Arturo Sandoval is an outstanding musician who had to overcome a lot of difficulties in order to be able to do the job he was born to – playing the jazz music. Life of Sandoval recalls a musical history book that describes two disparate worlds. For the people who were raised up in the States, it may be hard to imagine what obstacles Arturo Sandoval was faced with to become a jazz musician. He is a great son of Cuba, and this country should be proud of him, but when Sandoval was at the beginning of his career, the government of Cuba did everything to prevent him from playing the music that was banned.
Born in 1949 in the province of Havana, Sandoval became a member of the village band at age 13. That band gave him precious knowledge about the basics of music theory. He played various musical instruments, but finally, he settled on the flugelhorn and the trumpet – the instruments he would use to dazzle the listeners from all over the world (John Morrow). When Sandoval was a child, he had little possibility to hear jazz. In one of his interviews, he told that the only thing he heard was Cuban music called son that was commonly played by a septet with bongos and a trumpet. But once Sandoval heard Dizzy Gillespie’s music on the record and was overexcited with the style of music that was new for him (John Morrow). That record changed his mind and made him try to do something similar. Dizzy Gillespie was a great bebop trumpeter, the proponent of Afro-Cuban music. Sandoval was so mesmerized by his music that he told that he was his “spiritual father”. Sandoval adored Dizzy. He said that to call him an outstanding person and great musician who created bebop was not enough. He said that Dizzy breathed music, lived for it and talked about it unstoppably. Sandoval worshiped not only Dizzy’s music that always inspired him but also Dizzy as a man (Bill Meredith).
Being a 15-year-old boy, Sandoval became a student of the Cuban National School of Arts. He studied there playing the classical trumpet for 3 years. Being a soldier, he played with the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna. As a member of the Orquesta, he spent day by day playing the instruments. At the time of his obligatory duties to Cuba, he was caught while listening to American jazz on the radio and was jailed for that for four months (Bill Meredith). After he discharged, he cofounded a popular group Irakere that continues to play in Havana till now. The group was successful not only in Cuba but also abroad. Sandoval toured North and South America, Africa and Europe and performed at the festivals in Newport, Rhode Island; Berlin, Germany; Warsaw, Poland, and Montreux, Switzerland throughout the 1970s (John Morrow).
Irakere as well as the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna were sponsored by the government and featured international stars not only in Sandoval but also in pianist Chucho Valdes and saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera (Bill Meredith). But Cuban artists could not get the artistic freedom. Sandoval told in his interview that the members of Irakere wanted to play bebop, but there were told that the drummer was not allowed to use cymbals, as they sounded jazzy. That is why they decided to use cowbells and congas instead cymbals but that only helped them to invent something unusual, creative and new (Bill Meredith).
Classical training and Gillespie’s bop influence were mixed in Sandoval’s music. The trumpeter also liked to use the instrument’s upper register a la Maynard Ferguson. All that helped him to create a unique style. In spite of the government’s restraints, the musician won the Grammy Awards for Irakere’s self-titled release in 1978. Other Grammies he got for his solo recordings Dance On (Danzon), that was released in 1994, and Hot House (1998) (Bill Meredith).
Sandoval is associated with multiple genres of music. When he was a teenager, he heard how Luis Escalante, the first trumpeter in the National Symphony Orchestra, performed. As Sandoval told in his interview to Down Beat, Escalante was equally perfect in playing jazz, Cuban and classical music (John Morrow). After Escalante’s outstanding performance, the young boy Sandoval gave himself a word play as many things as he could. Sandoval did not want to have any sign on him like a ‘jazz’ or ‘blues’ or ‘salsa’ musician. In 1981, Sandoval took the decision to build a solo career and left Irakere. That same year Arturo Sandoval founded his own orchestra and toured the world with it.
