Harpist heads free concert
Colombian jazz musician makes return visit to Weehawken
By Jim Hague
Reporter staff writer
It's becoming sort of a tradition for Edmar Castañeda to perform in Weehawken. After all, he's an accomplished veteran now in performing free concerts in the township.
In 2003, Castañeda performed one of the Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center's free lunchtime concerts in the UBS Financial Services atrium. A year later, he joined jazz legend and HRPAC board member Paquito D'Rivera for one of the Summer Concerts on the Hudson series.
Now, the Colombia-born harpist is returning once again, headlining his own concert that will be held in Lincoln Harbor Park next Saturday night (Aug. 26) at 7 p.m.
But this time, Castañeda is bringing an eight-piece orchestra with him, plus famed vocalist Claudia Acuña, a native of Chile who has been gaining rave reviews on her own worldwide.
"I love to play there," Castañeda said in a recent phone interview. "It's a great place to perform. The fans love the music, and I love what I do. It's going to be fun."
Castañeda will bring to Weehawken the same music and style that thrilled audiences in Carnegie Hall and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in recent months, and most recently, at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy.
Castañeda finds himself on stage a lot with the legendary D'Rivera, who used to call Weehawken home and now resides in North Bergen.
"Paquito has really helped me a lot with my career," Castañeda said. "He pretty much put me on the scene and helped me make a name for myself. I owe him a lot. I knew that Paquito was working a lot with (HRPAC executive director) Bruce (Sherman) in doing these shows and I wanted to help."
When you think of the harp, you don't exactly get the image of a jazz musician. That's usually reserved for the saxophone or clarinet player in a smoking room wearing dark shades. When you think of the harp, you either think of classical music or an angelic creature floating on a cloud, strumming away.
But Castañeda is working hard to shatter the misconception that the harp is clearly a classical instrument. His unique style has drawn rave reviews from the New York Times, which called Castañeda "a harpist of imposing talent. He is practically a world unto himself."
"I have a different style in playing the harp, and I like to show that I can do a lot of different things on the harp," Castañeda said. "It is a different kind of music. I listen to a whole bunch of different musicians, and I try to learn from them. I've had a lot of influences, like Colombian, Brazilian, Cuban, Flamenco, with some jazz and some improvisation. I'm very happy with the way it all ties in together."
Got rhythm
Born in Bogota, Colombia, Castañeda started to play harp at the age of 13. After moving to the United States, he developed a unique playing style transforming the usual calming qualities associated with harp music.
In his hands, the harp becomes an unusually exciting lead instrument, and listening to it becomes quite an interesting experience.
He is able to produce rhythms like a drummer, quick strumming stretches that sound like a Flamenco guitarist and combining styles like bebop and Colombian music. The style is fascinatingly percussive, and he plucks dynamic bass lines with such a light touch while picking out melodies with his right hand.
Sherman reminisced about the earlier appearances Castañeda made in Weehawken.
"No doubt, some of our audience will remember Edmar from his guest appearance with Paquito D'Rivera and his other concert. It's been a real pleasure watching his progress in the jazz world."
In fact, Castañeda has just returned from two recent stints in Italy where he played to great acclaim at the jazz festivals in Umbria and Sovrano. He even opened the Umbria Jazz Festival playing ahead of Diana Krall.
"Edmar is a phenomenon in the jazz world," Sherman said. "His instrument and the way he plays has never been heard before. There's tremendous interest from fans and also other musicians who want to collaborate with him. Edmar generally plays with his trio, but the concert here in Weehawken will be the first where he headlines a large jazz group. He'll be playing with eight other great musicians. It will be a first for him and for us."
Castañeda said that he was pleased to be performing with Acuña.
"She's a really great singer," Castañeda said. "We're going to have the chance to do some really good things together. We come from the same background, with South American rhythms. I know we're going to have a lot of fun. It's going to be really cool."
Castañeda said that he likes the attention he has received in recent years, including the sojourns to and from Italy in recent weeks. He was headed to Italy to perform again on the day after conducting the interview for this article.
"It's been busy, but I love to travel," Castañeda said. "I'm very happy with the way my career has been going." His latest CD, "Cuarto de Colores," has been a rapid seller in jazz circles.
"I think my music is a little bit of everything," Castañeda said. "There's a lot of passion and a lot of love. Basically, it's a lot of good stuff and it's all cool."
To sample some of Edmar Castaneda's music, log on to
www.edmarcastaneda.com.
Castañeda's concert was supposed to be the final of the HRPAC's Summer Concerts on the Hudson series, but the first concert of this year's scheduled series featuring jazz vibraphonist Stefon Harris and his group Blackout, which was postponed due to rain earlier this season, has been rescheduled for Saturday, September 9 at 7 p.m.
All performances for Summer Concerts on the Hudson begin at 7 p.m. Rain dates, if necessary, have been scheduled for the following night after each scheduled performance. The public is requested to bring a lawn chair or blanket and encouraged to pack a picnic and enjoy the pastoral setting of Lincoln Harbor Park. For more info, directions, and late-breaking concert news and updates, please check the HRPAC website (
www.hrpac.org) or call the concert hotline at (201) 716-4540.
Castañeda, Orgullo De Colombianos
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