I have a considerable soft spot for that family of percussion instruments which are played with mallets. So, last week I was delighted to discover what a prominent role the marimba plays in the music of Latin America.
There have been several vibes virtuosi in jazz such as Lionel Hampton, Roy Ayers and Milt Jackson. But these versatile instruments appear in many different styles of music. Let’s not forget how much multi-instrumentalist Ruth Underwood contributed to the quirky sound of the Mothers of Invention. Or how the balafon playing of Malian Keletigui Diabate complemented Toumani Diabate’s kora so well. Without the stupendous Mulatku Astatke, the Ethiopian Jazz would never have happened.
My new discovery is Colombian marimbero, Hugo Canelario from the Pacific Coastal town of Guapi, who with his band , Grupo Bahia, has done much to spread the popularity of the “marimba de chonto.”
I should also mention a tip from @Alias. From Ecuador, a vintage salsa album. Andarele by Carmen Gonzalez and Koral Y Esmeralda, which makes very effective use of marimba.
And these new discoveries are due the fact that @Salwarpe is currently on a new road trip in Darkest Colombia, in search of the contemporary sounds of that remarkable country.
Last week, I was hitchhiking just outside of Bogota and as it was pelting with rain, he kindly offered me a ride.
I’ll be honest. He’s probably regretting his act of kindness as it has impacted what gets played on the car stereo. He’s got lots of mp3s of sizzling, innovative, modern electronica. I’ve got a tote bag full of cassettes of elderly accordionists in cowboy hats singing about their inappropriate feelings for schoolgirls.
I exaggerate! There are many tracks we both enjoy. And it’s a long drive to Cali, so I expect there will be many more. Go over and take a listen!
Now amigos, what I’d like to know is: who are your favourite maestros of the mallets?
And are there any pieces of music on which these instruments are used particularly effectively? To my ear, they always add a feeling of sophistication.
Any vibes players that I don’t like? Well, that Austrian geezer playing on the Bonzos’ Intro/Outro should never have been allowed in the studio!
Let’s kick off with Hugo Canelario….
Kaisfatdad says
Over to Mali for some balafon….
Sadly Keletigui passed away in 2012.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/keletigui-diabate-master-malian-balafon-8458106.html
Leffe Gin says
An unusual one maybe, but prog band The Pineapple Thief tend to use the bass marimba quite a bit (played by Gavin Harrison).
Marimba starts about 40 seconds in, and is quite prominent, although you almost wouldn’t realise it. I think this is a pretty good song as well.
Kaisfatdad says
Bass marimba! Now we’re talking! And it is a fine song.
The marimba makes me think of Tom Waits somehow.
Talking of prog, John Poli Palmer of Family played the vibes quite often.
I mentioned Zappa. Here are two marimba covers of Peaches in Regalia.
From North Texas, Chelsey Danielle conducts her arrangement.
And from Italy, Andrea Sorrenti’s livey arrangement.
Shame about the sterile classroom setting.
Moose the Mooche says
Somebody plays vibes on Something’s Burning, the last good Stone Roses track. I wonder who.
retropath2 says
Poli Palmer insists he plays mallets, by the way, and he’s still gigging his way through retirement, often with Brum chums of mine, the erstwhile Prussian Blue (not the toxic nazi duo), now known as the Kate Gee band.
Moose the Mooche says
I have three words to say: Tits, Winkle and Vibraphone.
Poli does his thing in this rocker:
Kaisfatdad says
Great research @Moose the Mooche.
Poli has clearly been the go-to guy for vibes in the UK for many years.
retropath2 says
Mallets.
hubert rawlinson says
“There’s a man with a mullet going mad with a mallet in Millets”
Jaygee says
As Moose seems to be snoozing this morning, falls to me to post this slinky number from Hull’s finest*…
* Yes, better even than Woody Woodmansey’s U-Boat!
Moose the Mooche says
Well worth waking up for.
And so is the song. Oho!
Jaygee says
Enough of yo’ jivin’, Mr Moose!
Kaisfatdad says
Wonderful! I had not expected a song extolling the sound of the marimba as the clarion call of liberty.
Not from Hull anyway!
If, by contrast, you are a churchgoer in Guatemala, you can’t away from the marimba.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=360347755163538&ref=watch_permalink
In fact, those marimberos seem to be everywhere.
This Guatemalan schoolgirl band doing a Perez Prado cover is treat!
hubert rawlinson says
Have some Vietnamese rock music.
