Trumpet virtuoso Arturo Sandoval talks playing with the LA Phil, how his Cuban heritage inspired his musical career

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 20: Jazz musician Arturo Sandoval performs during a dinner for Medal of Freedom awardees at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

Over a 40 year career that has spanned music and film, Cuban-born trumpet master Arturo Sandoval has assembled a staggering list of bonafides.

Over a 40-year career that has spanned music and film, Cuban-born trumpet master Arturo Sandoval has assembled a staggering list of bonafides.

He’s got 10 Grammys, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, has composed music for films, and has played with some of the most prestigious symphony orchestras on stages across the world. HBO even did a movie about his life and asked him to score it, earning him an Emmy Award. A protege of American jazz great Dizzy Gillespie, Sandoval defected from Cuba, got political asylum in the U.S., and has been a naturalized citizen since 1999. He has mastered several instruments, including trumpet, flugelhorn, and piano, and is a prolific composer with more than 200 original compositions and arrangements.

Sandoval joins Larry Mantle to talk about his long and colorful musical career, his feelings about Cuba and its future after the death of Fidel Castro, and how his heritage and love of Afro-Cuban jazz informed his musical career and pushed him to be the musician and composer he is.

Guest:

Arturo Sandoval, musician, composer, and 10-time Grammy Award winner