I couldn't make the early set, but I've been wanting to check out Edmar Castaneda for a while after getting repeated recommendations of the "you've got to see this guy!" variety from the same folks who brought you my obsession with the Bad Plus and "we're driving to Hampton for Panic, giddy-up!" So, I got my butt in gear and made it to the Jazz Standard for his late set. I'm not sure I've ever been to JS after having already eaten dinner and let me tell you it was tough. I walked in with stomach full and the minute I got a whiff of that smoky Blue Smoke aroma, I was instantly famished once again. It took all I had to hold off ordering a rack of ribs and a cheeseburger, but I did go for some pie just to keep my stomach gurgling from overtaking the music.

Castaneda is a Columbian harp player -- he is both from Columbia and apparently the instrument he plays is called the "Columbian harp. Anyway, he looks like he's about 12 and plays something fierce. A couple weeks back when watching Lewis & Clark open for Benevento I joked that I was predicting a big year for the harp in 2008. Unfortunately for all the wannabes out there, Edmar Castaneda probably has them all beat. There is something naked and pure about the instrument itself, like a piano has been stripped of all its clothing... or alternatively, a guitar has mutated into something unrecognizable. Castaneda has an intimate relationship with his instrument, his fingers dance over the strings: shuffle, boogie woogie and ballet, there is an amazing combination of grace and power. The resulting sound is exotic and comfortable, disorienting (how is he making those sounds?) and exhilarating. With his body taking over his harp like he's curling up in bed with a lover, he manipulates the strings and makes some fantastic music.

The quartet was one of the stranger mixtures of players you'll find. Joining him on the vibraphone was Joe Locke who wore a necktie around his bare neck and there was Marshall Gilkes on trombone and David Sillman on a stripped-down drums/percussion set-up. Are the harp, vibes and trombone the elements of good music? Good question. For the most part, Castaneda as band leader did a good job corralling the tangential sounds of his ensemble and made great music. With Locke on one side and Edmar on the other, there was a otherworldly quality to the sound. There were solos for everyone in each tune, but within each number there were ample stretches of improvisation: dreamy interludes where the harp ducked down deep in the sound and got hypnotically subtle. Edmar's playing is of the master class level: bass notes and melody and rhythm all bundled up in an ear-pleasing tone. Watching him play is to watch someone entranced by their own talent; eyes closed, mouth pursed as if kissing the notes as they come off his fingers, it is as if he would crawl in between the strings and feel the vibrations directly if he could.

The music is a kind of Latin-infused straight jazz. They played exclusively originals as well as some traditional Columbian music that Castaneda has rearranged with some improvisational sections. The compositions were good, but it was the band that made them worthwhile. And while Castaneda on his own was worth the price of admission, it was the addition of Joe Locke's vibraphone that brought things up that extra smidge. Locke was perfectly in tune with Castaneda, working him back and forth and taking wonderful leads on his own. One tune opened with a long intro on the vibes which drifted into a familiar sounding riff... at last I recognized it: Neil Young's "Ohio." If you're wondering if that can be made to sound good on the vibes, the answer is a resounding yes. Good times, the pie was decent. I highly recommend Edmar Castaneda who seems to play regularly in the city.