Arturo Sandoval

A blazing, technically flawless trumpeter from Cuba, Arturo Sandoval (who also plays piano and timbales) has been dazzling global audiences with his supercharged tone and bop-flavored flurries in the trumpet's highest register. During the 1970s, Sandoval earned praise for his work with the innovative Afro-Cuban fusion ensemble Irakere. He even caught the attention of his idol, jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, who traveled to Cuba in 1977 and became a mentor to Sandoval. Throughout the '80s, the trumpeter toured the world until finally defecting to the U.S. in 1990. Since then h...