I don’t think that the unique, mystical and mysterious sound of the instrument marimba has really “settled on the ear” of most of our readers.
This instrument from the xylophone family is a rare guest in both jazz and academic compositions. For this reason alone, the album of the universal ensemble with marimba player Mika Stoltzman, it seems to me, can attract serious attention from people with a wide variety of tastes.
The creator of this concept, as well as the entire group as a whole, is the marimba player Mika Stoltzman, and a whole bunch of great musicians in our time perform with him: Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomez, Mike Mainieri, Geoffrey Keezer.
This group clearly has a distinctive, recognizable sound: it is enough to study the instrumentation. One could even assume that in terms of music, this is something like chamber music-making, reminiscences of themes inherited from the Viennese pioneers of improvisational music.
But in reality, this is quite so? “Memories of Tomorrow” offers listeners music that is complex in composition and performance, which has absorbed a lot. So much so that it would take a lot of space to analyze these inspirations and sources. I will limit myself to just one thing: despite the advanced form and performing language, the program as a whole does depress, does inspire the idea that in the modern jazz world you are a complete.
The music seems to invite participation, empathy, but does not impose itself as a friend. It leaves at a certain distance, but does not create an insurmountable wall in front of the listener.
For the recording of this album and not only, great names were chosen, and first and foremost, of course, Steve Gadd and Eddie Gomez – one of those performers whose music does not fit into any particular style, does not “fit” into any framework.
Their journey brought not only Japanese jazz rhythms to the music of the album․ It is in this regard that the wonderful marimba musician Mika Stoltzman elaborates in a conversation with us: My latest album, Memories of Tomorrow, was released on July 25, 2025 on Big Round Records. It is my fifth album produced by Steve Gadd. I recorded it with Steve on drums, Eddie Gomez on bass, and Geoffrey Keezer on piano—musicians I’ve played with for 15 years. On one Keith Jarrett piece, vibraphonist Mike Mainieri and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman also joined.
If you have a soft spot for free improvisational music, then perhaps you will be interested in this disc. Of course, this is not free jazz of the early 60s, but rather a product of its evolution over the past forty years. And since other musical directions have evolved over these years, the album “Memories of Tomorrow” is closer to a certain mixture of modern free and modern chamber academic music.
We recommend that you definitely have this CD, by the way, you can purchase it right here and enjoy it.
By Olivia Peevas
