Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda debuted at our festival as a duo with pianist Hiromi. On his side, we saw the Swiss Grégoire Maret at the Palau in Cassandra Wilson’s group, and on other occasions contributing his harmonica to jazz monsters like Pat Metheny and Marcus Miller. In 2019 Castañeda and Maret released their first joint album, Harp vs. Harp, in which they had another unusual instrument collaborator: Béla Fleck and his banjo. It is, of course, a very unique duo, with two instruments to which the artists give new life on their album and concerts with a repertoire that includes original material, but also Brazilian incursions (Jacob do Mandolim and Luiz Bonfá), tango ( Aníbal Troilo) and an exciting version of Charlie Haden’s Our Spanish Love Song. “Both have rewritten the role given to their instruments, unusual in jazz,” says the album’s promotion, which culminates with a phrase with which we could not agree more: “Castañeda and Maret have redefined the capabilities of both the harmonica as of the harp.” A night for the most subtle and unexpected adventure.
Edmar Castañeda, harp
Grégoire Maret, harmonicas