"....it was worth unloading all those amazing instruments to document one of today's finest — and friendliest — percussion ensembles."

Tom Huizenga, Producer - NPR Tiny Desk

We had to get an early start to figure out how to ergonomically squeeze all of Sandbox Percussion's instruments behind the Tiny Desk.

The band deploys a surprisingly wide arsenal. The professionally-built instruments, like the bass drum and vibraphone, took up most of the Tiny Desk real estate. The smaller, unexpected instruments needed to be placed just right for easy access. There were metal plumbing pipes and wooden slats you can find at the hardware store, ordinary wine glasses from your kitchen, an old cigar box and an empty bourbon bottle.

The members of Sandbox Percussion have a longstanding relationship with composer Andy Akiho. They begin this set with a segment of Seven Pillars, an 80-minute piece Akiho wrote for the group, which was a 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist. It's a supercharged, edge-of-the-seat performance where the sounds delight, the polyrhythms intertwine and mallets fly in a blur.

Then come the glasses....

Read review in full here