Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Berlin Mallet Group: Sogni D’oro
Berlin Mallet Group: Sogni D’oro
ByThe other members of Berlin Mallet Groupall former Friedman studentsare Julius Heise, Raphael Meinhart and Hauke Renken. The tracks on Sogni D'oro comprise three Friedman compositions (one of which, "Carousel," is a joint piece with Dave Samuels), one by Saito, one by Heise, Kenny Wheeler's "Sea Lady" and two pieces, entitled "Xylon 1" and "Xylon 4," by Rupert Stamm, a former Friedman student, who died in 2014, aged 51; the album is a memorial to Stamm, with whom Saito created the mallets duo Patema. Saito arranged all of the tracks on Sogni D'oro except the closer, Heise's "Scharfenberg."
Although Berlin Mallet Group has five members, Friedman is absent from two tracks, as is Meinhart, so half of the eight tracks feature all five players. Whatever the number of players, most of the time it is fairly futile to try and identify individual contributions to the ensemble sound. The music and instrumentation are such that the collective sound of the group outweighs that of any component part. (See the YouTube clip of "Carousel," below.) Anyone who has ever appreciated the distinctive ethereal other-worldly sound of a marimba or vibraphone in a group will find that the combined effect of four or five working together is even more beguiling. The idea of creating such a group was inspired. The music produced by the group is uniquely beautiful and should not be missed.
Track Listing
Penta e Uno; Komodo no kodomo; Sea Lady; Carousel; Xylon 1; Xylon 4; Sogno D’oro; Scharfenberg.
Personnel
David Friedman
vibraphoneAdditional Instrumentation
David Friedman: vibraphone (1-3, 5, 7-8); Taiko Saito: marimba; Julius Heise: vibraphone (4, 6), marimba (1- 3, 5, 7-8); Raphael Meinhart: marimba (2-4, 6-8); Hauke Renken: vibraphone (3, 8), marimba (1-2, 4-7).
Album information
Title: Sogni D’oro | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Malletmuse
Comments
About David Friedman
Instrument: Vibraphone
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar To