Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval (born November 6, 1949) is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, timbalero, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became his friend and mentor and helped him defect from Cuba while on tour with the United Nations Orchestra. Sandoval became an American naturalized citizen in 1998. His life was the subject of the film For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000) starring Andy García.
Arturo Sandoval
Sandoval has won 10 Grammy Awards, Billboard Awards and one Emmy Award. He performed at the White House[1] and at the Super Bowl (1995)[2]
Awards and honors[edit]
Sandoval's score for a film about his life won an Emmy Award.[6] His compositions and performances can be heard on The Mambo Kings, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1992 for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television.[7]
His song "A Mis Abuelos" (To My Grandparents) received Grammy Award nominations for Best Instrumental Composition and Best Arrangement. This composition appeared on his Grammy-winning album Danzon.[7]
On November 20, 2013, President Barack Obama presented Sandoval with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[8]