...the solos taken by both Collier and Richards alone make the album worth hearing.
Teaming up with old friends Emil Richards, Don Grusin, and Joe Porcaro from his Los Angeles studio days, Seattle-based vibraphonist Tom Collier puts together a rollicking set of originals to challenge his colleagues. Featuring a two mallet frontline with marimbist Emil Richards, Mallet Jazz also stars Brubeck clarinetist Bill Smith, with pianist Mike Lang, bassist Dan Dean & drummer John Bishop sharing the bill on an alternately swinging and funky session.
Track Listing:
1. Mallet Jazz 6:08
2. Eddie's Pad 6:51
3. Double Bars 8:26
4. Jupiter Jump 5:58
5. Laser Glade 4:53
6. Stick It On The Bar 6:19
7. Subito Sox 6:26
8. Mutso Futso In Row 12 10:17
9. Pink Skies Over Carnaby 5:03
Performers:
Tom Collier - Vibes, Marimba (3,5,9)
Emil Richards - Marimba (1,3,4,6,7,8)
Joe Porcaro - Drums (1,3,4,6,7,8)
William O. "Bill" Smith - Clarinet (8)
Mike Lang - Piano (1,3,4,6,7,8)
Don Grusin - Piano (2,5)
Dan Dean - Bass
John Bishop - Drums (2,5)
Production Info:
Tracks 1,7,8 recorded 9/9/03, CAPITOL STUDIOS, Hollywood, CA.
Tracks 3,4,6 recorded 9/11/03, CAPITOL STUDIOS, Hollywood, CA.
Tracks 2,5 recorded 12/29/03, STUDIO X, Seattle, WA.
Track 9 recorded 2/21/04, MALLET HEAD STUDIO, Kent, WA.
Recording engineers: DAMON TEDESCO, Capitol Studios;
SAM HOFSTEDT, Studio X;
TOM COLLIER, Mallet Head Studio
Mastering engineer: DAN DEAN, Dan Dean Productions
Produced by TOM COLLIER and DAN DEAN
All songs composed by Tom Collier, Mallet Head Music, ASCAP
Cover photo and cover design by JOHN BISHOP
Reviews of Mallet Jazz
All About Jazz (Dan McClenaghan)
Wander into the parking lot of a high school marching band field tournament, through a labyrinth school buses and picnic tables, into throngs of young musicians - teenagers in small packs cruising on foot, gossiping, flirting, maybe throwing a football around as a cold November dusk settles in - and there always seems to be a backdrop of percussion ...
All Music Guide (Adam Greenburg)
Longtime jazz session percussionist Tom Collier is put in the limelight with a handful of other session musicians (and more) from the course of his career. The set is comprised entirely of Collier originals, passing from relaxed grooves to tests of the various percussive chops on the part of the band. Collier spends the bulk of his time on the vibe ...
Jazz Review (John Dworkin)
The list of jazz vibraphonists that are household names (in jazz households, that is) is not very long. Not as long as, say, that same list made up of tenor saxophonists. Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Gary Burton, Roy Ayers - probably a few others. The fact that you're likely to hear less of this particular instrument in a jazz c ...
Jazz Times (Harvey Siders)
Imagine a front line of vibes and marimba-truly mallets in wonderland. On Mallet Jazz (Origin), Tom Collier, percussion-studies director at the University of Washington, and tireless L.A. session man Emil Richards switch between both instruments, backed by bassist Dan Dean and, variously, pianists Mike Lang and Don Grusin and drummers Joe Porcaro a ...
Percussive Notes (F. Michael Combs)
This recording of excellent fidelity features mallet-keyboardist Tom Collier with Emil Richards (marimba), Joe Porcaro (drums), Don Crusin and Mike Lang (piano), Dan Dean (bass) and John Bishop (drums). The CD includes nine new, original pieces for mallet jazz quartet - vibes, marimba, piano, bass and drums. "Mallet Jazz," the first cut, is an up ...
JazzWeek (Ed Trefzger)
EDITOR'S PICK
It appears this is the year of the revitalization of the B3 and the vibes. Tom has enlisted the help of pianist Don Grusin and drummer John Bishop on a couple of tracks for this lively and spirited recording. If you have been looking for a recording that leans towards a younger audience - without losing your older one - you've foun ...
