Arturo Sandoval

<p>Born in Artemisa, Cuba, on November 6, 1949, Arturo Sandoval began playing trumpet at age twelve. He studied classical trumpet at the National School of Art in Havana, mastering classical concertos by Haydn and Hummel while secretly listening to American jazz broadcasts on Voice of America radio, an activity strictly banned by the Cuban government.</p><p>In 1973, Sandoval co-founded the revolutionary Afro-Cuban jazz group <em>Irakere</em> alongside pianist Chucho Valdés and saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera. Blending traditional Yoruba Afro-Cuban rhythms with bebop harmonies and funk, Irakere won a Grammy Award in 1979 and stunned audiences worldwide. In 1977, American jazz titan Dizzy Gillespie visited Havana; hearing Sandoval perform, Gillespie immediately became his mentor and lifelong champion.</p><p>In 1990, while on tour in Spain with Gillespie's United Nation Orchestra, Sandoval made the agonizing decision to defect from Cuba, seeking political and artistic asylum at the American embassy in Rome with Gillespie's assistance. Settling in the United States and becoming a naturalized citizen in 1999, Sandoval achieved monumental international acclaim. Renowned for his staggering multi-octave range, blistering double-tongue articulation, and classical virtuosity, he has won 10 Grammy Awards, 6 Billboard Awards, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013.</p>