Arturo Sandoval, 1949, Trumpet, Cuba
Arturo began his trumpet studies at the age of 12 and at 15 attended the Cuban National School of The Arts. He also studied classical trumpet with a Russian teacher. In 1970 he was one of the founding members of a group that would become the Afro-Cuban rock influenced band known as Trakers. This group won a Grammy in 1979. During the late '70s Sandoval met his idol, Dizzy Gillespie, and they became close friends. They worked together in concerts in Cuba and Europe. Eventually Dizzy hired Arturo to play in his United Nations Orchestra. He left the orchestra in the early '80s and formed his own band, performing and recording in Cuba. At times he was allowed to leave Cuba to perform at international jazz festivals and with leading European classical orchestras. During a European tour in 1980 he managed to get his wife and son out of Cuba, and he defected to the American Embassy in Rome. He moved to Florida and became an American citizen. His story was made into a television movie entitled "For Love Or Country, The Arturo Sandoval Story". Today he tours playing jazz and classical music with the world's leading orchestras. Sandoval also teaches classes and clinics.
Ray Conniff, Arrranger, Trombone, 1916, Attleboro, MA
Ray's first "big time" professional gig was with Bunny Berigan in 1937. The job lasted two years and then he went with Bob Crosby in New York. During the early '40s he performed and recorded with Artie Shaw. He also worked in Dixieland groups led by Bobby Hackett and Art Hodes. While serving in the army he still managed to supply charts for the Harry James band, with whom he recorded after his discharge in 1946. Ray could never accept the innovations of bop, and in 1950 he left the music business. He returned around 1957 with a group of singers and instrumentalists that performed his arrangements of light popular music. As the "Ray Conniff Singers" they achieved great success and popularity. They toured the world and recorded many great-selling albums. Ray Conniff died in 2002.
Francy Boland, Piano, 1929, Namur, Belgium
Jimmy Lyon, Piano, 1921, Camden, NJ
