´óÏó´«Ã½

Corey Mwamba delves into the many colours of an underappreciated instrument.

The percussive nature and motor-driven vibrato of the vibraphone have led to a perception that it can only produce a homogeneous sound. Vibes player Corey Mwamba passionately dismantles this and encourages us to listen more closely.

In this first episode, Corey explores different ways in which the vibraphone has been played like a piano. We hear how the four-mallet, chordal approach, often attributed to Gary Burton in the 1960s, can in fact be traced back to the earliest vibraphone recordings of the 1920s. We follow the changes in jazz piano language through stride and bebop, and how these were translated onto the vibraphone by the likes of Red Norvo, Terry Pollard and Walt Dickerson. And we listen to the impact of electronic processes on the more recent keyboard-styled approaches of Mike Mainieri and Sasha Berliner.

Produced by Chris Elcombe
A Reduced Listening production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3