Richard Hildner Armacanqui Quartet at Lucille

Any accounting of Madison’s noteworthy guitarists would be incomplete without mentioning Richard Hildner Armacanqui. In projects that include Golpe Tierra, Acoplados, and Barbacoa, Hildner Armacanqui draws on the complex musical heritage of his Peruvian-American family, putting a whole spectrum of Afro-Peruvian musical traditions in conversation with other strains of jazz, rock, and funk. Beyond his clear technical gifts, Hildner Armacanqui has a lot to say about how all these different elements relate to each other through the language of the guitar. The statements range from aching lyricism (see Golpe Tierra’s “La Despedida“) to almost fusion-ish fleetness (his electric playing in Barbacoa). 

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At this Lucille show, Hildner Armacanqui will be playing in a quartet setting with bassist Nick Moran and percussionists Paddy Cassidy and Greg Riss. He says to expect a mix of original work and “classic songs from all over Latin America: son, bachata, festejo, vals, etc.” He adds,  “The quartet is a very nice format, because it’s flexible enough to be able to explore a song more and end up in unexpected places.”

Their performance is part of a Wednesday-night jazz series that veteran DJ Phil Money is booking. So far the series has focused heavily on the wealth of solid jazz artists based here in Madison, and it benefits both from Lucille’s boisterous atmosphere (it’s impressive how well the music carries in a place as full-on LOUD as this) and Phil Money’s tasteful ear. Coming up, Hildner Armacanqui is also playing with his band La Combi every first and third Thursday at Robinia Courtyard. Another project, Richi Y Su Runakuna, has a February 17 show at Café Coda.

—Scott Gordon

Photo by Luis Armacanqui.