Percussionists are an eclectic-minded group, often open to both world traditions and contemporary experimentation. This set of recent pieces by the group
Sandbox Percussion benefits from the ensemble's close collaborations with the composers involved; all four works here were written for the present performers. All of the pieces might be said to be of most interest to those who follow new percussion music, but this said, they are a rather diverse group.
Andy Akiho's Haiku 2 employs shifting repeated patterns, evocative of African or Indonesian traditions, that may bring
Steve Reich's percussion music to mind, also embodying a haiku-like rhythmic structure.
David Crowell's Music for Percussion Quartet (featuring the composer on the guitar) organizes each of its four movements around an unusual sonority, evocative of a specific environment. Perhaps the highlight is
Amy Beth Kirsten's she is a myth, with the composer's voice added in a multitracked trio that sets a short text inspired by the Don Quixote story; the piece has a compelling programmatic aspect.
Thomas Kotcheff's three-movement not only that one but that one & that too, which gives the album its title, explores minimal textures and showcases the fine engineering work, in two different locations, of the Coviello Classics label. This is a group of new percussion pieces any listener may enjoy. ~ James Manheim