Kaisfatdad says
That really was splendid.
But I would not want to be her roadie!
Wood, stone, metal, bamboo ….: there are many possibilities.
Here is the title track of that Carmen Gonzalez LP that Alias recommended.
Yikes! this was unexpected! A robotic marimbero
No Kraftwerk cover is complete without a marimba!
fitterstoke says
That may be the case…but isn’t this Deep Purple, @Kaisfatdad ?
Kaisfatdad says
Ooops! Kaisfatdunce!! Naughty corner for me. Thanks @fitterstoke.
I was of course thinking of Coconut’s wonderful Kraftwerk cover album, Le Baile Aleman.
The Robots
Autobahn
“just a gimmicky lampoon of Kraftwerk’s Teutonic veneer and dehumanized, machine-driven aesthetic”?
Those of you interested in the “fetishization of marginality” will enjoy this article.
Marginal fetishization is certainly why I keep coming here!
https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/content/cumbia-along-autobahn-rhizomatic-identities-and-postnational-music-production
retropath2 says
But when you want vibes, nothing beats vibes…..
Kaisfatdad says
Vibes sound so very sophisticated, cosmopolitan and urban compared to the rural marimba and balafon
Over to the Philippines for a performance on a wooden kulintang.
Mike_H says
Roger Beaujolais is scheduled to appear as guest soloist on October 3rd at Chandos Arms Jazz in Colindale.
Missed his last appearance there due to being stuck on a broken-down train for about 4 hours.
Alias says
New York bandleader and vibes player Joe Cuba – Bang Bang
Mike_H says
Adélaïde Ferrière is a rather good marimbaist.
.
dadwardo says
That’s just fabulous. Chapeau!
Mike_H says
One of the things I like about watching a marimba being played by a virtuoso, is that the player needs to be quick on their feet due to the size of the instrument, so you get a dance performance as well as the music.
Kaisfatdad says
Adelaide is a real find. Great comment about how marimbero (or marimbera in her case) has to almost dance around their instrument.
Of course I wanted to know more!
https://bachtrack.com/interview-adelaide-ferriere-fevrier-2021
She is so right for this thread! This interview from Bachtrack.com is excellent.
“It’s one of the only percussion instruments on which you can play classical music, since you can adapt pieces in both their harmonic and melodic dimensions. ”
……..
One of the things you’ve done is to transcribe works for marimba, most notably Albeniz’s Asturias and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. How do you choose the works to transcribe?
“There are a lot of transcriptions of baroque music, because the writing lends itself quite well to this, being fairly clear as regards the harmonic structure: Rameau’s Nouvelles Suites are an example. The point is that when you move from a piano version to a marimba transcription, you’re moving from ten fingers to four sticks. So the question you have to ask is whether this is feasible. Next, it’s essential that your transcription respects the work’s original idea, without destroying its nature. Rhythmic pieces like Asturias work well, whereas a Chopin sonata would be far too virtuosic. But more generally, I transcribe the works I love.”
Adelaide taks of the rise of the percussion virtuoso and mentions Japanese marimbera Keiko Abe.
https://www.radioclassique.fr/magazine/articles/qui-est-adelaide-ferriere-star-de-la-percussion-classique/
She also mentions Evelyn Glennie and Austrian percussion wunderkind Martin Gruber.
Just out of curiosity, here he is with an epic, no expense-spared, 17 minute Weather Report cover
fitterstoke says
Everything in this post is remarkable – but Adélaïde Ferrière…truly wonderful…
thecheshirecat says
There is an hour of it, so I won’t post the link, but… Steve Reich’s Music for Eighteen Musicians. Rapture.
Tinydemon says
This a much more marimba heavy (ie all marimbas) steve Reich piece.
Campo says
What is even the point of playing marimba without wearing a brown catsuit with the zipper down. ..
Starbuck – Moonlight Feels Right.
Leffe Gin says
I remember seeing their albums in Yanks in Manchester in the 80s. I’d assumed they were a sort of Leif Garrett disco kind of outfit. I wasn’t prepared for the reality. Proof that bands aren’t always signed on looks, too.
I remember that almost all of the albums in Yanks featured guitar by Waddy Wachtell or Dennis Budimir. In other words, LA session stuff that didn’t set the charts on fire, regardless of the obvious quality of the playing.
dadwardo says
The immortal Reg Kehoe and the Marimba Queens. Perfect antidote to morning grumpiness. Won an award a few years ago in the States and used this as my walk-up music, much to the horror of the assembled audience of fellow nerds…
Kaisfatdad says
I am lost for words. This is pure entertainment and made my day.
