Spectrum Culture: Record Review: Jason Marsalis, In a World of Mallets

New on Spectrum Culture, I review jazz drummer Jason Marsalis' new record In a World of Mallets. He plays vibes on this one: 

The vibraphone is sort of a bastard child of jazz. Technically, it’s a percussion instrument, so young jazz drummers are often encouraged to practice it along with the set. Given its impressionistic, gentle timbre, many youngsters quickly abandon it for the more aggressive sound of drums. Since few aspire to become masters of the vibraphone, the instrument has a paucity of innovative artists to its name. Once one gets beyond Lionel Hampton, Bobby Hutcherson, Milt Jackson and Gary Burton, the list is rather sparse.

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