Musical Career
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| You may listen to Giovanni Hidalgo in Conga Virtuoso here. | |
Hidalgo auditioned and was hired by the Batacumbele Band in 1980. In 1981, he traveled with the band to Cuba where he met a musician by the name of José Luis Quintana "Changuito". Together they were able to create a unique style of rhythm and ushered in a new musical era in Latin music.
In 1985, Hidalgo was performing with Eddie Palmieri at The Village Gate in New York City, when the legendary jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie walked in and listened to Hidalgo play. He was so impressed with Hidalgo that he told him that someday in the future they must get together and play. In 1988 Hidalgo joined Gillespie's United Nation Orchestra.
In 1992, he was hired as an adjunct professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. There he taught many types of rhythms; Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, reggae, African and jazz. He held this academic position until 1996.
Read more about this topic: Giovanni Hidalgo
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