Marel Hidalgo is a sixteen-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.

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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, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Deer Head Inn Jazz Club, Bryant Park in New York, 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, Tony Campbell, Roger Humphries, 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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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.

 

ELLNORA GUITAR FESTIVAL

 

"Marel Hidalgo may not be old enough to shave, but he is a grizzled veteran as a guitarist.  He formed his first band and gigged widely in his native New Jersey when he was six years old, creating his won blend of jazz and Latin/Caribbean music."

 

THE NEW YORK GUITAR FESTIVAL

 

"Can you remember what you were doing at six years old?..

 

Did it involve performing in front of hundreds of people? Odds are that the answer is no."

 

THE COAST STAR