The piece is called A Study in Brown:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Kehoe_and_his_Marimba_Queens
As someone commented, that bass player is living out hís metal dreams, decades before metal was even invented.
With their usual excellent taste, They Might be Giants borrowed part of this clip…
Kaisfatdad says
The xylophone familj are definitively a perfect match for some minimalist modern classical music.
Hearing those Girls from Guetemala made me realise that there is a ”marimba belt” stretching from Mexico to Colombia.
Just as there is a bagpipe belt in theCeltic regionsbof Europe. Is there an accordion belt or does everbody love them??
thecheshirecat says
“Let it happen, xylophone player” (2:33)
Kaisfatdad says
Gentle Giant! That a pleasant surprise!
As was discovering that the marimba music of the Pacific coast is considered as a cultural treasure of mankind by Unesco!
https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/marimba-music-traditional-chants-and-dances-from-the-colombia-south-pacific-region-and-esmeraldas-province-of-ecuador-01099
dkhbrit says
Can’t remember if this has been posted before
Kaisfatdad says
Absolutely splendid! Look no hands!!
The xylophone seems o fit in rather well with the music of Japan.
Not really found what I was looking for but I just stumbled across this story about a Japanese xylophonist, Yoichi Hiraoka, who made it big in 1930s USA but was repatriated after Pearl Harbour,
Quite a story!
https://www.oswego.edu/news/story/xylophonist-bring-passion-legendary-instrument-concert
fitterstoke says
I don’t know how to link to it but….yes: I posted the forest xylophone before – seem to remember it NOT setting the blog-o-sphere alight…
mikethep says
Can’t believe etc…The MJQ feat. The great Milt Jackson.
Kaisfatdad says
Excellent choice Mike. I think Gary Burton also deserves a mention.
Oops! I just noticed That Timbar got there first. What the hell! He is worth a few mentions
Timbar says
Chick Corea seems to be having a lot of fun with Gary Burton here
hubert rawlinson says
Have some medieval bells.
Hope these count.
Kaisfatdad says
I’ve never turned down some melodic medieval bells in my life and don’t intendent to start now!
That was excellent
It led me to this:
duco01 says
Erm … has anyone mentioned my favourite vibraphone player of all time yet? I refer to the great Walt Dickerson (1928-2008).
Here’s his masterpiece, from 1962, the year I was born: “To My Queen”:
hubert rawlinson says
I can’t believe no one has mentioned Kiera Knightley playing Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head on her teeth.
I had a friend who played tunes on his teeth so this is the nearest I could find.
Starts about 3 minutes in.
Kaisfatdad says
Utterly bizarre! Hats off to you Hubert!
How about an Ice xylophone??
Kaisfatdad says
Mamadou Diabate with some more balafon. A very distinctive sound.
And a little more …
Balafon and kora playing together with a ngoni is the classical music of Mali.
Kaisfatdad says
Just like keyharps, recorders, gaitas, ukeleles, bagpipes, accordions, banjos etc, marimbas are perfect for ensemble playing.
The Guinness World Record för largest marimba ensemble has been held by schools in Tasmania and Zimbabwe.
Here is a fine ensemble from Hillcrest Vollege, Zimbabwe.
Alias says
Ever wondered what vibes sound like when put through a fuzzbox? The answer is not very much like vibes.
Gary Burton – Vibra Finger
Kaisfatdad says
That rocks along very nicely.
If I had to guess the instrument, i’d say some kind of keyboard.
That led me to Patricia Brennan.
This Pitchfork reviret made me curious.
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/patricia-brennan-maquishti/
Kaisfatdad says
February 20th is National Marimba Day in Guatemala
It is the national instrument.
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/20/807873803/its-national-marimba-day-in-guatemala-and-for-guatemalans-in-the-u-s
Kaisfatdad says
There are a lot of exciting new (to me) names cropping up on this thread…
Here are a few.
Walt Dickerson – – a great jazz pioneer of the 60s.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jul/31/walt-dickerson-tell-us-only
Keiko Abe ,as much a composer as a performer,
Joe Cuba returns with a sizzling live version of floorfiller Bang Bang and a few other goodies.
