CubaPLUS Magazine

A creative and versatile trombone virtuoso, for Eduardo Sandoval Ferrer, “music means freedom, exchange, language,” according to the young artist, already considered by critics as one of the maestros of his instrument in Cuba and the world.

 Sandoval (Havana, 1985), a graduate of the University of the Arts, was inspired by his own parents: she, passionate about Cuban rhythms, and he, singer of the emblematic Conjunto Chappotin.

Although he has been recognized as a cultivator of jazz, the musician says he is very attracted to salsa, and also to ballads. “I got to know jazz much later. Salsa has sandunga, movement, the musical colors with which I identify myself,” he explains in conversation with CubaPLUS Magazine.-

Important groups and artists, of varied formats and genres, have counted on his work, on stages or in recordings, among them Van Van, Havana D′Primera, Issac Delgado, Alain Perez, Bobby Carcasses, X Alfonso and Omara Portuondo, in opportunities that Sandoval considers have nurtured him artistically.

 A_ er those enriching experiences, he decided to work independently and in 2014 he performed his first concert at the National Museum of Fine Arts with songs of his own and his project Habana Jazz.

“I took this step to give exposure to my work and try to leave a legacy; to do what I feel, what my heart feels, which does not mean that I will stop playing trombone or playing with other people,” he specifies.

In 2016 he won the Cubadisco Award, the most prestigious award in the national recording industry, in the Jazz category, for his first record, Caminos abiertos, a suggestive title that also reflects the upwards and diverse trajectory he is forging.

From that production also came his first video, “Rumbeando con Chano” (a tribute to percussionist Chano Pozo), with notable recognition in the Lucas Awards, a Cuban videoclip program.

Más trombón que nunca (2019), produced by Alain Pérez, was his second album, pre-nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards, which specialists refer to as a moment of consolidation of his interpretative and sonorous style.

In the record’s introduction, maestro Arturo O’Farrill describes it as follows: “In Eduardo Sandoval’s trombone you will hear a noble heart, the pride of the Latin, the grace of Africa and the spiritualism of the Orishas. You will hear the sound of the sea, the sky, Cuba, the world and most of all, you are going to hear the sound of your life itself.”

The album also became his first DVD, a format that also includes Chappotín in memoriam (Live in Jazz Plaza 2020), recorded in a memorable concert, as a tribute to a Cuban music great.

The instrumentalist is now working with his current project, Eduardo Sandoval and his orchestra, which is already giving him satisfaction.

Talking about the many shows he has given in Cuba and abroad, he mentions in particular his most recent performance at the 39th Jazz Plaza Festival.

“My last concert at the Casa de la Cultura de Plaza (traditional event venue in the capital’s Plaza de la Revolución) with my salsa orchestra was very nice. People gave me a very nice welcome. I am very happy.”

Soon, he says, A trombón limpio will be released, he says, a series he made that will become an album, and he will also be recording his first record singing salsa. He already has experience singing, the song Bonito todo, which was well received by the audience.

With a lot of talent, study and work, Eduardo Sandoval will go on putting voice to the trombone, and will continue to rescue and honor the cultural roots of a country rich in music.