo Perez. Sandoval himself plays at the club at least monthly.
Discography
- 1976 - Havana
- with David Amram
- 1977 - New York
- with David Amram
- 1978 - The Best of Irakere
- Irakere
- 1979 - Irakere
- Irakere
- 1981 - Turi
- 1982 - To a Finland Station
- with Dizzy Gillespie
- 1982 - Arturo Sandoval
- 1983 - Breaking the Sound Barrier
- 1986 - No Problem
- 1986 - Arturo Sandoval EN CONCIERTO VOL.1
- 1986 - Arturo Sandoval EN CONCIERTO VOL.2
- 1987 - Tumbaito
- 1988 - Straight Ahead
- 1989 - Classics
- 1990 - Live at the Royal Festival Hall 1989
- with Dizzy Gillespie
- 1991 - Flight to Freedom
- 1992 - I Remember Clifford
- 1993 - Dreams Come True
- 1993 - Danzon (Dance On)
- 1993 - Passion
- with Regina Belle
- 1994 - Cubano
- 1995 - Arturo Sandoval y el Tren Latino
- 1995 - Concerto
- 1995 - Arturo Sandoval & The Latin Train
- 1996 - Double Talk
- with Ed Calle
- 1996 - Swingin
- 1997 - Just Music
- 1998 - Hot House
- 1999 - Americana
- 1999 - Sunset Harbor
- with Ed Calle
- 1999 - Los Elefantes
- Arturo Sandoval & Wynton Marsalis
- 2000 - Ronnie Scott's Jazz House
- 2000 - For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story
- Soundtrack
- 2001 - Piedras Y Flores
- Amaury Gutiérrez
- 2001 - L.A. Meetings
- 2001 - Swingin' For The Fences
- Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
- 2002 - My Passion for the Piano
- 2003 - From Havana With Love
- 2003 - Trumpet Evolution
- 2005 - Live at the Blue Note
- 2005 - Journey to Chateau de la Fuente
- 2007 - Rumba Palace
- 2007 - Arturo Sandoval & the Latin Jazz Orchestra
References
- Independent Music Awards - Past Judges