Arturo Sandoval

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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 obsessed with jazz recordings by Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie, finally meeting the latter 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 while touring with Gillespie in 1990, and became a naturalized citizen in 1998.

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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[edit] 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 finally settled on 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 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".

[edit] Artist's Role in the Jazz Scene

In Cuba, Sandoval co-founded the band called 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 also performed classical music with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, and the Leningrad Symphony in the former Soviet Union. He has enjoyed 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, Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle and Céline Dion. 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 Mueve Los Huesos (Move Your Bones ), the latter of which let him flex his Latin jazz muscles.

[edit] Stylistic Influences

Sandoval’s raw talent has led him to associate with many musicians, but the most important would have to be 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 twenty 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.

[edit] Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club

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, and Danilo Perez. Sandoval himself plays at the club at least monthly.

[edit] Association with other Jazz Musicians

Sandoval has worked with: Vikki Carr, Luis Enrique, Mike Couzzi,George Noriega, Lee Levin, Tony Concepcion, Julio Hernandez, Rene Toledo, Rita Quintero, Dana Teboe, and Ed Calle and the Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Orchestra

[edit] Quotes

". . .[M]y philosophy has always been that I love music. Period. I don't want to be remembered as a jazz trumpeter. I'd like to be remembered as a man who loved music. Because I like to play piano, I like to compose. I like to do all those things as much as I like to play the trumpet."

--Arturo Sandoval in Billboard

[edit] Discography

[edit] External links

Portal:Cuba
 Cuba Portal
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