This is the third time I’ve seen Arturo Sandoval in a matter of little more than a year, and each concert has had a completely different feel. This one, at the acoustically wondrous Broad Stage in Santa Monica, had the Grammy winning horn player lead a 19 member big band that mixed Cuban mambo, torrid bebop and romantic lyricism like a sizzling plate of rice and grilled vegetables. Each musical bite brought out different and delicious flavors.
The show opened with Sandoval delivering a gloriously passionate serenade, accompanied only by some delicate electric piano before he popped the clutch and lead the band into a hot Cuban piece by breathing fire out of his trumpet. From there, with a band that included arrangers and band leaders in themselves like Wayne Bergeron and Gordon Goodwin (who looked joyfully content as a sideman), Sandoval turned out smoking renditions of Dizzy Gillespie pieces such as “Algo Bueno” and a swirllingly intense “Things To Come.” A cozy muted trumpet front line with Grant Green was featured on “And Then She Said” while Sandoval and Bergeron literally locked horns on the extroverted extravaganza “Maynard and Waynard.”
Other sides of Sandoval were on display as he went over to the tempting timbales and turned the Broad Stage into Miami’s Calle Ocho with some Mambo’s from legendary Pres Prado and his own Mambo Kings film, getting the suave Santa Monicans to dance and sway in their collective seats. A side rarely noticed and appreciated of the extroverted band leader was on display as he sat over at the piano and delivered an exquisitely delicate and luxurious take of “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.” He also sang a couple of heart warming ballads, including Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” which started the wind down of the evening. Like the best of meals, Sandoval served up a plate of food that was hot, spicey but also gentle and sweet, filling and satisfying every taste.
Upcoming to the Broad Stage in their subscription series are Hiromi, Kurt Elling and Betty Lavette, as well as cozy concerts at The Edye with Emily Bear and Shun Ng.