Colombian musical prodigy Edmar Castañeda was born March 31, 1978 in Bogotá, Colombia. He began playing the difficult and exotic Colombian harp at the early age of 13.
Although he only completed his formal music education in 2003, he has achieved critical acclaim. He has appeared as an invited guest with Paquito D’Rivera at NJPAC, NY’s Beacon Theatre, Lincoln Center and the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. He has also performed with Lila Downs, Romero Lubambo, Dave Samuels, Dave Valentin, Richard Bona and John Benitez.
In 2017, Japanese pianist Hiromi and Edmar Castaneda performed live at the 2017 Montreal International Jazz Festival. The concert was recorded and Live in Montreal was released in late in 2017. “We both clearly remember the first few minutes of playing together in soundcheck,” Hiromi recalled. “It was really magical and effortless. It felt like all the musical notes that we created were happy to be together. It was like dancing.”
Discography:
Cuarto de colores (2005)
Entre Cuerdas (Arpa y Voz Records, 2009)
Double Portion (Arpa y Voz Records, 2012)
Live At The Jazz Standard (Vivid Japan, 2015)
Live In Montreal, with Hiromi (Telarc International, 2017)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
