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Marel Hidalgo
Marel Hidalgo is a seventeen-year old guitarist and bandleader from New Jersey. He began playing guitar at the age of four and debuted in pubic with a solo show just a few months later. By the age of six he formed his first band, performing during those early years a variety of musical genres, including blues, reggae, progressive rock, Latin, funk, country, bluegrass and fusion very successfully at a local and national level making presentations in places such as The Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland -several times-, The Denver Day of Rock in Colorado or being featured on the Harry Connick Jr.’s TV show on national television.
After eight year of leading his bands on said genres, Marel began playing solo jazz guitar and shortly after he lead his first straight-ahead jazz trio. His playing quickly caught the attention of the jazz scene in the area and in the last year alone, Marel has been highly active playing in jazz clubs, venues and festivals in the East Coast as well as overseas, such as the Exit Zero Jazz Festival, the New York Guitar Festival, the Chicken Bone Jazz Concert Series, Manhattan's Bryant Park, The Deer Head Inn Jazz Club, the Sunside Jazz Club in Paris, The Count Basie’s Vogel Theater and the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica, Costa Rica's El Sótano Jazz Club, and Amon Solar, as well as working and playing alongside many talented and renowned musicians such as Billy Hart, Pat Bianchi, Roger Humphries, John Lee, Tommy Campbell, Tony Campbell, Dwayne Dolphin, Gary Mazzaroppi, Julius Tolentino, Don Aliquo Sr., Radam Schwartz, Leonieke Scheuble, Pablo Campos, Sir G. Earl Grice, Nick Scheuble, and Carlomagno Araya to name some.
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Jazz Across The Generations: The Marel Hidalgo Organ Trio Featuring Roger Humphries And Leonieke Scheuble at Clements Place Jazz on August 15, 2025
Source:
Gregory Burrus
Step into a night of soulful swing and timeless artistry as the Marel Hidalgo Organ Trio commands the stage at Clements Place Jazz, one of the area's most beloved intimate venues. This powerful performance showcases three exceptional musicians spanning generations, delivering a concert that is both historical and fresh Leading the ensemble is 16-year-old Marel Hidalgo, a guitar prodigy whose command of the instrument belies his age. Joining him is the iconic Roger Humphries, age 81, whose legendary rhythms have ...
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In his solo set, Hidalgo travels from burning jazz jam staples like “Cherokee” and “How High the Moon” to more intimate fare like the oft-covered ballads “Lullaby of the Leaves,” “Tenderly” and Thelonious Monk’s “‘Round Midnight.” With his quartet the music can range from uptempo swingers to lowdown blues and songs from the Jamaican Songbook inspired by Jamaican guitar great Ernest Ranglin."
EXIT ZERO JAZZ FESTIVAL
"Marel Hidalgo has taken the east coast jazz scene by storm. Influenced by the great Pat Martino and Joe Pass, Hidalgo has led his ensembles through a dazzling array of straight-ahead, bop and Caribbean-influenced arrangements. Equally comfortable in a traditional quartet or a classic jazz organ trio, Hidalgo’s touch and phrasing are far beyond his years.
