Arturo performing with Dizzy Gillespie in the 1980s.
December 12, 2018 | Festival Boca
Arturo performing with Dizzy Gillespie in the 1980s.
Arturo Sandoval’s incredible life story would be reason enough to come hear him perform: born on a kitchen table with dirt floors; growing up in communist Cuba; playing music on the streets at twelve; starting the band Irakere and touring the world; meeting his idol, Dizzy Gillespie and touring with him; walking into the US Embassy in Rome and defecting; becoming an American citizen; going on to win ten Grammy Awards, six Billboard Awards and an Emmy; performing in a Super Bowl Halftime Show and at the White House; then, in 2013, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
But of course his life story is only the half of it. Because there is the music.Sandoval is one of the most dynamic and vivacious live performers of our time. Filled with a virtuoso capability, he desires nothing more than to share his gift with others who feel the same intense adoration for music as he does.
|
|
"Born into poverty in Cuba and held back by his government, he risked everything to share his gifts with the world. In the decades since, this astonishing trumpeter, pianist and composer has inspired audiences in every corner of the world and awakened a new generation of great performers. He remains one of the best ever to play."
–Barack Obama (presenting Arturo Sandoval The Presidential Medal of Freedom)