REVIEWS

Susan Pascal: Music of Vibes is Like a Language
by Stephanie Thompson, Seattle Times Staff Reporter
Thursday, July 11, 1996

For Susan Pascal, music has always been about evolving.

At age 5, her parents started her out on xylophone lessons, and she spent her elementary school years learning to read music and tap out the sounds on the wooden instrument. Later, attracted by the sounds of the marimba bands her parents used to listen to, she picked up that instrument. Then she started studying classical percussion, but she eventually switched to the vibraphone, which is essentially an evolved model of the xylophone.

Her affinity for melodies and lack of patience is what made her stop playing percussion. "I got tired of counting empty measures and waiting for the triangle part," she said. "(The vibraphone) feels very natural, kind of like your first language."

Now Pascal can be found playing the vibraphone, or "vibes," in clubs around Seattle. Developed in the 1920s and '30s, the vibes are arranged like a piano. Made out of metal alloy bars, the instrument has a vibrato mechanism and a piano-like damper pedal.

Playing with two wooden mallets in each hand—a technique picked up from Gary Burton, whom she considers one of her biggest influences—Pascal is able to achieve a rapid, intricate and surprisingly melodic sound, working the three-octave range of the instrument.

A part-time freelance graphic-designer, Pascal received a bachelor's degree in music from the University of Washington and has played locally with several different bands, including The Jazz Police, a 20-piece contemporary big band; the Savoy Swing Band, which played Benny Goodman tunes; and Red Fish Blue Fish, a seven-piece jazz ensemble that plays at The Speakeasy Cafe.

Pascal appeared in the Seattle Art Museum's Art of Jazz concert series, and has been featured on KPLU-FM's Jazz Northwest program.

Currently, she is also playing with a bassist and a drummer in the Susan Pascal Trio. It performs jazz standards, and Pascal spends her time, when she's not playing in clubs or working, practicing new arrangements. She said she's looking to record an album by the end of the year, and isn't seeking to learn another instrument. Rather, she'll continue to evolve, but as a vibes player.

"There's nothing to get tired of, there is always something new to learn," she said. "It's a real giving experience."


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