Another band who get their audience up and dancing: Hugo Canelario and Grupo Bahia from Columbia’s Pacific Coast.
Alias says
With Joe Cuba we are only scratching the surface of Latin New York. An infuriatingly high number of Youtube videos have playback errors. Hopefully these will work.
Eddie Palmieri with Cal Tjader – Picadilo which unusually has vibes and horns
Louie Ramirez – Rush Hour In Hong Kong
Of course Tito Puente was best known as a timbales player (as well as for writing One Como Va), but he was pretty handy on the vibes too.
Dave Pikes played both vibes and marimba, my favourite song of his is Mathar which features a sitar, but here he is on vibes
Kaisfatdad says
I look forward to giving those good listen, @Alias.
Some things I’ve learnt from our explorations is that vibes player are often:
proficient in several other instruments
rather talented composers and perhaps as a result..
keen to be band leaders
much in demand for session work
In the field of classical music, the percussionists, after decades in the shadows, are now with gusto taking centre stage.
Evelyn Glennie is a prime example.
As @Mike_H commented a marimba is a BIG instrument and one needs to move about when paying it which leads to a rather extrovert performance
Mike_H says
Tubby Hayes turned out to be a pretty good vibraphonist when he decided to give it a go.
Moose the Mooche says
Good ont’ flute, too. Quite the polymath.
Mike_H says
Victor Feldman was a British drummer, pianist and vibraphonist. A childhood prodigy born just down the road from here in Edgware.
He became quite a star on the London jazz scene then emigrated to the USA in 1955 at Ronnie Scott’s suggestion and became a star there too. Also did a fair bit of session work, including for Steely Dan.
Kaisfatdad says
Another new name for me. Thanks Mike.
A tragically early death at 53, But what a rich professional life.
https://jaz.fandom.com/wiki/Victor_Feldman
He co-wrote this with Miles Davis and played piano on this alternative take.
hubert rawlinson says
Tristan Fry adding the vibes to the weightlessness of Solid Air.
Kaisfatdad says
Mention of Tristan Fry took to this BBC Schools classic.
It also led me to this Steve Hoffman thread which is full of suggestions.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/vibraphone-heavy-non-jazz-songs-albums.192081/page-2
For example, I’d forgotten Ollié Halsall played vibes with Patto.
Brian Jones on marimba
kd lang has some fine marimba on Constant Craving
Kaisfatdad says
Tristan’s career is rather impressive.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tristan-fry-mn0000186003/biography
Moose the Mooche says
Vibes, as with the godlike Danny Thompson, are a constant presence in the immortal Dream Letter:
Jesus Christ, this version gives me the chills.
Kaisfatdad says
Great quote on that Hoffman thread.
“Ruth Underwood says (I’m quoting from memory) that the marimba has a “ridiculous, tea-room lady sound”.”
Here Ruth talks about the Zappa sound:
And the early days of the Mothers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDryzFt37Mo
fitterstoke says
Ruth is a phenomenon – that looks like a spider fell in the ink and scuttled across the manuscript…
fentonsteve says
Mention of Evelyn Glennie up there reminds me of my second-fave Bjork tune, after Play Dead, featuring the Dame on what sounds like bottles but are actually tuned exhaust pipes.
My Spine:
Oxygen is pretty good, too:
Kaisfatdad says
That was a pleasant surprise I had no idea they had recorded together.
While we are on Iceland, let’s listen to to Páll Guðmundsson’s Icelandic lithophone…
And here he is playing with Sigur Ros and others.
Another unexpected, wonderful surprise!
Some background info:
https://www.planethugill.com/2020/11/stone-marimbas-and-norse-mythology.html
hubert rawlinson says
I’ve mentioned Neddy Dick from the Yorkshire dales and his lithophone so here’s a song about him from Mr Fox.
Kaisfatdad says
Excellent find, Hubert! I suspect that songs about percussionists are few and far between.
Earlier in the thread you treated us to a clip of Vietnamese lithophones.
Here is an article by Elias Davidsson, an Icelandic guy who has researched lithophones quite extensively and created his own.
http://www.tonar-og-steinar.com/litho.html
Off now to a cave in Asturias in the north of Spain…
Kaisfatdad says
Lionel Hampton has not been mentioned much.
Well I never! He was on Desert Island Discs! What an interesting listen!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mj6f
Here is Lionel in 1930 playing with Satchmo.
There is a story that Hampton gave the 5 year old Roy Ayers some mallets after a concert, thus inspiring him to a career as vibes player. Great tale even if it is not true.
