Brass Playing Concepts by Arturo Sandoval, pub. Bim

The art of the brass musician is measured by the extent, the intensity and the quality of his mastery as well as the influence of his personality. The phenomenal mastery of Arturo Sandoval has aroused the admiration, respect and even the incredulity of audiences, of his colleagues and of young students. Not a few imagine that there must be sorne kind of special trick involved here ...

Reading this book will show, once again, that the "battle" which every musician faces with his instrument (or rather with himself...) has nothing to do with "tricks", and that there is no other way to succeed than to fight with persistence and an open mind against one's own ignorance.

There are three main points to this approach:

* Mentally identify the goals.

* Determine a strategy (organization) to attain them.

* Apply this strategy (altering course while under way if necessary) over time (on a daily basis) with clear vision and patience by means of exercises.

The approach proposed here by Arturo Sandoval - as perhaps that of every artist who has made his way to success and can verbalize his experience - may appear simple. In fact, it is. As simple as is the solution to every problem, once it is found ...

One thing is sure: no difficult "passage" can be conquered by brute force or by sheer frenzied effort alone. Success cornes from common sense, awareness and merciless self-observation, not just on a technical level, but in harmonious conjunction with the body and the mind (the sensitivity of musical expression must be honed with the same mental sophistication).

As Arturo Sandoval always says, this is the price we have to pay for having the privilege of becoming a musician artist who has something to say and whose message moves his listeners.
     --  Editor's Note

Arturo Sandoval was born in 1949 in Havana, Cuba.  At the age of 15 he entered the Cuban National School of the Arts, where he studied classical trumpet.  From 1974 to 1980 he played with the Cuban Irakere big band.  In 1990, after he created his own band and settled in the U.S.  He tours worldwide and has released many CD's.