Tales for Vibraphone Vol. 2

Item details

• Description +

  • Arranged by Mex Leth
    Duration: 15 min.
    
    Index:
    White Christmas, for solo vibraphone
    Autumn in New York, for solo vibraphone
    Stella by Starlight, for solo vibraphone
    White Christmas and Jingle Bells, for mallet duo
    
    
    

     

    Max Seide Leth

    Max Seide Leth was born into a musical family in 1921. In 1938, Max entered The Royal Danish Academy of music as a pianist and consequently earned his Soloist's Diploma.
    
    In the years to follow, he played with numerous well-known artists from Denmark and elsewhere, and he established a name for himself in the jazz world. In addition, he appeared frequently in numerous Radio & TV programs for a period of more than 15 years. Max Seide Leth's life was changed forever one evening at a job where the venue had no piano for him to play. They offered him an old Vibraphone instead. Max was not comfortable with this, but after some deliberation he decided to perform the concert on the Vibraphone – with success!
    
    As time went on, he developed his own special way of learning the  instrument, and became so taken with it that he often chose the Vibraphone over the piano for his performances. This led to a position as percussion teacher at the Royal Danish Academy of Music from 1984 to 1993.
    
    Max Seide Leth is also recognised as a composer and as a brilliant arranger. His arrangements have been performed all over the world by some of the best percussionists.

• Instrumentation +

  • Vibraphone and Marimba

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• About the composer +

  • Max Seide Leth was born into a musical family in 1921. In 1938, Max entered The Royal Danish Academy of music as a pianist and consequently earned his Soloist's Diploma.
    
    In the years to follow, he played with numerous well-known artists from Denmark and elsewhere, and he established a name for himself in the jazz world. In addition, he appeared frequently in numerous Radio & TV programs for a period of more than 15 years. Max Seide Leth's life was changed forever one evening at a job where the venue had no piano for him to play. They offered him an old Vibraphone instead. Max was not comfortable with this, but after some deliberation he decided to perform the concert on the Vibraphone – with success!
    
    As time went on, he developed his own special way of learning the  instrument, and became so taken with it that he often chose the Vibraphone over the piano for his performances. This led to a position as percussion teacher at the Royal Danish Academy of Music from 1984 to 1993.
    
    Max Seide Leth is also recognised as a composer and as a brilliant arranger. His arrangements have been performed all over the world by some of the best percussionists.

• Reviews +

  • Review (Percussive Notes, May 2014)

    Within the arena of solo vibraphone music, Max Leth is a gifted composer and arranger. Evidence of Leth’s skills can be found in his first volume of vibraphone solos, which include jazz standards (“Tea for Two”) along with landmark songs like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Any YouTube search for Leth’s name will provide evidence of the quality and popularity of his arrangements. With this second volume of standards, Leth maintains his tradition of tastefulness and effectiveness by artfully choosing notes and chords that lend uniqueness to the arrangements while respectfully remaining true to the original tunes.
    
    Every arrangement in this collection is simply brilliant! With a deep background as a jazz pianist, Leth’s arrangements are thick with non‐chord tones, passing tones, and melodic embellishments, all the while sounding pure and clear. Without any chord symbols included, younger vibraphonists might get overwhelmed by not seeing the big picture behind the note choices. However, that should not deter anyone from diving into these gems. Leth delivers the goods; consider sharing them with an audience near you.
    
    —Joshua D. Smith

• Credits +

  • Front cover graphics and layout: Ronni Kot Wenzell
    Editor: Henrik Cornelius Hansen
    Translation: James Howard Young
    Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
    Copyright © Edition Svitzer
    www.editionsvitzer.com

Related publications

Tales for Vibraphone Vol. 1

Tales for Vibraphone Vol. 3

Tales for Vibraphone Vol. 4

Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District

Lyrical Studies for The Contemporary Vibraphonist