Marimbista Marimba Concerto with Percussion Ensemble

I first started writing Marimbista while I was in Paris studying with the legendary Eric Sammut. If you know his music, I think you’ll really hear the influence his writing has had on me in this piece. Eric guided me through composing the piece: first, it was going to be a marimba concerto, but it evolved into a tune for a band + marimba. In Paris, I learned that I like to write for jazz-like combo settings, not through-composed pieces. The melody is very singable, infused with Cuban-style backgrounds on piano, guitar, bass, and drums. We hear solos from Karla Colahan on violin and Nachito Herrera on piano. (caution: solos are hot) After a soaring moment from the string section, we move into one of my favorite moments. At 4:12, I inserted a short section that references my classical marimba background. This really feels like a marimba concerto to me, running up and down with arpeggios on the marimba during the pizzicato strings. I honestly had forgotten about this part until I was almost recording. I remembered that I had written this charming little moment back in Paris and pulled it up from the archives of my computer! The part I’m playing here is improvised, because… that’s how I function best. At 4:37, we crank the heat and move into a montuno section, which is a sort of repeated pattern in Cuban music that can open up space for percussion moments. Marimba and piano share the repeating pattern, and then drummer Carlomagno Araya gets to have some fun! Enjoy this drummer, he tracked in all the way from Costa Rica! 5:18 is when we quickly hop over to Spain. I absolutely love flamenco dancing and music, so I decided to go all the way with castanets, clapping, guitar scratch, and even some hollering in the background. The fun thing about this flamenco jam is that it’s written in a very fast 5, which would not be the case for traditional flamenco. This section builds the tension into a sharp, unison line with marimba, guitar, and violin. I love the intensity here! Whooo, longest E7(b9) you’ve ever heard! Then we finish out the piece and hear the melody again, with a spicy marimba (ala flamenco guitar) ending, of course. “Marimbista” is what you would call a marimba performer if you were in Central America. It is also what a room full of Costa Rican marimba players enthusiastically hollered at me after hearing me perform this piece. I was lucky enough to travel to Costa Rica in 2019 to absorb the sounds of marimba tradition there, and was honored to be invited to rehearsal in a small community of musicians in Santa Cruz. The sounds of traditional Costa Rican music will be in my heart forever. I hope to honor the marimba heritage in Latin America with my writing and performing, while also pushing its boundaries into genres like jazz. Thanks for reading and for your interest in my work!