Our second look at Cuban music features trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. Sandoval was heavily influenced by Dizzy Gillespie who came to be Sandoval’s musical mentor.
Sandoval began his career in the state-sponsored Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna. He later co-founded the band Irakere which went on to become a worldwide sensation. But Sandoval felt repressed in his own country and defected to the United States while on tour with Dizzy Gillespie’s band. The two had become fast friends after a 1977 visit to Cuba by Gillespie.
Sandoval’s life story was the subject of en excellent film called For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story which starred Andy Garcia in the title role. It details the repression he faced for attempting to play the music he wanted to play.
Here’s a clip of Sandoval and his idol…
