Giovanni Hidalgo: In the Tradition

Conga! Conga! Conga! Master conguero Giovanni Hidalgo spends 60 minutes showing us hand-strokes, tuning techniques, rhythmic patterns, performance goals, and four of the musical styles which use the conga drums. Hidalgo is an affable and knowledgeable instructor, despite speaking half the time in English, half in Spanish, with occasional subtitles. This bi-lingual approach presents a problem for the non-Hispanic or truly beginning conga student: for those unfamiliar with conga terminology, it may be difficult to tell the name of a stroking technique from the name of an instrument, a rhythmic pattern, or a song. A true beginner could also have benefited by some discussion of the parts of the conga drum itself. About one-third of the video features Hidalgo and his band--including a nerve-shatteringly off-pitch bass--performing full-length conga tunes. These numbers do illustrate certain aspects of this genre, but do not offer the finely-analyzed tips of one-on-one, personalized instruction. More helpful is the booklet that accompanies the video, but we all know the abysmal rate-of-return of such side items. Though well-produced and professional, this video is recommended only for the most comprehensive music or Hispanic-culture collections. Aud: J, H, C, P. (K. Glaser)