Jazz It Up at the Grand with Arturo Sandoval

Aug. 28, 2011

Jazz It Up at the Grand with Arturo Sandoval
By Kristi Kates
Born in Cuba, influenced by the likes of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and now a naturalized U.S. citizen, jazz trumpeter/pianist Arturo Sandoval is bringing his Latin jazz/classical fusion to Mackinac Island for a performance that’s sure to be a standout.
If you don’t already recognize Sandoval’s music, you might recognize his personage from the 2000 TV movie For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story, in which Sandoval was portrayed by actor Andy Garcia (whose co-stars in the film included Gloria Estefan and Scarface actor Steven Bauer.)
The movie told the story of Sandoval’s life up to his emigration to the U.S., as he became a fixture in Cuba’s jazz scene and solidified his own career. Sandoval’s mentor, Dizzy Gillespie (whom he is most often compared to), took the musician on the road with him early on for concerts in Cuba and across Europe.
His eclectic, fine-tuned musical stylings are part of why the Island’s Grand Hotel chose Sandoval to help close the summer season and welcome in the hotel’s fall events.

LABOR DAY JAZZ
Sandoval’s co-headliners at the Labor Day Jazz Weekend event at the Grand include Kurt Elling, Christine Ebersole, Shout Sister Shout, Dave Bennett, The Hot Club of Detroit with special guest Cyrille Aimee, and the hotel’s own Alex Graham. The hotel is offering special packages for the weekend so that visitors can stay and take in the complete roster of musical performances, of which Sandoval will be a highlight.
“We have had Arturo Sandoval at the festival before and his performance was outstanding and memorable,” explains Grand Hotel Executive Vice President Ken Hayward. “When we put our festival lineup together, we try to create an excitement that will convince past guests to return and also attract new guests as well. We are offering a weekend full of jazz performances, not one concert, so we need to put a lineup together that will keep guests entertained all weekend long.”

LEGENDARY MUSIC
Sandoval has a knack for keeping more than just his audiences entertained. He’s also a jazz musician who does more than ‘merely’ jazz, having crossed over into pop, soul, and classics via his work with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Herbie Hancock, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Johnny Mathis, and the aforementioned Estefan, among others.
“What I am looking forward to most is the unique style he will perform,” Hayward says, “he is playing Sunday afternoon, so after there have been so many performances already we are going to see something totally different from him than what we have enjoyed all weekend. We consider the 124-year-old Grand Hotel a legendary place - and he is certainly a legendary jazz artist.”

Arturo Sandoval will be performing as part of the Grand Hotel’s Labor Day Jazz Weekend on Mackinac Island. For tickets, packages, and more info, visit the hotel’s website at grandhotel.com




State Theatre offers Afternoons at the Opera

The Metropolitan Opera returns with 10 live transmissions at the State Theatre this fall. With six new productions, plus Verdi, Handel and Glass, this is the fifth year of operatic spectacle in downtown Traverse City.
Tickets are available online, at the box office and by phone: 231-947-3446. $26 for adults, $24 for State Theatre and Met Opera Members, $22 for seniors 65 and over, and $18 for children and students.
This year’s lineup:
• Donizetti’s “Anna Bolena” Oct. 15 at 12:55 pm
• Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” Oct. 29 at 12:55 pm
• Wagner’s “Siegfried” Nov. 5 at noon
• Glass’s “Satyagraha” Nov. 19 at
12:55 pm
• Handel’s “Rodelinda” Dec. 3 at 12:30 pm
• Gounod’s “Faust” Dec. 10 at 12:55 pm
• “The Enchanted Island” Jan. 21 at
12:55 pm
• Verdi’s “Ernani” Feb. 25 at 12:55 pm
• Massenet’s “Manon” April 7 at noon
• Verdi’s “La Traviata” April 14 at
12:55 pm