Click on title for audio or video sample:

Dream of the Cherry Blossoms - Written by Keiko Abe for marimba. Performed by Erica Jett. Recorded in 1996. This is a composition based on an improvisation on the theme of the Japanese folksong "Sakura, Sakura." In this marimba solo, the world of fantasy is caught in an expanse of continuously falling cherry blossoms. It is a hypnotic kaleidoscope, which moves comfortably between tonality and atonality, enhanced by well-placed sprinklings of silence.

Steal The Thunder  Video Clip I - Written in 1984 by Jean Piche' for solo timpani, bass drum, gongs, and computer. Performed by Erica Jett. Recorded in 1997. This virtuoso piece explores an extended musical vocabulary for the timpani. All the electronic sounds, which range from sustained "string" sounds to percussive metallic pings, were obtained by sampling the sound of a single kettle drum. This sound was manipulated by a Fairlight Computer Music Instrument to produce the sound spectrum of the electronic part. The composer tells us, "Steal The Thunder is about heroes - mythical heroes: the men and women who tame fire, move mountians and make the rain fall. It is about strength, light and purpose.

Marimba Spiritual  Video Clip I  Video Clip II - Written by Minoru Miki for marimba solo and percussion accompaniment. Performed by Erica Jett. Recorded in 1997. "This piece was composed from 1983 to the beginning of 1984, keeping in mind the acute period of starvation and famine in Africa which was occurring at that time. The piece is composed in an organic fashion, with the first half of the piece as a static requiem and the last part a lively resurrection. The title is an expression of the total process. The rhythm patterns for the second part are taken from the festival drumming of the Chichibu area northwest of Tokyo."

Bells For Her - Written by Tori Amos for piano and voice. Arranged for prepared vibraphone by Erica Jett. Performed by Erica Jett. Recorded in 1996.

Blindness - Written by Christopher Shultis. Performed by Erica Jett. Recorded at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention 2004, Nashville, TN. Christopher Shultis wrote "Blindness" in 1994 for Robert Van Sice. Written in a form of A-B-C-D-E-F-E-D-C-B-A, the center section (F) stands alone as semphores that spell out the word blindness. The fifteen minute piece requires a four-octave marimba with solid frame pieces on each end. In complete darkness, the marimba is to be placed center stage with a single spotlight on the marimba and player. The marimba faces the audience, while the player performs in front of the marimba with her back to the audience. All bars are covered with fabric or cloth except for the lowest C and the highest C.

The composer deemed Erica Jett's performance as the standard for anyone else wishing to play it and requests that the filming of Jett's performance be used as a model for others, and is now available for purchase. Jett's filmed performance has been shown internationally for presentations and lectures given by the composer.

Christopher Shultis writes, "The problem - wanting to write for a marimbist without any interest in pitch, or at least pitch relationships. What do you do when you're lost or away from all forms of familiarity that keep you feeling safe? I thought of this piece while in Guatemala, where the marimba ia a cultural icon, beauty, in the midst of cultural oppression. What then are pitch relationships if not a form of cultural repression? What is the marimba without pitch relationships?"

"The responsibility of the artist is to hide beauty," wrote John Cage.

"The marimba is so beautiful. Guatemala is so beautiful. Beauty enables us to sleep, and dream. Time to wake up and see..." - Christopher Shultis