Jazz Articles about Brian Maier

Mannheimer Schlagwerk: The Numbers are Dancing

by Mark Sullivan
April 4, 2022

The percussion ensemble Mannheimer Schlagwerk used Steve Reich's 2009 composition Mallet Quartet (Nonesuch Records, 2011) as a template for these commissioned compositions. Four mallet instruments form the core of all of this music (the basic instrumentation is two marimbas and two vibraphones), but each of the composers takes their own path (and in some cases expands the instrumentation a bit). The composers are all known for a musical style that favors rhythmic repetition, in a way that can recall Reich's ...