Giovanni Hidalgo honored at Jazz Fest

Posted on 11. Jul, 2009 by Hector Aviles in Blog

The 19th edition of the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest was dedicated to the Puerto Rican “conguero” extraordinaire Giovanni Hidalgo.  The Heineken Jazz Fest, celebrated the past Memorial Weekend, recognized one of the best latin musicians of our time. Giovanni Hidalgo is considered the best “conguero” in the world. I’ve been following Giovanni almost since he started playing publicly, and since the very beginning, he was this prodigy child that could play the congas like no other. He has now matured into a full scale musical leader, with many more years of great music to come.

Giovanni played at the Heineken Jazz Fest with his new bunch named the “Silver Gold”, which is really his old bunch of peer musicians. Eric Figueroa at the piano, and Eddie “Gua-Gua” Rivera at the bass are ex- band mates from the Batacumbele days, and Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez joins them on timbales. According to the event reviews, Giovanni is no longer a very talented musician surrounded by good musicians. He has become a great musical leader.

Early Influences:

Giovanni’s early influences started since he was a child, as the son of legendary conga player Mañengue Hidalgo, who is remembered mostly for his work with salsa legends Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz during their golden years. Mañengue taught Giovanni the art of the drums, and he and his friends tought his son about music and musical history. Giovanni learned from and knew the best latin musicians.
Many great Latin congueros dominated the latin rythms, and then became great latin jazz musicians. Cuban Chano Pozo was the 1st great conga player to get inmmersed in a jazz band, joining Jazz great Dizzy Gilepsie shortly after arriving to the United States. Since then other greats like Mongo Santamaria, Armando Peraza, Tito Puente, Ray Barretto,and Angel “ Cachete” Maldonado were among the greats to play in both genres.

Giovanni started playing during his teen years with groups like Eddie Palmieri, and liked to hang out with Angel “Cachete” Maldonado, one of the most advanced and knowledgeable players of the time. Cachete was an accomplished conguero and had visited Cuba with the Tipica 73 band, which resulted in the album “Tipica 73 en Cuba; Intercambio Cultural”. From that experience,  Cachete later left the Luis “Perico” Ortiz band, to relocate to Puerto Rico and start Batacumbele, a progressive afro-cuban jazz group which highlighted the songo rhythm made popular in Cuba by Los Van Van and Chucho Valdes’ Irakere. Batacumbele also wanted to add the Puerto Rican musical elements to the mix, adding a cuatro for some songs, or adding danza or bomba-plena elements to the repertoire. Giovanni jumped at the opportunity to be part of Batacumbele from the start. Batacumbele showcased Giovanni’s talent to the world, not only because of the group’s exposure, but also because the songo-jazz format allowed the drum section to expand further beyond the normal limits of regular salsa bands’ musical formats. Cachete, who was a natural teacher, not only contributed to Giovanni’s continued learning of the art of conga play, but waisted no chance to showcase Giovanni’s talent. On live performances, Batacumbele at some point would take a “break” and Cachete would introduce Giovanni for a conga solo. Giovanni, playing by himself on stage, would perform a solo with such speed and grace, that it left everyone watching with dropped jaws. There exists one recording of these solos, in Batacumbele’s 1988 “Live from the University of Puerto Rico”, which includes the “song” “Giovanni’s solo”. Below is a video of Giovanni doing a solo at his home in Florida.

Rich Musical Career:

From Batacumbele, Giovanni started playing more Latin Jazz, mostly with greats like Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, and Paquito D’Rivera, and  became a very sought-after musician, eventually forming his own Latin Jazz band. You can find many great recordings like Tito Puente’s Golden Jazz Latin Ensamble “Live at the The Village Gate” (which also has guest star Mongo Santamaria) and Paquito D’Rivera’s “Reunion” featuring ex-Irakere band mate Arturo Sandoval on trumpet.
Giovanni even took some time to teach percussion at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston. He could be a professor of percussion because he not only had the talent and speed, but also has a deep knowledge of music and diverse rythms, having learned from the very best in music.

Conclusion:

I’m glad that Luis Alvarez and the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest organizers chose to honor Giovanni Hidalgo this year. This mature, yet relatively young Puerto Rican musician still has many more years of good music to come. Giovanni has worked with the best in the Latin and Jazz worlds. He makes any album a better album with his play. I like seeing Giovanni play, and look forward to seeing him follow the steps of Cachete in teaching and passing on his vast musical knowledge to the younger generation of musician and aspiring musicians. Below I include part of the discography of Giovanni Hidalgo. Feel free to add your comments of your favorite Giovanni recordings or moments.

Recommended recordings:
Silver Gold (2009)  
Greatest Hits (1998)  
Forbidden Pleasures & Treasures: Best Of (1998)  
RMM Megamezcla, Vol. 1 (1998)  
Time Shifter (1996)  
Hands of Rhythm (1996)  
Worldwide (1993)  
Villa Hidalgo (1992)

Batacumbe In Concert: Live at the University of Puerto Rico (1988)
Tito Puente’s Golden Latin Jazz All Stars: Live at the Village Gate
Paquito D’ Rivera; Reunion

Link to more of his collaborations
http://www.cduniverse.com/sresult.asp?artistid=68059&HT_Search=artist&HT_Search_Info=Giovanni+Hidalgo&seeall=1

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Tags: Batacumbele, Conguero, Eddie Palmieri, Heineken Jazz Fest, latin jazz, Tito Puente