JAZZ REVIEW : Sandoval Is Full of Surprises

I ncredible is literally the word for Arturo Sandoval, who opened Wednesday night at the Vine St. Bar & Grill.

Imagine a trumpeter who can produce cascades of sound that conjure up images of Maynard Ferguson, Cat Anderson, Rafael Mendez, Dizzy Gillespie and Jon Faddis. Add to this a fluegelhorn virtuoso who can bring legato lyricism to “Body and Soul.” These are just two of the cards this amazing defector from Cuba has up his capacious sleeve.

When not busy with one of the horns Wednesday, he filled time with anything from a keyboard to a cowbell. On one tune he sat at the piano and outplayed Mike Orta, his own excellent pianist. Surprise was a constant element. Just when you thought Sandoval was reaching for that high note at the end of “Night of Tunisia,” he eased into a slow, funky blues. Following a wild plunger-muted solo, he suddenly switched to a hilarious scat interlude a la Jon Hendricks, complete with harp and percussion effects.

Sandoval by now has absorbed so many Afro-American elements that the Cuban character has become secondary, but what he has to offer transcends all national boundaries. Though his stratospheric forays may be too much for some ears, he is truly one of the virtuosic phenomena of this or any other decade. He closes Saturday.