Arturo Sandoval is fluent in at least four musical languages. He can burn through an Afro-Cuban groove, tear up a bebop tune, soar over a Mozart concerto and sooth you with a luscious ballad; with equal power and grace. A protégé of the legendary jazz master Dizzy Gillespie, Sandoval was born in Artemisa, a small town in the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, on November 6, 1949, just two years after Gillespie became the first musician to bring Latin influences into American Jazz. Sandoval began studying classical trumpet at the age of twelve, but it didn’t take him long to evolve into one of the World’s most renowned classical artist, pianist and composer.
Sandoval was a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning group Irakere, whose explosive mixture of jazz, classical, rock and traditional Cuban music caused a sensation throughout the entertainment world. In 1981, he left Irakere to form his own band, which garnered enthusiastic praise from all over the world. Sandoval was voted Cuba’s Best Instrumentalist from 1982 to 1990.
Sandoval is a tenured professor at Florida International University. He works nationally and abroad with innumerable institutions and their music departments offering several scholarships, exercise books, clinics and seminars, and has rendered a considerable amount of time working with the NARAS educational program. His versatility can be heard on recordings with everyone from Woody Shaw, Bill Conti, and Stan Getz to Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart and Alicia Keys among others. Sandoval has been awarded 4 Grammy Awards, 6 Billboard Awards and an Emmy Award.
To purchase tickets by phone, please call 305-275-5666.
