That Jazz - Monkey Max Music and File Download

Figure 4-8:
A musician
plays a
vibraphone
with mallets.
Chapter 4: Tools of the Trade: The Instruments of Jazz
Although rare, vibes have been used in dramatic ways since the 1920s:
� Lionel Hampton’s vibes were a driving lead voice in his big bands.
� Milt Jackson’s vibes added a fresh dimension to bebop.
� Cal Tjader fused vibes with Latinized versions of great jazz tunes.
� Gary Burton has made some of the most provocative and subtle jazz,
often in duo or small-group settings.
Vibes get their vibrations from motorized baffles that open and close inside
resonating tubes hanging below each aluminum bar. The baffles add a wavering
(vibrato) effect that can be varied in frequency (by changing the speed of
the motor that turns the baffles) to fit the mood or song. Vibes also have a
pedal that allows the player to damp the bars, that is, to stop them from ringing
after they are struck. To watch a vibraphonist in person is to see a magician
work magic with two or four wands that are his mallets.
Treat yourself to a couple of CDs by jazz’s modern masters of vibraphone:
� The Complete Lionel Hampton, Volumes 1 and 2 (1937–1938) (RCA):
Get a good listen to jazz’s early master of vibes. Hear how Hampton’s
playing blossomed when he moved from drums to vibes and combined
his rhythmic sense with new harmonic and melodic potential.
� Dialogue (Blue Note): Bobby Hutcherson was the leading jazz vibraphonist
of the late ’50s and ’60s, and on his debut solo album from
1965, he established vibes as a strong counterpoint to jazz’s more familiar
instruments. As of 2006, Hutcherson is still in prime form and serves
as co-leader and mentor of the San Francisco Jazz Collective.
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