Arturo Sandoval

A musician of epic proportions, Arturo Sandoval is the protege of Jazz trumpeter and one of Latin Jazz's musical founders, Dizzy Gillespie. A master of the trumpet and flugelhorn, Sandoval began studying classical trumpet at age 12, and has been recording for over 30 years. He has won four Grammy Awards and been nominated for 12 Grammys in several categories including the 1978 Grammy for Best Latin album with the group "Irakere" (a Yoruba word for "forest") that he co-founded with Afro-Cuban piano virtuoso Chucho Valdés. In 1995 he was commissioned by the Kennedy Center to compose the music for the Debbie Allen ballet "Pepito's Story". In 1999 he composed songs for the musical "Soul Possessed", marking his second outing with Debbie Allen who wrote and choreographed the production. He has performed with the BBC Symphony in London, the Leningrad Symphony in Russia, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and with Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra. His resume includes over eight albums as a Jazz soloist and one as a classical soloist. Additionally, he serves as a full professor of music at Florida International University where he established "The Dizzy Gillespie Trumpet Scholarship" in honor of his mentor and longtime friend. After having recorded with artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Gloria Estefan, Jon Secada and others, the musical treasure from Cuba and longtime US resident was finally granted US Citizenship in 1999. Que Viva Arturo!