Strings, Limited: Edmar Castaneda

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THE COLOMBIAN HARP is a delicate-sounding folk instrument, but it's not cut out for jazz:

"It's like the piano, but I only have the white keys," said Edmar Castaneda. "It's diatonic, not chromatic."

But Castaneda is not only making the Colombian harp work in jazz settings — he's the only one doing it.

The lack of chromatic options is the reason "why a lot of people don't try to do more with the instrument," Castaneda said. "I know its limits. … You do sharps by bending the strings, and you can tune the harp in modes. Little tricks."

Some of Castaneda's little tricks also include mixing Brazilian and flamenco music with funk and South American folk to create a world-jazz sound that is as distinct as it is crowd-wowing. He also plays bass lines with one hand while plucking out melodies with the other, which is one of the reasons why Castenada only has two other instrumentalists in his band: trombonist Marshall Gilkes and percussionist Dave Silliman. (Castaneda's wife, Andrea Tierra, provides vocals.)

The harpist has been inciting a lot of buzz in the jazz world, and one of Castaneda's biggest champions is saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera. "Besides been extremely charismatic, Edmar has a wider musical vision than most of his colleagues playing such a limited instrument," he said. "He also has always the right attitude toward the music business."

It's the sort of attitude that might lead a musician to play a form of music that's technically all but impossible on the Colombian harp.

"I just imagine if I had all notes," Castaneda said. "Wow!"

» Twins Jazz, 1344 U. St. NW; Fri. & Sat., 9 & 11 p.m., $18; 202-234-0072. (U St.-Cardozo)

Photo courtesy Edmar Castanada