Marimba - in Film Music

In Film Music

Studio percussion legend Emil Richards used marimba - and notably, bass marimba - in a multitude of recordings, as they were part of his infamous percussion collection, the Emil Richards Collection. Emil's bass marimbas were bought at different times; the contrabass marimba (range of G1-G3) in the 1960s, and the bass marimba (range of C2-F3) in the 1980s. After percussionist Chet Ricord passed away, Emil Richards bought Chet’s bass marimba to monopolize the bass marimba rental market in Los Angeles, and subsequently rented out both bass marimbas quite often. Emil’s bass marimbas were used on soundtracks by Jerry Goldsmith, Michael Kamen, Elmer Bernstein, John Williams, and Michael Giacchino; a couple examples include the Kung Fu, and Lost television series'. Mallets used on the bass marimba range from hard, large mallets to accentuate more of a bass line, to mushy soft mallets to bring out the more sonorous bottom (such as in live marimba ensemble performances).