Arturo Sandoval - My Passion for the Piano

Several non-keyboard jazz icons, including drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Charles Mingus, have released recordings as pianists. On this release, the Cuban-born, Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Arturo Sandoval joins that elite list. Backed by drums, percussion, bass, and tenor saxophonist Ed Calle, Sandoval unveils his suave and swinging pianisms, which spring from several influences. The rhapsodic romanticism of Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans is evident on Sandoval's "Marianela Says Goodbye," from his soundtrack to the HBO movie For Love or Country, and on Armando Manzanero's bolero, "Esta Tarde Villover." On the finger-busting "All the Things You Are," Sandoval sounds like his former Irakere bandmate, Chucho Valdes. Another standard, "Stella by Starlight," swings in a Cuban clave groove, while "D.A.S.S." moves with a bossa nova lilt. Sandoval's sensitive reading of Michel Legrand's "Windmills of Your Mind" is the most evocative track on this recording, which reveals another side of Arturo Sandoval's genius. --Eugene Holley Jr. Amazon.com

This guy can hang with Chick or Herbie...

What a great pianist...I can't believe he's a trumpeter. This guy can hang with Chick or Herbie. This is the only album he ever played piano on. He is backed by a bassist, drummer, percussionist and saxophonist. The 12 tracks fluctuate between standards, bebop and bossa nova and he knows how to write a hook. I did a little research on Sandoval and he began as a classical trumpeter who defected from Cuba at the American Embassy in Rome in 1990. It's good for jazz that he did. December 31, 2004

Permanent fixture in car's CD player

This is as good or better than Arturo's other works...This will be memorable... September 5, 2003

Sandoval Squared

Sandoval's is probably the preeminent trumphet player in the World--that's not much of a surprise. His talent on the piano is the revelation here and a very enjoyable album is the result. I can't evaluate the technical proficiency of Sandoval with his left hand, as some of my colleagues can--but I can tell you this is an album you will play over and over..... June 30, 2003

Inspiration does not involve the worry of someone flaws.

Every once in a while there will be a cd that will take you away from the life you have and will even change the atmosphere.This is that cd. I haved long for something like this to come along and help me escape while I draw and do my college papers.I do not really care for the examination of Arturo's technique for playing the piano, but I can say that I really love this cd and after jus listening to the online sample have decided that I am gonna order this. Arturo is simply doing what any other artist is doing which is simply being himself artistically on the piano. An artist defines himself through whatever method he is given. -_^ February 20, 2003

Impressive chops

The evidence from this recording will show that Sandoval's technique on piano is commensurate with his trumpet virtuosity. Unlike numerous other instrumentalists who also play piano, Sandoval has a command not merely of harmony but of right-hand digital dexterity. In fact, his non-stop upper-register phrases and polyrhythmic torrents suggest that for Sandoval the piano in some respects compensates for things that are impossible to execute on a wind instrument.

The problem is that after a while the virtuosic display and driving rhythms take on a monotonous quality. The pianist "wears out" tunes like "All the Things" and "Stella" with his bombastic approach, and the decision to include an alternate version of the opening blues number is clearly ill-judged overkill. Moreover, a trained pianist will soon detect that, despite a formidable technique, Sandoval not only lacks a genuine "piano touch" but has a left-hand that is frequently clueless about complementary rhythmic patterns and chord voicings. February 1, 2003

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