Edmar Castaneda

There’s just something about Latin jazz that can put a grin on the most dour face. Even in the potentially staid setting of the Kennedy Center, the joyous and infectious rhythms can have feet tapping, heads bobbing, and the audience cheering. That was the atmosphere during Edmar Castaneda‘s early set on Friday night at the KC Jazz Club. The fresh faced Colombian prodigy, still in his 20s, made a recent area appearance at Twins Jazz and then returned for last year’s Duke Fest. It’s a shame we missed the former, because Friday made clear that Castaneda won’t be returning to such small rooms any time soon.

Beginning with the free form intro to “Cuarto de Colores”, the trio of harp, trombone, and percussion signaled that this music was going to be something different. One might think that the absence of the bass would leave a hole, but the range of the harp more than filled the ensemble’s sound. As the piece took shape, the syncopated interplay between harp and percussion created rhythmic intensity that provided a driving foundation to the pristine sound of trombonist Marshall Gilkes‘ melody. And thus began a musical journey around South America that lasted another 90 minutes.