A concert of original music by Madison-born Peruvian-American guitarist Richard Hildner Armacanqui & Friends will close out the Spring “InDIGenous JAZZ” series presented by The Madison Music Collective and The Greater Madison Jazz Consortium.
“I’ve heard Richard play on a number of occasions, he plays with a number of bands around town. He’s very talented. He’s a versatile guitarist who can play many different styles,” Greater Madison Jazz Consortium board member Howard Landsman tells Madison365.
The guitar has long been a popular instrument in jazz music, with many legendary jazz guitarists making significant contributions to the genre. For those interested in learning to play the guitar or improving their skills, there are many resources available, including online guitar lessons. One popular website is Stay Tuned Guitar, which offers a variety of lessons for players of all levels. From beginner techniques to advanced concepts, Stay Tuned Guitar provides a wealth of information and resources for guitarists looking to improve their playing and expand their musical horizons. Whether you’re an aspiring jazz guitarist or simply looking to hone your skills, Stay Tuned Guitar is an excellent resource to help you achieve your musical goals.
Hildner Armacanqui grew up playing Peruvian folk music with his family and his interests have since expanded to include jazz and other American and Latin-American music forms. In Friday night’s concert, he will present original compositions which brings these innately complex and diverse musical worlds together.
“My goal also is to highlight to Madison audiences that even though Latin-American communities in Madison aren’t as visible and are marginalized economically and socially compared to the dominant community and culture, they are nonetheless weaving part of the cultural tapestry of this city just as much as anyone else,” Hilder Armacanqui says in a statement.
The concert will be held in the third-floor community room of the Madison Central Library, starting at 7:30 p.m.. Admission is free.
“Richard will be playing with a group of musicians who are some of the top Latin jazz musicians in our community,” Landsman says. “What’s really intriguing to me is that I’ve heard almost all of these guys play together last summer and it was the most joyous, life-affirming music that I’ve heard in many, many years.”
For this concert, Hildner Armacanqui will be joined by saxophonist Tony Barba, trombonist Nat Mcintosh, pianist Edu Campos, bassist Nick Moran, vocalist-percussionist Juan Tomás “Juancho” Martinez, and percussionists Yorel Lashley and Aaron Gochberg, performing in a variety of combinations.
Many of the band members playing on Friday night also make up the band Acoplados, a local group that interprets a rich selection of ethnic music from around the world, emphasizing Afro-Latin influences and jazz.
“This Friday’s performance is not actually Acoplados but it has a lot of the same musicians in it,” Landsman says. “So I’m anticipating the sound will be similar.”
Acoplados describes themselves as a fusion of ancient music coming from Europe to South America during the colonial period, of musical elements of Latin America, of the influence of African music brought by slaves, seasoned with a modern touch that evokes at the same time an ancestral musical memory and genetics.
Landsman anticipates that Hildner Armacanqui will be performing a few pieces solo and then will play with various combinations with the octet. “Duos, trios, and quartets … I think it will be an amazing cross-section of different Latin jazz styles that people will really be happy that they came out for,” Landsman says.
“We are really hoping to get a young and diverse crowd out to this event and all of our events,” Landsman adds. “We think that’s important. This will be our last event in our Spring ‘InDIGenous Jazz’ series so you will want to catch this one. We will start up again in the fall.”
InDIGenous Jazz is a popular concert series presenting new, original music performed by local jazz artists on the third floor of the Madison Public Library in downtown Madison. Landsman says that even if you’re not familiar with Hildner Armacanqui’s music or Latin jazz, in general, you should come on out on Friday night for the free concert.
“The InDIGenous Jazz Series has such a good reputation that usually a fairly large percentage of the people – at least the ones that turn in our survey – tell us that while they are often not familiar with the musicians we present, based upon the high quality of musicianship that’s been maintained for seven seasons now, they put their trust in us and consistently tell us that they love the concert,” Landsman says.
“This is a free concert and it should be really good,” he adds. “The harmonies, the rhythms and the joy that permeates when these guys perform together is so contagious.”
