Giovanni Hidalgo played a crucial role in forming the way the world views hand percussion and has played LP percussion instruments for his entire career. Giovanni is renowned for replicating sounds with his hands that drummers normally make with drum sticks. During his career, Giovanni has created a style of his own with his faultless technical skills and superb musicality.
Giovanni is best known for his incredibly fast and expressive playing on the conga drums, along with his ability to play many styles of music and percussion instruments. Giovanni is widely acknowledged among the greatest congueros of his generation and has worked alongside artists such as Dizzy Gillespie and American rock band Phish.
From the moment he first stepped foot into New York's famous 'Birdland' jazz club in 1956, Martin Cohen fell in love with Latin Jazz music. An engineer by trade, when he discovered authentic Cuban percussion instruments could not be imported to the USA, Cohen began designing and building his own.
In 1964, Latin Percussion (LP) was officially born, and in the fifty years since, has become a household name for professional percussionists seeking the very best quality instruments, with a little visual flare to boot. LP's products have featured on many of the most recognisable recordings in the world, across a whole span of genres. With a staggering range of models from bongos and congas, to cowbells and shakers, and even hardware and accessories, Latin Percussion is one of the world's most trusted percussion brands.