October 6, 2011 – No one driving down Raymond Avenue in Pasadena last Tuesday evening could have imagined that inside the Rose Palace, behind that closed rolling steel door and in between wooden skeletons that will march as gorgeous floats on New Year’s day, there was a piano, a trumpet, and a master performer. Along with him, a hundred or so fans who wanted to know more about him and his art.
With conductor Rachael Worby as moderator, multi-instrumentalist Cuban born Arturo Sandoval told the audience about his love for music, for food, and for the US. He requested a minute to play “God Bless America” before starting the conversation, and then he dedicated himself to answer questions both from Worby and the crowd and to play a few tunes.
His accent kept him adorable, his jokes funny, and his music abilities impressive. With little formal education, he is now a Los Angeles resident after 20 years of teaching music at the University of Florida. And then, just when he thought himself retired from teaching, he received a call from USC, where he has been working now for two months.
Someone in the crowd asked him to play something that he would play for his grandchildren. Sandoval sat at the piano and performed “Palomita,” a song written for his granddaughter that he had never played for the public before. He apologized for being hesitant about the lyrics; it had been a while since he had played the song, he said. But the audience did not mind a bit.
It was a great 90 minute conversation in an interesting and intimate setting, part of the MUSE/IQUE program that has a series of music events scheduled this year. For more information visit http://muse-ique.com/
For more live Latin Jazz (sorry Arturo! Afro Cuban Jazz!) events, visit http://www.VidaSalsera.com
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