Arturo Sandoval began to play music at age 12 in the village band, where he learned the basics of music theory and percussion. After playing many instruments, he fell in love with the trumpet. In 1964, he began three years of serious classical trumpet studies at the Cuban National School of Arts. By the age of 16 he had earned a place in Cuba’s all-star national band. By this time, he was totally immersed in jazz, with Dizzy Gillespie his idol. In 1971 he was drafted into the military. Luckily, Sandoval was still able to play with the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna. Because of this he was able to continue his daily practice regimen. His greatest skill is what Garcia Lorca refers to as "The Duende".

In Cuba, Sandoval co-founded the band Irakere with Chucho Valdes and Paquito D'Rivera. They quickly became a worldwide sensation. Their appearance at the 1978 Newport Jazz Festival introduced them to American audiences and garnered them a recording contract with Columbia Records.

Sandoval was still exploring his musical possibilities and left the group in 1981 to form his own band. He continued to tour worldwide with his new group, playing a unique blend of jazz and Latin music. In addition to playing Latin jazz, he performed classical music with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London and the Leningrad Symphony in the former Soviet Union.

He enjoys a successful recording career that extends outside of mainstream jazz. He has recorded as a sideman with Johnny Mathis, Gloria Estefan, Kenny G, Paul Anka, Frank Sinatra, and Dave Grusin. He has also played in concerts with Woody Herman, Herbie Hancock, Woody Shaw, Stan Getz, Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Céline Dion, Tito Puente, and recently with Alicia Keys.

In 2001, Arturo was featured on the album "Swingin' For The Fences" by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. He played solos in Sing, Sang, Sung and Muevos los Huesos (Move Your Bones ), the latter of which let him flex his Latin jazz muscles

Sandoval's raw talent has led him to associate with many musicians, but the most important is Dizzy Gillespie. Dizzy, who was a longtime proponent of Afro-Cuban music, has been referred to as a type of "spiritual father" by Sandoval. When the two great trumpet players met in Cuba in 1977, Dizzy was playing impromptu gigs in the Caribbean with Stan Getz. Sandoval later said, "I went to the boat to find him. I've never had a complex about meeting famous people. If I respect somebody, I go there and try to meet them."

Because of Cuba’s political situation, the country had been isolated from American musicians for nearly 20 years when Dizzy visited. Gillespie wanted to hear the music of the black neighborhoods where musicians play guaguanco (a popular style of rumba) in the street. Sandoval offered to take Dizzy around and, only later that evening when he got up on stage, did Sandoval reveal himself as a musician.