Being repressed by the Cuban laws, he had to leave the country in 1990 and settle down in Miami, Florida (John Morrow). Most of all, the musician valued the creative freedom that the American society guaranteed. But even living in a new place he had tight connections with the Cubans. His Cuban heritage was always reflected in his music. Although Sandoval played with great musicians from all over the world, including such jazz stars as Woody Shaw, Woody Herman, Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz, Jon Faddis, and John McLaughlin, also he worked with military bands and symphony orchestras, the first thing he did when he arrived in Florida was founding a band. He told in his interview to Down Beat that he preferred to have a repertoire and work with the same people, he did not like experimenting on stage and invent new things randomly (John Morrow). He stuffed his band with people who could create the wide range of sounds and play various things.
Sandoval also founded a jazz club. He believed that when someone starts a jazz club for getting profit, he did that for the wrong reason. He confessed that he would never return the money that he invested in the club, but that was not a problem for him. He did that only because he adored jazz and considered this kind of music the only important American art form (Bill Meredith). And that was one of the reasons Sandoval loved the States. The nightclub is already closed.
As if it was not enough to have a nightclub to be over occupied, Sandoval was also busy touring, recording and teaching. Arturo lectured at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the Soviet Union, the Conservatoire de Paris, the University of Miami, the University of California Santa Barbara, Purdue University, the University of Wisconsin and other institutions (“Arturo Sandoval”). Now he works as a professor at Florida International University in Miami.
Arturo Sandoval conducts multiple master classes to the musicians studying in high schools and to the professionals, to small groups of listeners and to thousands of people. His training programs differ from one another and they are usually created to suit the needs of the institution. He can show specific trumpet techniques, jazz improvisation, or explain the composition for jazz, talk about the specific of classical jazz, contemporary jazz, and Latin jazz. Commonly, he divides his classes into three sections. At the beginning, he speaks about the love of music. He discusses passion, enthusiasm and the disciplines that are needed for every creative person. During the second part, he discusses challenges, inspiration and motivation. And finally, he explains technical aspects of playing musical instruments. He speaks about breathing, sound quality, facial positioning, intention, and endurance. Also, he touches composition and improvisation. In the end of the class, he answers to the questions that the listeners ask. Commonly, he interacts with people alone, though he can be invited with his touring band. The classes that include working with a symphony orchestra, the institutions’ big band, concert band or jazz combo are commonly followed by a concert. This is an unforgettable and inspirational experience for everyone. Sandoval was awarded the NARAS Foundation Awards for his extensive educational program (Master Classes and Clinics).
The trumpeter is the author of several instructional books that were published by Hal Leonard and also he released Rumba Palace – the Sandoval’s Telarc label debut. The disc features his band touring and the horn players who have been invited to play with Sandoval on stage. The musician included in the disc his own compositions and showcased his incredible abilities in playing the instrument using unique arrangements and presenting airtight ensemble performance. Sandoval also called his second nightclub Rumba Palace. There his music was more dancing, not just salsa, but a mixture of various Afro-Cuban styles, such as danzon, cha-cha, mambo, guaracha, and son.
Though Sandoval is passionate about politics, he does not like to speak about the Cuban government. As for the U.S.A., Sandoval told that he was happy to use the opportunities of musical freedom that that country offers, but he highlighted that there always were good and bad people in any place in the world. So, though politics played a vital role in his life and he was not indifferent to it, it was difficult to learn his opinion towards the politics of any country. He tries not to speak about this topic much. Life of Sandoval and his escape from home became the subject of the biographical movie For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story that was created in 2000. Sandoval received an Emmy for his soundtrack for this film (Bill Meredith).
For the musician, the change of country in 1990 paid significant dividends, as well as it had for any other exiled Cuban musician. Though he used to work only with top players in Cuba, his debut as a U.S. resident Flight to Freedom that was created in 1991 was tremendous for Sandoval (Bill Meredith). He said that recording with Chick, Weckl, Anthony Jackson and Danilo Perez made him be absolutely happy.
