Edmar Castañeda / Germán López

The latest installment of Terence Blanchard’s rising-talent series UpSwing showcases a exceptional example of the creative ferment emanating from what banjo maestro Béla Fleck calls “the odd instrument club.”  

Over the past two decades Bogotá-born Edmar Castañeda has blazed a brilliant, improvisation-powered path on the Colombian harp, including the all-star BEATrio with Fleck and drummer Antonio Sánchez. Melding jazz with folkloric styles from Colombia and Venezuela, he’s collaborated with Cuban jazz heavyweights such as Pedrito Martinez, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Paquito D’Rivera and a disparate cast of bandleaders such as Wynton Marsalis, John Scofield, and Hiromi. Elevating every musical setting with his extraordinary skillset, Castañeda is at his most expansive leading his own Family quartet. 

Hailing from Spain’s Canary Islands, timple master Germán López has honed a virtuosic sound combining flamenco and West African rhythms with jazz’s harmonies and improvisatory ethos on an unlikely axe. Related to other “portable guitars” such as the Venezuelan cuatro, Brazilian cavaquinho, and Hawaiian ukulele, the timple is one of several traditional Canary Island instruments that has seized López’s musical imagination. In the hands of López it’s a vehicle for astounding musicianship. Focusing on his original tunes, he draws on his Canarios roots while taking the instrument far afield.