Kaisfatdad says
I didn’t know that Roy and Fela Kuti had played together…..
Alias says
We haven’t had a steel band yet unless I’ve missed it and the steel pans are hit with mallets. This band do a good cover of a Fela’s song Egbe Mi O which unfortunately I can’t find on Youtube. Instead let’s have their great version of the JB’s Hot Pants Road
The East Side Symphony – Hot Pants Road
If that has put you in the mood for funky steel band music then you should check out the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band (also their label Big Crown Records has a lot of interesting artists) Their cover of Jungle Fever is a good place to start.
Kaisfatdad says
Thanks a lot @Alias. For the last few days you have been dipping into your magic top hat and pulling out some stupendous rabbits.
Steelbands certainly belong here. They are played on mallets and, like the marimba, are relatively easy for young musicians to grasp.
A few years back I visited the Summer Fete at Cannon Lane Primary School the rather conservative establishment I attended in Pinner. To my astonishment, one of the highlights of the afternoon, was the School Steel Band playing No Woman, No Cry. It was not that irie in my day.
I’d like to take a look round the School Herb Garden!!
Let’s have a few more steely pan treats!
The Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service Band are hot, hot, hot!
They give their all!
Th BP Renegades Steel Orchestra also put on quite a show.
The pans are the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago and were invented in the 1930s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steelpan
Alias says
Back in the early 80s when I first started hearing these exciting sounds from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, before the term “world music” was coined, Soca from Trinidad was for a while being touted as “the new reggae”. One of it’s superstars was David Rudder. This is his tribute to the leader of a steel band.
The Hammer
hubert rawlinson says
Of course some people go wild to crazy glockenphonic sounds
Kaisfatdad says
A brilliant find! The golden age of the xylophone.
That has to be my favourite record sleeve of the week. Driven into a frenzy by Harry’s masterful use of the mallets, the poor girl seems to be trying to self-asphyxiate using her string of pearls!
Crikey, Hubert! I do believe it’s Hotsie!
“What a party that was
The drinks were loaded
And so were the dolls.”
Kaisfatdad says
Having read a little more, I realise that Harry is on one of the true maestros of the mallets. Beginning in the ragtime era, he was still recording in his 80s.
https://www.spaceagepop.com/breuer.htm
His career began playing in the radio favourites Cliquot Club Eskimos in the 1920s.
They dressed up as Eskimos to perform and promoted Cliquot Ginger Ale.
And after that there were movies, TV and much else…
Kaisfatdad says
Just in case you think that the magic of mallets is something dull and dusty from 80 years ago, here are a hot, modern combo from Cali, Socavon de Timbiqui, who boast both splendid marimba playing and groovy frocks. They have a very appealing, home-grown, acoustic vibe to their music.
A grower!
Kaisfatdad says
Fitterstoke just commented on something and that made me think that, other than Evelyn Glennie, we’ve not many marimba players from Scotland.
I will soon put that right!
Calum Huggan
Gillian Maitland
Kaisfatdad says
Shame on me!! It was only a few weeks ago that I saw up-and-coming, Swedish pop star, Esther, live at an open-air, street-corner showcase on Södermalm
And it’s only now I mention here.
Delicate, melodic, introspective dream pop…
Sniffity says
Nothing to do with the music, and I’m hopeless at posting images here, but if you have a look at LPs by the Baja Marimba Band, several of them seem to have a figure standing (with back to camera) in the background who appears to be, um, answering the call of nature.
hubert rawlinson says
There you go @Sniffity
Kaisfatdad says
You will be amused to hear, Sniffity and Hubert, that Baja Maja is the Swedish slang expression for a portaloo. Bajs is Swedish for poo.
The Baja Marimba band were an Herb Albert off-shoot and probably rather fun live after a few shots of tequila.
hubert rawlinson says
The things one learns, of course over here, especially the blue ones, are known as The Turdis.
Kaisfatdad says
Sacrilege! Heresy!
I am deeply distressed at the very thought that Jodie Whittaker is travelling the murky corners of time and space in an azure, Swedish portaloo.
And now, The Dr Who theme played on a marimba! What joy!
And then there’s this..
hubert rawlinson says
Of course you’ve heard of the balafon but turning on the TV I just saw this, a bananafon.
From the Gang’s All Here, here’s the Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat.
A most delightful spectacle I think you’ll agree.