Although a superstar in the jazz community, trumpeter
Arturo Sandoval is a broadly celebrated performer whose titanic trumpet chops and charismatic stage presence are recognized around the globe. His life story, punctuated by his dramatic defection from Fidel Castro's Cuba, is legendary, and even resulted in the 2000 HBO film For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story, starring Andy Garcia. From his early days with the innovative Afro-Latin ensemble
Irakere, to his own jazz, fusion, and classical recordings,
Sandoval has cultivated a wide-ranging cultural footprint, and earned the respect of music fans of disparate stylistic corners. It's with that wide, stylistic, and cultural scope that he crafted his 2018 album,
Ultimate Duets. Produced by
Sandoval and multi-Grammy Award-winning drummer Gregg Field, the album finds the trumpeter showcased alongside a series of high-profile guest performers from a across the music industry. Included are spots from
Stevie Wonder,
Alejandro Sanz,
Al Jarreau,
Josh Groban, and others. From his sparkling, brightly arranged cover of
Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" featuring
Prince Royce, to his dramatic, flamenco-tinged reading of "Granada," with
Placido Domingo and
Vicente Amigo,
Sandoval lifts
Ultimate Duets with a joyous, theatrical passion. It's also fun to hear him take on some more cheeky, pop-oriented material, as on his buoyant, Eurovision-ready rendition of
ABBA's "Andante. Andante" with
Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Surprisingly compelling is his album-ending match-up with the late-Cuban vocal legend
Celia Cruz on "Quimbara." As
Cruz passed in 2003, the track is a digital reworking of an older recording. Nonetheless, it sounds absolutely fresh, and roils with an earthy glee, as if
Sandoval and
Cruz were smiling at each other in the studio. Similarly engaging is the lush, gorgeously rendered Spanish classical piece "Solo Esta Soledad," featuring
Groban. Cinematically arranged, it finds
Sandoval answering
Groban's yearning vocals with his warm, burnished trumpet lines. On
Ultimate Duets,
Sandoval soars, imbuing the album with all the heartfelt love and enthusiasm one feels from his live concerts. ~ Matt Collar