Happy Music

Do you like marimba music? I do. I especially love the kind that makes you jump out of your chair and dance with joy. The most wonderful marimba music I ever heard was at a end-of-the year picnic for students, hosted by Lewis and Clark College in June 1993. I had separated from my first husband two months before, and it was a sad and difficult time. I was a full-time college student with five children at home, and I was scared about the future.

I took the kids to the picnic because it was free food and I thought it would do us some good to get out and play in the sunshine. The food was fine, but the music was the best thing that had happened to me in months. Oh, it was wonderful. It was a group of marimba artists from Eugene, Oregon, and I think their music had a Caribbean flavor. I wish I could find a video of them on YouTube and post it here.

There are some wonderful marimba groups here in the Portland area. They play on marimbas of all sizes, and I especially love the groups that play music from Africa and the Caribbean. (I'm not quite as fond of the marimba music from Mexico and Guatemala - it's generally not quite as lively.)

Here's a group called "Dancing Impala," playing music similar to what I remember from that picnic back in 1993:


Here's a very lively group called Boka Marimba. Look how much fun they are having, and how much exercise they are getting! I love watching the older guy in the blue shirt (audience member) dancing - he's still going at the end of the song with some crazy moves.

While I was poking around on YouTube looking for marimba artists, I found this amazing group. They are children performing on PVC pipe marimbas. Check them out!


Oh, I do love happy music!