Latino Mallets

Latin music is characterized by strong use of particular percussion instruments such as congas, agogos, cowbell, guiro, claves and others. In Stefan Schwalgin’s Medley “Latino Mallets”, those instruments form the rhythmic and tonal basis for other musical happenings. To enforce the Latin sound, Schwalgin even chose the lead instrument from this percussion group. His brilliant idea was to combine the percussive xylophone as a solo instrument with the dominating groove of the percussion section. Considering a traditional solo concert structure, Stefan Schwalgin chose the form “fast – slow – fast”. Two terrific songs, “Tico Tico” and “Mambo Jambo” form beginning and ending, whereas “Tea for Two” as a cha-cha interlude presents a point of relaxation. A different compositional technique in the solo part strengthens this contrast: in the rapid parts, the xylophone plays monophonic, but chordal in the slower part. “Tico Tico” and “Mambo Jambo” have Latin American origins, whereas “Tea for Two” is from a Broadway musical. In the 1920’s the song became a jazz classic and in the 1950’s a cover version in chacha style evolved into a big hit. As a small homage to the song’s origin, Schwalgin weaved in a short swing style passage.

1. Tico, Tico
2. Tea for Two
3. Mambo Jambo

Serie ROCK & WIND BAND
(Rock Band opt.)