Search - Orlando Cotto :: Caribenos - Latin American Music for the Marimba

Congratulations to those of you who have purchased a copy of the CD; you have made a wise choice. For those who need a little encouragement: go ahead, take a chance, you will not be disappointed. This is a recording unlike any other you have heard. It is good for any type of audience. For the "New Age" listener, this recording brings a new level of beauty and joy to the music industry. For the Classical listener, the music will move your feet. For the Latin music listener, you wondered why it took so long to get this published. Needless to say, I had a hard time deciding where to place this recording under the Amazon categories. But be assured that the music is easy to understand. To put it simply, this recording took some of the best traditional music from Latin American countries and re-invented them on a classical music instrument, the concert marimba. Fernando Meza describes the instrument in the CD liner notes: "The marimba as a solo instrument has only come of age over the past few decades. This recording will undoubtedly contribute to the future professional development of the marimba, both because it is tremendously enjoyable character and because of the artist's high level of "musicianship". Orlando is able to sail through the murky waters of demanding technical passages making the music come alive in all its splendor. As we move into the twenty-first century and more demands are placed on performers to reach ever-higher levels of artistic excellence, creative and unique voices such as [Orlando's] will be the ones dictating the future of this instrument". Fernando continues to talk about the recording: "Coming from the small town of Cayey in Puerto Rico and being able to draw from the extensive musical traditions of Latin America, [Orlando] offers in this recording a musical bouquet of delicious inspiration and daring undertaking. The adventurous quality and demanding virtuosity of works like Caribenos by Andrew Lazaro, or Piedra en la Piedra by Ricardo Lorenz, along with the delicate beauty of Piazzola's Historia del Tango and other gems included here are representative of [Orlando's] sensitive musical nature. With a thorough understanding of Latin rhythms and harmonies, this gifted artist dives into the depths previously unexplored by other marimbists and makes us engage and relate to the wonderful subtleties of the complex world of Latin music".