May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
Simon Moullier’s new album, Ceiba, features a cosmopolitan kaleidoscope of sonic influences.
(Photo: Shervin Lainez)There’s an old joke about how the drummer is usually the first player to arrive at the gig and the last to leave due to the mechanics of setting up their respective instrument, while the rest of band can just stroll up nonchalantly … but tell that to the vibes player. To date, there’s no MIDI plug-in that can successfully replicate the nuanced sound of the original vibraphone, itself an early electric instrument patterned after the marimba family of instruments.
Pioneered in jazz modalities by icons such as Lionel Hampton, Cal Tjader, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson and Roy Ayers, the legacy of the somewhat quirky instrument that was commonplace in otherwise unplugged combos for decades lives on through a number of recent releases that each express unique facets of the instrument.
Hendrik Meurkens inhaled the sundrenched inspiration of Brazil and exhaled it in the form of Samba Tonto (Cellar Music; ★★★★ 53:39), reflecting the vibraphone’s long tradition as a staple in loungey music, while breathing fresh life into tried and true sounds. “Surfboard,” a classic composition by Antônio Carlos Jobim, sounds as though the Walter Wanderley version of the track had washed up ashore in the South of France, while Meurkens’ reimagining of his own “A Lullaby For Benny” is a distinct treat. The set features mythic drummer and percussionist Portinho, who’s worked with artists such as Dom Salvador, Paquito D’Rivera and Astrud Gilberto.
Ordering info: cellarlive.com
Simon Moullier, recognized as a Rising Star Vibraphonist of the Year in DownBeat’s Critics Poll, presents Ceiba (Independent Release; ★★★★½ 56:50), a truly groovy album that features a cosmopolitan kaleidoscope of sonic influences (particularly in regards to its rhythms). For instance, the title track was spawned from his “love of the Mozambique drum groove,” while “Fuji” was written while arriving in Tokyo, and its groove “is inspired by Cuban percussion,” according to Moullier. The positively cooking “Mr. Hutcherson” is, perhaps unsurprisingly, an ode to the maestro Bobby Hutcherson.
Ordering info: simonmoullier.com
A few years back, Vance Thompson began the transition from a trumpeter to a vibraphonist after a career-threatening neurological disorder took away his ability to play his instrument of choice. He began translating his sense of tonality and phrasing from his horn to his mallets. The resulting album, Lost And Found (Moondo; ★★★ 56:20), explores not only a newfound style, but serves as a continuation of a way of being that preceded it. Despite the marked differences between the instruments, “It didn’t take too long before I sounded like myself,” Thompson noted. “The Thread Of All Sorrows,” which takes its title from a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye, is a bossa-tinged highlight. It will be interesting to see how he continues to master his relatively new instrument.
Ordering info: moondorecords.bandcamp.com
Singülar (XJAZZ!; ★★★½ 38:42) is the self-titled release from a trio that folds synthesizers and other electronics into their sound, which feels both current and vaguely postmodern. Tracks such as “La fin d’un monde” and the title cut possess a haunting, industrial texture, while “PremierMatin” is a more straightahead pleasure that wouldn’t sound out of place in a 1940s animated feature.
Ordering info: wearesingular.eu
And earlier this year, Austin, Texas-based vibraphonist and percussionist Carolyn Trowbridge presented Found Memories (Independent Release; ★★★½ 42:55), her formidable debut as a bandleader. It’s a recording that reflects versatility honed from playing in Afrobeat groups, rock bands and avant-garde jazz combos. “The Lonely Frost Flower” is a vibrant, faintly Western track that features Elaine Barber on harp and Alex Coke on flute. It also has a bit of psychedelia up its sleeve. Perhaps conversely, “The Duchess Of Sheba” (on which she plays both steel pan and vibraphone) has a distinctly Ethio-jazz flair.
Ordering info: carolyntrowbridge.com
This bevy of recordings shows that in an era marked by an ever-increasing share of synthesized instrumentation, the vibraphone still has something to say. DB
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
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