Café with Arturo Sandoval: shows at Jazz Alley, recent and new albums, Irakere, and Cuba‏

I had a chance to have a virtual café (coffee) chatting about music with the Cuban maestro Arturo Sandoval ahead of his presentations at the Jazz Alley.

We touched on his recent tribute album to Mexican crooner Armando Manzanero, his plans for new albums, the normalizing of US relations with Cuba, a possible reunion of Irakere, and his presentations this week at Dimitrious’ Jazz Alley in Seattle.

It’s delightful to sit down and talk to an artist who has won 10 Grammy Awards, was given the Presidential Medal of Honor by President Barak Obama, and has had a strong and varied presence in Latin music since his participation with the iconic Cuban band Irakere (which also has Cucho Valdes, Paquito D’Rivera and Orlando “Maraca” Valle as alumni).

Tribute to Armando Manzanero “Eternamente Manzanero”

LMC: Maestro, you’ve done many recordings, including tributes to several musicians, including Clifford Brown and your friend Dizzy Gillespie. Last year you had two releases, a Soundtrack for the movie “At Middleton”, and “Eternamente Manzanero”, a tribute to the great singer-songwriter. How was it to work with an icon of Latin music like Manzanero?

Arturo: Manzanero is an extraordinary musician, with a great talent and has written hundreds of songs. He found out I was working on a project of his music, and called me to get involved. He came and stayed in my house a few days and we recorded 3 songs together. This is the first time I sang in all songs in an album, I had done some singing in previous recordings, but nothing like this.

LMC: Can we expect to hear Arturo Sandoval singing more in future recordings?

Arturo: Hmmm…I don’t know, I don’t think so, that is not my thing. I did this time because this was a special project, but singing is not really my thing.

Plans for New Albums

LMC: What new muscial projects does Arturo Sandoval has for the 2015 or near future?

Arturo: I’ve been quite busy, I just got back from Mexico where I participated in a Jazz festival in Mexico, from here I go to Seattle at the Jazz Alley, and from there will go to Spain to another Jazz festival.

I’m also working on a project where I will have many guest artists, mostly singers. The idea is to have different singers of various generes. I have not selected the songs yet, we’re in that process right now.

Besides that, I’m working on the score of two movies.

Could Normalizing Relations with Cuba bring Irakere Reunion?

LMC: …and speaking of invited guests in your work, with the opening of relations between U.S. and Cuba, do you see the possibility of a reunion of Irakere with the musicians that are still around?

Arturo: I don’t think so. I see it very hard because everyone lives in different places and have different plans and itineraries.

LMC: Do you think the opening of diplomatic relations with Cuba will have an impact on the music that is played here and the music played there?

Arturo: I have my reservations and opinion of what is going on with this. I think the initiative by the U.S. government is a good one and we appreciate it, but the response from the Cuban government has been more and more repression, so the Cuban people have not seen anything positive that could help them.

Until now, any possible benefit this opening will bring will be for the Cuban government, but not for the Cuban people. So at this time, I don’t see any impact this will have even from a musical perspective.

Shows at Jazz Alley June 11 to 14

LMC: You will be at the Jazz Alley in Seattle from June 11th to the 14th (Thursday to Sunday). Can you tell us a bit about the musicians that will play with you at the Jazz Alley this week.

Arturo: This are the musicians that usually play with me, we’ve been there at the Jazz Alley a few times; it’s a beautiful venue, with a nice audience, we are delighted to have the opportunity to return and meet the audience there which is very warm and very receptive.

The musicians are …., which are the musicians that play with me every day.

LMC: for those that have seen you before, or those that will see you for the first time, what kind of repertoire can they expect?

Arturo: …well, I would tell the audience to close their eyes and open their ears and let themselves be transported by wonderfull language of music. In terms of the repertoire, I don’t have a specific one, so I can not tell you songs as I don’t know what I’m going to play. That is not my way of putting together a repertoire.

LMC: How do you put a repertoire together?

Arturo: I call the songs as I see the reaction of the audience; by seeing the expression in their faces. My musicians know; I just have to look at them and just mention a name and they know what we’ll be playing. So I build the repertoire by the audience’s reaction. That has been the way I’ve always built my sets.