Marimba y Bombo Legüero (Slam Productions CD 508, 2004)
Percussionist Straijer calls this cd ‘music to sit and listen to’ which seems like good advice since it is fairly gentle and absorbing. The marimba is his
main instrument and features on all 9 tracks but he also employs a range of other percussion such as bombo legüero, derbuka and ‘samples’ of vibes and
glockenspiel. Together with guitarist, Sergio Romano, he produces a set of beguiling compositions/improvisations that mix folk rhythms and melodies.
The first track, ‘Antiguo dueño de las flechas’, by Ariel Ramirez, is a lulling combination of marimba and rippling guitar over a subdued but insistent rhythm. The mood is maintained throughout and is quietly hypnotic and soothing. Slightly more sprightly is ‘Little Hay Road’ with the glockenspiel adding further brightness and color.
‘Vuelta de Rocha’, a Straijer tune, is notable for the softly raining marimba and guitar set against a variety of percussion, while ‘Arcos’ manages to create a further muted soundscape through the use of glockenspiel and vibes samples as the marimba hovers throughout.
The are a couple of tracks where Straijer is alone, for example, ‘Astor’ which is a more percussive piece, and the last track, ‘Zamba At Home’ where the marimba takes a solo voice.
It is a brief CD, only 25 minutes or so, and seems more like a taster than a full album but it successfully creates and sustains a low key atmosphere weaving
a warm, if somewhat limited, ambience. I look forward to a lengthier recording.
Author: Paul Donnelly
