Tales for Vibraphone Vol. 1 by Max Leth

Max Leth, who is perhaps best known for his arrangements for the Safri Duo, has created a challenging collection of lush arrangements for solo vibraphone containing ?Over the Rainbow? by Harold Arlen, ?Sophisticated Lady? by Duke Ellington, ?Tea for Two? by Vincent Youmans, and ?Kristallen den fina,? a Swedish folk song. The collection is a visually attractive, high-quality publication.

The four short (3- to 4-minute) pieces in this collection are all similarly arranged in what can be described as jazz ballad or nocturne style. Each work contains a wide range of rhythmic material and ample use of grace notes; duration is controlled through meticulous notation of dampening. Each of the arrangements modulates through numerous keys and is harmonically complex. The harmonic surprises combined with varied rhythmic material, rubato, and tempo changes give the works an improvisational façade bordering on parody. Texturally, all of the works are dense, requiring four mallets, with few linear single-line passages.

Challenging, quality arrangements such as these are inevitably controversial; some will praise their jazziness while others will condemn their schmaltz. I appreciate the intended effect of these works but encourage those wishing to perform in the jazz style to study the idiom instead of imitating it through well-intentioned etudes. Those who like fish should learn to catch them, not settle for a can of tuna.