Since he came to the U.S.A., Sandoval has created the soundtrack for the movie Havana directed by Robert Redford and took part in creating the song Into the Light that is performed by Gloria Estefan (John Morrow). Arturo Sandoval played his music together with Branford Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, John Scofield and Roy Haynes onstage. Also, his music graced the recordings by such stars as Sinatra, Paul Anka, Rod Stewart, and Alicia Keys. The musician believes that earlier the music was more melodic than nowadays, and most of the songs do not have any melody at all. Recently Arturo Sandoval has finished his 2nd concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra. This musical work of art transports the listener through an exhilarating and unforgettable musical journey. This piece of work is innovative as it includes not only incomparable trumpet performance but also Sandoval has created great parts for every instrument in the orchestra. When Sandoval is playing his music, the public of the Village Gate in New York City as well as the public of European concert halls greets him as one of the greatest musicians of the world.
On the tenth of November in 2011, Arturo Sandoval gave an outstanding performance on the show organized for paying tribute to America's musical veterans (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A3SX9LOGQs ). There the master of jazz played a famous music called "A Night in Tunisia" that he dedicated to an American jazz icon – Dizzy Gillespie. Sandoval’s performance was great and disrupted the applause of the audience. His music was emotional and catching. The main jazz elements, like phrasing, sound, and architectonics, occurred as decorations to the well-composed easy listening music. Sandoval’s performance exhibited beautiful, clear trumpet tone, faultless technique, good chops and uncanny precision.
A lot of musical experts shared their impressions of Sandoval’s music. Kazimierz Czyz told to Jazz Forum that Latin American jazz definitely had a dance character and many Sandoval’s recordings are an example of that assessment (John Morrow). Down Beat’s Birnbaum reviewed Sandoval’s 1983 performance and noted the trumpeter’s brand machine-gun squawks, flurries, smears, flutters, and growls. At that performance, Sandoval told in the Spanish language that the piano was his first love and even demonstrated his abilities in playing piano, performing polished long solo. Also, the musician played scat-sang, timbales, twanged the jaw harp, and used an African calabash rattle for the percussion interlude that caused a standing ovation that almost stopped the show (John Morrow).
Sandoval did not consider himself an innovator. But Larry Birnbaum characterized him as a mainstream stylist whose strong suit was the mind-boggling technique that eclipsed even Maynard Ferguson with its high register razzle-dazzle and triple-tongued flash (John Morrow). Coto told in his interview to Down Beat, that the Sandoval seemed to him as a resurrected ghost of Cuba’s greatest trumpeter but at the same time, he embraced U.S. jazz harmonies (John Morrow). Sandoval noted that American musicians tried to discard 1–2-3–4 jazz lines that are considered traditional, and played around the clave, the Cuban music’s rhythm of 1–2-3,1–2 that is called “Bo Diddley beat.” He also found out that the Cuban influence was felt in the late 20th- century pop music that appropriated Cuban percussion as it had the ever-increasing trend to world sounds (John Morrow).
Arturo Sandoval’s outstanding expansive career was fueled by his passion that was sustained by perseverance. He has become an important person in the jazz world. He was sure that simply having the education and the desire to play was far not enough, as one of the most important things was to believe in what you do. Sandoval told in his interview to JAZZed that he always had to work very hard and be concentrated on every trifle, as the world for a jazz as well as a classical musician, far harder than for a pop musician (Bryan Reezman). He was sure that a strong dedication led him to success.
Works cited
“Arturo Sandoval”. jazztrumpetsolos.com. Web. Accessed 14 April 2016 at http://www.jazztrumpetsolos.com/arturo_sandoval_biography.asp
“Master Classes and Clinics”. arturosandoval.com. Web. Accessed 14 April 2016 at http://arturosandoval.com/home/education/master-classes-clinics/
Meredith, B. “Arturo Sandoval: From Cuba, With Love”. jazztimes.com. 2007. Web. Accessed 14 April 2016 at http://jazztimes.com/articles/19107-arturo-sandoval-from-cuba-with-love
Morrow, J. “Arturo Sandoval”. encyclopedia.com. 1996. Web. Accessed 14 April 2016 at http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Arturo_Sandoval.aspx
Reezman, B. “Arturo Sandoval the Lessons in Life”. Jazzed. Nov/Dec 2013: 18-23. Print.
