Album Notes

www.asafroth.com

as a marimba soloist, asaf has performed in the US (new york's lincoln center, philadelphia art museum, stanford university), russia (the bolshoi theater in moscow), taiwan, germany, czech republic, israel and elsewhere.

the marimba has many homes. africa, mexico, guatamala and japan are its historic natural habitats. such diverse and exotic origins are part of what give the marimba its character - a musically eclectic, border-crossing instrument. it is not a coincidence that an eclectic, border-crossing musician such as asaf roth was drawn with such passion to the marimba and brought it to the front of the stage as a solo instrument.

asaf roth was born and raised in israel, growing up into a multitude of musical influences. these, together with his western classical training both in israel and new york, form his own voice as a musician.

the music written for marimba is versatile in style as asaf's different musical loves - classical, ethnical, contemporary, latin, brazilian, japanese. even so, the pieces written especially for marimba are rare. because of this, asaf has developed a unique approach to repertoire. one which allows him to make musical selections that are not accustomed to standard marimba playing: track 5 in this cd, for instance, is originally written for a full orchestra. adapted for marimba, it is given a new life. in track 2-3, (written for marimba and three percussion players), asaf uses electronic elements (pedals) to duplicate his own playing, live on stage, and thus opens a wide range of possibilities that greatly enhance his performance.

this album is his first release.

www.asafroth.com