Acclaimed Local 47 Latin jazz musician Arturo Sandoval will be honored this year with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Arturo Sandoval

“Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom is an immense honor for me,” Sandoval said. “Without freedom, there is no life. I had the distinct honor of having experienced not only liberty, but also a rebirth, the day I landed on U.S. soil, knowing that I was finally free from suffering in a regime which has no respect for human rights. Since coming to this country I have humbly received countless demonstrations of admiration and respect for my work, to which I am forever grateful.”

A protégé of the legendary jazz master Dizzy Gillespie, Sandoval was born in Artemisa, a small town in the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, on Nov. 6, 1949, just two years after Gillespie became the first musician to bring Latin influences into American Jazz. He began studying classical trumpet at the age of 12 and has since evolved into one of the world’s most acknowledged guardians of jazz trumpet and flugelhorn, as well as a renowned classical artist, pianist and composer. Sandoval has nine Emmy Awards, and has been nominated 17 times; he has also received six Billboard Awards. Soon to be released is a new book chronicling his relationship with Dizzy Gillespie titled “The Man Who Saved Me.”

The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to people who President Obama says “have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours. This year’s honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world. It will be my honor to present them with a token of our nation’s gratitude.”

Among the 16 recipients of the medal this year are former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, the Washington Post’s Ben Bradlee, media proprietor Oprah Winfrey, and Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut to travel to space.