Rhythm & Soul (MetaJAX)
Arturo Sandoval
Released November 6, 2022
Grammy Nominee for Best Latin Jazz Album 2023
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lETm5JRBcYAdhq5JRVq2WQ7qcM-nyWn2I
Spotify:
About:
A recipient of a Presidential Medal of Freedom, Arturo Sandoval is one of the most dynamic and vivacious live performers of our time. He has been awarded 10 Grammy Awards from 19 nominations; he has also received 6 Billboard Awards and an Emmy Award, the latter for his work on the HBO movie based on his life, For Love or Country, which starred Andy Garcia as Arturo. His two latest Grammy award-winning albums, Dear Diz (Everyday I Think of You) and Tango Como Yo Te Siento are now available worldwide.
In 2022 Arturo released his new album Rhythm & Soul to rave reviews! What the pandemic of 2020 revealed to those who follow Arturo on social media was just how much this man, who at age 72 has seen and done it all, continues to love music and court it with all the eagerness of a love-struck teenager. During the imposed quarantine, when the music business all but stopped, Arturo would share 1-3 new compositions or improvisations to his Facebook and Instagram pages almost daily, revealing an insatiable need to keep creating and communicating. This album is but a mere sampling of his creative output from that time, a collection of new songs written during the shutdown and interpreted by his incredible band once they were able to get back in the studio together.
Why Rhythm & Soul?
The “Rhythm” is represented by a collection of new originals that draw on Arturo’s wealth of experience and encyclopedic knowledge in all forms of Latin music, from traditional Cuban Son to Brazilian Bossa-Nova and Samba to Caribbean Soca. There are few, if any, musicians more qualified to represent such a vast diversity of Latin rhythms.
The “Soul” is what comes from his horn. This album showcases Arturo as a player in many forms – from fiery to sensitive. Musicians and fans alike rightly marvel at his technical ability on the horn – the effortless high notes and the dizzying speed and execution of his improvised runs. He truly is one of the most beautiful ballad players around, and both sides of his soul are well represented here.
Sandoval was a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning group Irakere, whose explosive mixture of jazz, classical, rock and traditional Cuban music caused a sensation throughout the entertainment world. In 1981, he left Irakere to form his own band, which garnered enthusiastic praise from critics and audiences all over the world, and continues to do so.
Sandoval is also a renowned classical musician, performing regularly with the leading symphony orchestras from around the world. Arturo has composed his own Concerto for Trumpet & Orchestra, which can be heard on Arturo Sandoval: The Classical Album. His classical artistry has earned him the respect and admiration from the most prestigious conductors, composers and symphony orchestras worldwide.
Arturo Sandoval’s versatility can be heard on recordings with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Woody Shaw, Michel Legrand, Josh Groban, Tony Bennett, Bill Conti, and Stan Getz to Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Rod Stewart and Alicia Keys amongst many others. He has performed with John Williams with the Boston Pops and in the Super bowl with Tony Bennett and Patti LaBelle.
Having such influence, it is no surprise that Sandoval is one of the most brilliant, multifaceted and renowned musicians of our time.
Track Listing:
1. Guarachando 05:35
2. Kumba 05:48
3. Soca Beat 05:31
4. El Pecoso 03:39
5. View From Corcovado 03:58
6. Solitude 06:13
7. Someone Like You 06:14
8. Until You Went Away 04:36
9. An Afternoon At La Quinta 05:52
10. Goza Mi Tumbao 04:20
11. Cancion Para Mimi 05:39
12. Timba De La Buena 04:47
Personnel:
Arturo Sandoval: trumpet, flugelhorn
Michael Tucker: saxophone
Will Brahm: guitars
Max Hamer: piano
John Belzaguy: bass, voice
Tiki Pasillas: percussion, voice
Johnny Friday: drums
Andy García: bongos
San Miguel Pérez: três
Sarpay Özçagatay: flute
Bill Cantos: voice
Ginger Murphy: cello
Lisa Dondlinger: violin
Review:
‘Rhythm & Soul’ is the latest work by Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, one of the most prominent and prolific musicians to come out of the Caribbean island.
This trumpeter, born in Artemisa, a small town on the outskirts of Havana (Cuba), on November 6, 1949, rose to jazz fame in 1977 as part of the founding trio of the group Irakere.
The other two leaders of the big band were saxophonist Paquito d’Rivera and pianist Chucho Valdés. Currently, neither of the three live in Cuba, as Sandoval and d’Rivera live in the United States, while Valdés resides in Spain.
‘Rhythm & Soul’ is comprised of twelve songs, composed during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the trumpeter displayed, through social media, a disarming activity that captures much of the Caribbean musical heritage. From the opening guaracha to the final timba, passing through Trinidadian soca and tumbao, without forgetting, of course, the purest jazz essences.
Throughout the songs, Arturo Sandoval demonstrates his enormous versatility, although, in my opinion, he shines especially in the ballads, such as “An Afternoon at La Quinta” and “Canción para Mimi.”
With “Rhythm & Soul,” Sandoval aims to highlight the two pillars on which his music is based. On the one hand, rhythm, whether fast or slow. On the other, the soul he puts into interpreting his music.
Supported by a good handful of American musicians, the album flows smoothly when necessary, and with more impetuosity when necessary.
Among the musicians playing on the album, we must highlight the presence, though not necessarily a mere token, of actor Andy García, an old friend of the trumpeter with whom he has collaborated on film projects such as “For Love or Country,” which chronicles the life of Sandoval, who plays the congas.
