EDMAR CASTANEDA (HARPIST)

Colombian Harpist , Band leader and composer Edmar Castaneda was born in Colombia Bogota where he started playing the Colombian harp at the early age of thirteen. He has an unique style of playing harp Combining Latin jazz with traditional Colombian music, Edmar has carved a firm place in the international jazz scene. A jazz harpist of imposing talent, he transforms the harp into a lead instrument to phenomenal effect. Producing cross-rhythms like a drummer, smashing chordal flourishes like a flamenco guitarist and collating bebop and Colombian music, he is practically a world unto himself. His style is fascinatingly percussive and he plucks dynamic basslines almost invisibly while picking out melodies with his right hand. Now in his late 20s, Edmar moved to the United States in 1994 and was quickly recognized for his unmatched style and sound. He has performed with Paquito D'Rivera, Pablo zinger, Dave Samuels, Trio De Paz, Guiovani idalgo ,Lila Downs, Yerba Buena and Dave Valentin, among other renowned musicians. He also tours regularly as the leader of the Edmar Castaneda Trio, together with trombone and drums. His playing is striking for its rhythmic complexities, driving basslines and sheer musical force

VIDEOS

EDMAR CASTANEDA - CUARTO DE COLORES

EDMAR CASTANEDA - SAMBA SOLO HARP

EDMAR CASTANEDA TRIO AT SWEET RHYTHM IN NYC

EDMAR CASTANEDA - HARP SOLO

more videos

 

EDMAR CASTANEDA - CUARTO DE COLORES (2005)

Latin jazz on harp

“ A JAZZ HARPIST OF IMPOSING TALENT.” -The New York Times “As illustrated in a fascnatingly percussive performance by the harpist Edmar Castaneda” -The New York Times “ Producing cross-rhythms like a drummer , smashing chordal flourishes like a flamenco guitarist and collating bebop and Colombian music , he was almost a world unto him-self.” -The New York Times “He nearly becomes a one man band, plucking bass lines almost invisibly while picking out melodies.” -Time Out “as illustrated in a fascnatingly percussive performance by the harpist Edmar Castaneda.” -New York Times . This supercharged trio was followed in the Old Office by the phenomenal Columbian harpist Edmar Castaneda, whose technically astounding approach to the instrument normally associated with classical music has been registering with scenesters over the past year. Covering independent, heavily grooving bass lines with his left hand while chording and also running counterpoint melodies and dazzling triplet figures with his right hand (a kind of Charlie Hunter or Joe Passian approach to the harp), Castenada performed a buoyant, Latin-tinged set with his unorthodox trio of trombonist Marshall Gilkes and drummer Dave Silliman, who performed on a hybrid kit that had him switching from cajon to the traps set with skillful aplomb. Since arriving in the States last year, Castenada has been championed by Paquito D?Rivera, who has employed the harpist for some high profile gigs. But the full scope of Castanada?s gift is revealed in this sparse trio setting, in which he simultaneously covers three functions in the band. BILL MILKOWSKI - JAZZ TIMES ( FEB 2, 2006) Edmar Castaneda’s short opening set took Diana Krall’s mellow crowd by surprise. Castaneda plays the arpa llanera, or Colombian harp, a diatonic instrument from which he snatches twanging, sweet, twittering, chiming, dense sonorities like nothing else in contemporary music. Castaneda’s trio with drummer David C. Silliman and trombonist Marshall Gilkes included the “resident artists” at Umbria Jazz, performed nine times, and were among the revelations of the festival. Thomas Conrad - JAZZ TIMES ( July 7, 2006 - July 17, 2006 UMBRIA JAZZ 06 ) Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda and his unique, nearly inconceivable ensemble comprising of a trombonist who also doubled on cello and a percussionist delivered the "wow" factor at the festival and captivated the large gathering around the gazebo. Obviously, the harp and the cello have not been associated with jazz, however, in the hands of classically trained virtuosos who are also imbued with enormous creativity and passion, the instruments and their inimitable sound were seamlessly transmuted into the jazz idiom with incandescent flair. Among many resplendent musical propositions cultivated by this ensemble, Castaneda stretched the harp into a fascinating percussive instrument and the band created cascades of intoxicating South American rhythms. Most of the melodies were derived from South American folk songs and the various textures of the instrumentalities spawned musical hues and effects rarely realized. Assuredly, Castaneda and crew are deserving of wider appeal. FREIHOFER'S JAZZ FESTIVAL (Day 1) Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga, NY June 24, 2006 By Randy Treece

 

1. Sonrisas
2. Andrea
3. Autumn Leaves
4. Cuarto De Colores
5. Negrita
6. Madrugada Azul
7. Amen
8. Alfosina Y El Mar
9. Afrojoropo
10. El Camino
11. Media Luna
12. Buleria
13. Ginebra

 

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