Global Hit

Edmar Castaneda

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Male harpists are a rare breed. Edmar Castaneda of Bogota, Columbia, is an exception. He plays a folk harp and is shaking up the jazz scene in New York and beyond, with a new album. The World’s Adeline Sire took a close listen.

AS: Meet Edmar Castaneda.

AS: Castaneda is no classical harpist. He plays “la arpa llanera” a Columbian folk harp.

Edmar Castaneda: “La arpa llanera…it means harp from the plains.”

AS: This tune is called “sabroson.”

Edmar Castaneda: “Sabroson is like, “delicious.”

AS: In this tune, he attacks the instrument as he often does, with bursts of raw energy.

Edmar Castaneda: “(Laugh) it’s warm up….it’s just I apply a little bit of a slap bass you know.”

AS: “slap bass”… On the harp!

AS: Castaneda grew up in the tradition of musica llanera.

Edmar Castaneda: “Musica llanera’s music from the plains of Columbia and Venezuela. It’s cowboy music you know, music they play when they finish their day’s work, just to party, they dance, they have the harp, the cuatro, the maracas and it’s similar to the flamenco music, very rhythmic and a percussive way to play it.”

AS: Castaneda played the trumpet as a kid but it’s “la arpa llanera” that got his attention when he was 7.

Edmar Castaneda: “I was really impressed to see all the strings all the sounds that were coming out of this instrument and i was really in love with it so I wanted to play it.”

AS: Castaneda’s harp has 34 strings. Unlike a classical harp, it has no pedals. On his harp, Castaneda plucks his bass strings to get a strong and percussive effect, in the style of music he played as a kid, called joropo. And it sounds as if he’s playing both a harp and a bass guitar at the same time. In this tune “Entre Cuerdas” or “between the strings”, he shares solos with trombone player Marshall Gilkes. And he’s so good at what he does, it’s ridiculous.

AS: You could say that Castaneda’s harp playing is even bolder than that of another illustrious male harpist: Harpo Marx. But Castaneda, like Harpo Marx, surprises his listeners.

Edmar Castaneda: “Usually people think the classical harp is like “oh, harp music is angels music” but I would say you know like, you can be more aggressive. I love to play with passion and really groove, and take influence from every music.”

AS: Influences that go from Colombian rhythms to Brazilian and Afro-Cuban beats.

AS: Here’s another profound influence on Castaneda: his faith. He says religious faith has saved his marriage and empowered his playing.

Castaneda says his music is a form of worship. As is the case with his contemplative song “Jesus de Nazareth.”

AS: Earlier this month Castaneda jammed with Latin Jazz giant Paquito d’Rivera at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival. That’s another great talent of Castaneda: he’s not just a great soloist. he plays well with others too. It’s clear when you hear the collaborative pieces on his album. For this tune: “Song of Hope,” he plays a duo with vibraphone player Joe Locke. And the marriage of the harp and the vibraphone is luminous.

AS: Columbian folk is never too far from Castaneda’s music.

But he says he would not trade his place as a New York-llanero-slap-bass-jazz-harpist for anything in the world.

Edmar Castaneda: “I really love to mix so many kinds of music from around the world, I just want to have a little taste of that, and mix it in the llanera music.”

For The World, I’m Adeline Sire.

Music from Edmar Castaneda’s album “Entre Cuerdas” or “Between Strings.”

http://www.edmarcastaneda.com