Our Repertoire


Rose On Vibes on YouTube Check out videos of our concert performance at the Ashland City Summer Fest.
Rose On Vibes on FaceBook Go to Facebook.com and check out the Rose on Vibes videos on Rod Noftger's page. Click on the VIDEO tab.

Below are various music clips of jazz and African music. The first two clips are with a Cuban ensemble.

Alonzo This is a Cal Tjader composition. Cal Tjader brought Latin music to the jazz vibraphone, and his tune Alonzo is a typical example of Tjader's prowess. This clip features Rose on the vibraphone with the Cuban Ensemble at the Nashville Jazz Workshop.
Sabor Sabor (Flavor!) is a traditional Latin tune written by Joao Donato. It's another classic Cal Tjader cut. Like Alonzo, above, this tune features Rose on the vibraphone with the Cuban Ensemble at the Nashville Jazz Workshop.

The next few clips are are some of our standard tunes -- jazz and contemporary music, played with just a little kick. Some of the tunes are played by the quintet Rose on Vibes & Jazz Co. and others feature the Rose on Vibes TRIO.

Willlow Weep For Me Composed by Ann Ronnell. Some say Ira Gershwin composed this tune for her. But the feel and the lyrics tell us this tune is definitely written by a woman!  Sorry, no lyrics on this clip though.
Freddie Freeloader This is Miles Davis blues tune from the album Kind Of Blue. Kind Of Blue, considered one of the best jazz albums ever recorded, was completed in merely two studio sessions. In today's world, that's just unfathomable. But when you consider the players were the absolute top musicians of the day, it's really no surprise. If you don't have Kind Of Blue in your jazz collection, you should fill that serious void and pick up a copy today.
Wave This is a classic Carlos Jobim tune. Did you know Brazilians refer to Jobim as "Tom Jobim"? That's because his first name is Antonio -- Tom for short, in Brazil. Scores of American jazz musicians have recorded this tune. You'll hear it played as a ballad, where you can picture yourself drifting along the seashore in Rio, or highly stepped-up, as waves crash wildly on the beach. This clip is from the Rose on Vibes TRIO, recorded live in the studio.
Watermelon Man This is the Poncho Sanchez/Mongo Santamaria approach to this jazz tune.
I'm Beginning To See The Light Here's a Duke Ellington composition. When Duke was a young man, he was slated to go to art school. Just imagine the world of jazz, if Duke Ellington had gone on to become a painter rather than a musician . . . . This tune is recorded by Rose on Vibes TRIO.
I Was Made To Love Her (live) A Stevie Wonder hit put to jazz. Catch our groove, especially on piano.
Softly As In A Morning Sunrise This tune is almost always played fast and hip, not at all like a sunrise. The lyrics were written by the well-known composer Oscar Hammerstein.

The next four clips are music with the African gyil.
New York Gyil Rose on Vibes TRIO. This is an original composition played on the African gyil, accompanied by acoustic bass and guitar.
Dreamland (live) This is a variation on a composition by the Ghanaian musician Kofi Ameyaw. We're playing the melody our way -- as a jazz tune.  Here's an excerpt.  Sorry for the background chatter.
Octave Dance This is an original, solo composition on the gyil (African xylophone).
Octave Dance Funk Octave Dance (above) put to a funk groove.

Finally, here are some "oldies but goodies." Early music clips of the Rose on Vibes quintet . . . still worth saving and listening to.
Moonglow Moonglow was made popular by the Benny Goodman band. Goodman shook the entertainment world when he took the bold step of integrating his band with Lionel Hampton on vibraphone and Teddy Wilson on piano. "I never thought it was brave . . . . We just did it . . . . That was the way it was supposed to be. How can you play if you're gonna worry about a guy's color. It's tough enough just to play." ~~ Benny Goodman
Bags' Groove Bag's Groove is a basic 12-bar blues by Milt Jackson. Bags was Milt Jackson's nickname. They say it was because of the heavy bags under his eyes, presumably from leading the hard life of a jazz musician.
Now's the Time Now's the Time is a Charlie Parker 12-bar blues composition. Parker -- the king of bebop -- was also known as Bird. He acquired this nickname because of his love of fried chicken.