Giovanni Hidalgo: Jubilation

While Bad Bunny is making Puerto Rican culture better recognized in contemporary popular music, jazz has long championed the island's rich musical traditions and artists, from the legendary composer and trombonist Juan Tizol to the rollicking pianist Eddie Palmieri to the soulful saxophonist Miguel Zenon, among many others. Included in that group would be Giovanni Hidalgo, whose release Jubilation demonstrates why he is considered one of the premier conga players performing in jazz.

Commissioned by the island's arts agency, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP), whose mission includes documenting Puerto Rico's musical heritage, Jubilation reflects how Latin culture has infiltrated and influenced the field of jazz. Mixing well-known jazz compositions with some Afro-Cuban works made popular by Mongo Santamaria as well as one pop song and one original, Hidalgo presents a master class in incorporating Puerto Rican percussion and rhythm into jazz.

The band that was assembled for the album is stellar, with an especially tight, crisp horn section, and Hidalgo sitting high in the mix on congas and other percussion. The arrangements and horn writing by Norbert Stachel are superb, providing close harmony when the horns play in unison but allowing them to spread out in the solos, especially on the 11-minute "Willow Weep for Me," which features the flute work of Karen Stachel.  Guitarist Juan Aldahondo shines on guitar, particularly with his wiry solo on Nat Adderley's "Work Song." The songs get some excellent keyboard work as well, from Joseph Rivera, Emilio Mendez, and Marcio Garcia, who is also executive producer of the album. There are some unusual arrangements, such as the synthesizer accents throughout the Leroy Carr chestnut "How Long Blues" that give the album a fresh, contemporary feel.

Hidalgo shows his percussive prowess throughout the album, controlling the rhythm and tempo, but is markedly powerful on the Afro- Cuban songs "Canta Bajo" and "Saoco" as well as "Giovanniology," written by Hidalgo and Stachel. While the inclusion of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" does not quite match the style and tone of the other songs (though the band plays fine on it), overall the album maintains the strong sense of spirit and joy that it sets out to evoke.