Sep. 30--Carlos Reyes is a big man with a big heart and, as some of the music industry's biggest names would attest, a big, big talent.

The demand for Reyes' violin and harp virtuosity runs the gamut from MC Hammer to Steve Miller, Pat Travers to John Handy. He's performed for mayors, foreign presidents and the Pope. After a lifetime of mastering his instruments, he can simply laugh at the attention.

He's got two spotlight gigs upcoming: Oct. 7 at Yoshi's San Francisco, a guest appearance Oct. 18 at the new Freight & Salvage in Berkeley for Benicia guitarist Peppino D'Agostino's birthday concert, and a holiday concert in Fairfield with Vacaville vocalist Holly Stell.

"A big fish in a little pond or little fish in a big pond. I don't know," Reyes said. "I just know I've been lucky enough to do my kind of music and keep it going."

Music promoter Jeff Trager was bubbling after hearing Reyes at a Green Valley Country Club concert.

"He's not only a great musician, he's the consummate entertainer, which is rare," Trager said. "Audiences are guaranteed to be blown away by his artistry."

It all started in Paraguay where Reyes began violin at barely 3 under the scrutiny of his father. Admittedly, music was all-encompassing for the boy and other activities were rare.

"It was hard," Reyes said. "My dad was real stern. Leave it at that. I was expected to be home early every day after school and practice. That's what life was about. It was about music."

Reyes'

talent was obvious early "and they weren't going to let that go," he said. "My father was raised rough and tough. They were very intense in their music. And he was military, so the regimen was real rough."

While grateful for his music background, "I didn't have a normal childhood," said the Pleasant Hill

resident.

His adulthood is also far from "normal," though many would take it. When a recording artist needs an animated, talented, down-to-earth harpist or violinist, Reyes is often The Man.

Those out-of-nowhere calls wanting Reyes are almost commonplace.

"They're all surprising," Reyes said. "Probably the most surprising happened a long time ago with

MC Hammer. He called and said, 'I want you to record a solo violin track.' That was surprising."

There are many surprising moments during concerts, Reyes said, like the audience reaction when he and rocker Steve Miller did three nights at the

Fillmore in San Francisco.

It's part of the perception of the harp, said Reyes, who takes the instrument to another level.

"People went crazy," he said of a Fillmore show. "The energy was tremendous."

Reyes describes his music as a blend of Santana and the Gipsy Kings "with a little bit of jazz."

"I'm a chameleon who comes out playing with other people," Reyes said.

Not that he never struggled. He is, of course, a musician.

"It hasn't been easy, but it's been fun," Reyes said. "They don't teach you in school how to survive being a musician."

But survive, he has -- even now as a single dad with children 10, 12 and 14 years old.

"I am so lucky," Reyes said. "I've played for kings and queens and the pope. It's all about communicating with people."

In 2001, Reyes represented Paraguay in the World's Fair in Hanover, Germany, playing for the presidents of Paraguay and Bolivia.

"It was so nice to see so many different cultures in one area," Reyes said. "It makes you want to go to these different countries."

Yet, said Reyes, some of the most memorable performances are where he least expects them. Take a concert at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

It was just Reyes and his harp.

"From a sea of people, there's a Chinese woman and her young girl watched and listened from about10 feet away," Reyes said. "The girl says, 'My great-grandmother wants me to tell you she doesn't know your music, but she feels the healing and how powerful

it is.'"

"To me, it was incredible," Reyes said. "I'll never forget that experience. Here was a woman from the old country and she got it."

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